Summer's Here!

I can't believe how fast this year is going. After a crazy winter and spring we are finally into full summer. The sudden heat after our cool, rainy spell is hard on the plants so is taking more of our time keeping things up - plus getting a few last minute items in before July arrives.

Spent all day Wednesday making a plaster macquette of my granddaughter in preparation for doing a full sculpt of her. With her work schedule and a new house, she has precious little time to sit for me. This way I have something to check my measurements against when she's not around. Not the best solution but better than nothing.

I've been working on the forensic sculpt, tweaking a little here and there in the mornings while it's cool. Ideally, I could put it in the fridge to get good and cold to eliminate the stickiness but barely room in there for food! My husband came up with the idea of putting it in the ice chest along with our Blue Ice, which I did. Just checked and it's firm, though I'll probably add more ice tonight and keep it as cold as possible till the first of the week. Sounds like something from the Sopranos, keeping a head on ice :) The terra cotta sculpey is hard to photograph as you can't see the depth in it - but I've been experimenting with different macro settings on my digital. It's a good way to check as I will notice things I don't see working on it. The pictures from the digital camera aren't quite as sharp as with the SLR but the ease of working with it make it well worthwhile. Once I'm satisfied, I'll take some photos then take it apart. I'll post some photos when it's done.

Still Working

I have the layer of "skin" on my forensic sculpture and am at a standstill. I realize now why I should have purchased some new plasticine for this project rather than make do with the Sculpy I had on hand. The Sculpy is much too soft for this type of work. I'm still having a problem not using my hands on the clay, it's so instinctive to smooth a place with my thumbs, but that's not an option here. One reason is, by pushing the clay you also move the markers. The pegs are glued on but easily pushed over. I used a generic skull form and the measurements for a caucasion male -- and what I got was a generic male look :) The lower jaw is too short to accomodate these measurements and while I can add clay, it would lose the reality. It's hard not to let my fingers shape it the way I think it should be rather than how it actually was.

Slow Going

I got the layer of "skin" on my study head I'm working on -- but seem to be stuck.