Cody Goodin - The artistic and spiritual journey of Cody Goodin

I thought I'd give you a teaser as to what I have been doing. This weekend I am working the booth for our doll club Rivercity Dollmakers and as one of the conditions for getting the space, we have to demo. So, I spent yesterday and today sculpting. Here is the goblin I worked on today. He is all baked and ready for his paint job. I am thinking he is going to be old man winter goblin or something like that. My first thought was to make him my Christmas exchange that I am doing at work. But, this wasn't what I originally had in mind for that. So, we shall see how it goes. This is another angle of him. One of my booth mates said he looked a lot like me. You know it is said that doll makers make dolls that resemble themselves. I don't think he looked like me though. He is polymer clay over a cotton egg shape and foil armature. I use super Sculpey as that is my clay of choice at the moment and his norns are translucent Fimo. He has iridescent glass eyes. His heigh...

I thought I'd show you one of the pieces I am trying to finish up for the Winterfair show. His name Foster and he is a garbage pail goblin. He loves to scrounge through trash cans and dumpsters for interesting human cast offs. He thinks of them as treasures. I wouldn't argue with him. He is rather protective of them. I tried following one of these guys and they are elusive. The above is a front on shot. I still need to add his base and a few little bits. You know I just love polymer clay. I have tried paper clay which is fine. Also have tried Apoxie Sculpt which is fine as well. But, I finally figured out that I love polymer clay. I have been creating my own custom mixes to create the perfect texture and translucency. I am not sure why the translucency is so important since I paint most of the pieces I make. But, it is the texture and detail I get with polymer clay that I love. I can tool the surface easily that adds great texture to the skin. I just wish it we...

Well, I can finally show my art pieces I created for the "Secret Artworks" charity event for Artworks Cincinnati. They host this event each year to raise money for their summer art programs that give teens and artists jobs. Artists are asked to create a 5x7 work of art and only sign it on the back. Then they have this big party where the art is sold. They go for $75 each. This first piece is titled "Monster Holding Tube Sock". This years event was successful at least it looked to me. There were hundreds of people and lots of the art were being sold. This one is called "Monster That Caught the Man In the Moon". Finally we have the queen herself. "Queen of the Goblins", such a fun piece to make and unlike the other two had some mixed media going on in it. I would love to do some larger versions at some point. Well, another good year for Artworks. I hope to post a new sculpt this weekend if I get him finished. I am trying to get at least t...

I am sure you will be shocked to know, that I am venturing into some wearable art pieces. Actually you may not be all that shocked as I did make a few personal goblins last year. In addition to those a few wearable sea goblins too. The story of this fellow came about by an inspired moment at the annual show and sale my club puts on. I had seen this piece made by a friend based on a lion head pendant designed by Christi Friesen . Her work is so inspiring to me and she is a master at polymer clay manipulation. So, without any idea of how I would go about it, I made this wild thing inspired goblin head pendent complete with mane. He has white marble eyes that were hand painted by me. This is the first a prototype of sorts. I wanted to see how hard they are to make first off. Then to see if they would look nice and finished enough to sell. Obviously I need to figure out a string to hang it with. Maybe a layered cord/fiber sort of thing. Let me know what you think? Don't b...

Here are some better pictures of my newest tableau. It is called "Goblin Holiday". It was created for the fabric challenge that my doll club gave the members and were on display at our annual show and sale this past weekend. I unfortunately did not win this year. There were some fine examples of dolls that made better use of the fabric than I. But, my family certainly got lots of fun complements. I did better at the show though than I expected. So, that is a good thing. A big thanks to those that attended, showed and purchase all the fabulous Above is a shot of the entire piece. This is a close up of mother and son. I am sorry I cute the little goblin boys feet off in the picture. I just love his expression. This is dad sitting there just trying to enjoy the sun. I am not sure, but I think I may want to add a few bits to this piece still. I was trying to finish it enough in time to show. But, as I look at it, I think it needs more. A big thanks to all you who are...

I admit it, this is a crappy picture of my new piece. But, in my defense, I wanted to get it up before todays doll show. It is called "The Goblin Holiday" and features three goblins. They are spending Goblin days at the beach this year. The little guy isn't too keen on being with good ol' mom and dad. This was created for a fabric challenge contest for the show. Yes, there will be a prize. So, viewers will vote on their favorite piece. The idea was to take a piece of fabric that each club member received for Christmas last year from the club and use it to make an art piece or doll. I don't do fabric based dolls so I used the fabric a bit more creatively. The blanket the boy is on, the umbrella and dads towel hanging on the arm of the chair are all made from the fabric. I will try and get a better view and picture of it this weekend. This piece took me over 18 hours to complete. It was great fun. Have a great weekend you all.

Thank you to all who entered my blog giveaway. It was great fun and I appreciate you all following what I am up to in the creative department. Without further ado, the winner is Christie Davidson as chosen by the random number generator. Have a great week everyone.

I wanted to let all my blogging friends, artists and doll people out there know about my local doll making guilds annual show. It is being held at The Newport on the Levee in Newport Kentucky on November 14th and 15th. The show runs 11 am - 5 pm on Saturday and 12-5 pm on Sunday. SO, if you live in the Northern Kentucky or Greater Cincinnati area please stop by and see me and a number of other fine doll makers. We will have some special challenge and viewers choice exhibits as well as a fun little make and take. Today is the last day to get in on my giveaway. A big thank you to those of you who are following my artistic endeavors. Good luck to those of you participating. I can't wait to see who the winner will be. I plan on using the random number generator to determine the winner. I don't trust those pesky goblins to do it right. Have a great weekend everyone.

Wow! The response to my pending giveaway has been awesome. So, in celebration of surpassing 75 followers of my humble blog I am announcing a giveaway. Pictured above is one of my Sea Goblins. He is excited about traveling to a new home. So, if you want to be in the running here is what you need to do. 1. Become or already be a follower of my blog. 2. Leave a comment on this post. 3. Make sure you leave some way for me to contact you if you win. I will be drawing the lucky winners name on Saturday November 7 th . Don't worry if you do not see me post a comment to this post as I am trying to not clutter it with responses. Thank you again to all of my faithful followers and friends who visit my wacky world. You are most appreciated. Good luck.