New Project.

This is a seat of the pants job. I am using it to try out some developing techniques.
Most of my Fairy Houses are woodland themed, and the bark texture was a combination of developing the correct constancy and stickiness of Paper-Clay and then experimenting with the best techniques for creating the texture.

Soulful Things New Project

The experimental aspect of this one is all about how to create the roots. A simple enough task, you would think, until you start considering all of the options against what you want to achieve:
Size; Shape; Function; Detail etc.

For this project I needed a couple of substantial roots on each side to help to create a sort of courtyard or enclosed space.

As you can see I went for the rolled-up newspaper, masking-tape and PVA (white glue) option for the former or armature.
I needed bulk rather than intricate form and it had the added bonus of being fairly quick to create.                                  

The addition of a little paper-clay gives an idea how things should progress.

I want to also create a network of smaller roots that spread out over the base and wind themselves in and around. To do this I will use aluminium foil to create the armatures as this will allow me to be a little more precise with their size and shape and where they run to.

I will be adding vines to these roots and the trunk of the tree, my thoughts at the moment are that I will use string and jointing compound to create the forms and then when that has dried I will 'chase' them with paper-clay creating little nooks and crannies as I go.

I will publish pictures of my results on this blog alongside a narrative of my findings.                                  

                                         

A few days of drying have now past, and the paper-clayed roots are firm, and dry enough for me to progress with the next stage. 

As I have said: this is a seat of the pants development - all the time looking to improve techniques and to incorporate design elements that have only been in the 'Ideas' stage.

My wife, Anne, and I, own our own shop, and some of what we sell are natural crystals. I had the idea of incorporating some of these in our Fairy Houses with the notion that they could be part of the illumination.

I did a first colour wash over the dried roots and then cut holes in the trunk to insert the two Amethyst points. These are quite long and the bits that you can't see are positioned on the other side so as to enable a couple of small LED lamps to be secured next to them.

I then moulded them in to place at the front with paper-clay, and continued with the clay on to the base and around the roots to create levels and texture.



Here are a couple of pictures that I took with the amethyst points illuminated.

The lights have only been temporarily rigged for the purpose of taking the photos and so do not create the best impression, but I think it gives the general idea.

When this piece is finished - the windows will be illuminated as well.

Take An Idea, Any Idea.

Papermache House

When you have a few techniques under your belt, it becomes easier to develop your designs. I have always loved working with my hands in a creative way.

I work much better in 3 dimensions; drawing and painting have always eluded me.

When I was a kid, back in the 1950s and 60s, like most families, we never had much money for toys and things, but we had plenty of "rubbish", you know: cardboard, paper, tin cans, string and loads of other stuff that never really cost anything.

I remember the time when I was shown by my dad how to make sticky paste out of flour and water. There was no stopping me then, it was paper and cardboard boats, planes, guns, hats, shoes, masks and my imagination was being fed by all the new discoveries.

I think that is what this 'creative' thing is all about. You are shown a process, technique, a method, and you run with it. You discover the possibilities by seeing what else can be achieved using the process in a different way.

These days there is a lot of information available about anything you want to know.

Back when I was a kid, Papermache was mostly newspaper and flour. These days, because of information availability and the availability of new materials, Papermache is one of the most versatile art mediums.

On this blog I'll show you some of the things that I do and the materials that I use. I hope you will find some inspiration from it, and have a go for yourself.

All creative ideas need thinking through; you need to visualise what it is that you want to achieve, and then make a plan, taking what you know, and develop a step by step process that will get you what you want.

Templates for above papermache fairy house.