Fog In the Head and Sentimental Saturday

As Saturdays go this is rather low key. it is rainy and damp here with a good bit of chill in the air. It is supposed to be spring. But, Cincinnati weather is rather moody. You never know what you're going to get from one minute to the next. This all puts my head in a foggy state. The past week was rather trying at times so I guess this is the Universe's way of getting me to calm the f#%&* down. I offer the above image, taken in my little neighborhood as a symbol of my sate of being today. There are many projects I should or need to tackle. But, I think I will just go with the flow.

Sentimental Saturday's edition comes from my distant past as a doll maker. These set of elemental spirit dolls were made in the mid 1990's for a show at the now defunct Cove Gallery. The first one here is the element of earth. These were sewn and stuffed figures with polymer clay heads and hands and or feet, In some cases I used found pieces of branch or twig too. I then painted them and used a variety of embellishing techniques for the surface. Sorry, but these are scanned snap shots and the quality is rather lo fi.

This figure represents the element of air. I called this the sky being. It's surface is painted to look like a sky full of clouds I used metallic shimmer paints for some of the polymer clay bits. It is approximately 22 inches in height.

Next in line is the fire element. His skin is created using paints that have pumice and lava bits added in to create a very textured surface. He is painted in the colors of molten lava. I used metallic gold and russet to color his hands, feet and head.

Lastly we have the water element. I used a glass beads medium mixed into the various colors of paint to create a bubble like texture on his skin. He is painted in shades of greens and blues with the metallic shimmering qualities of those colors added in. He also has turquoise beads and crystals applied to the surface. I made his head and face to be a little frog like.

These were a fun challenge to make for me as I had never attempted at that time any mixed media pieces. Happy to say that they were a hit as they all sold. It has been rather nice and sometimes humbling to look back into ones creative past. The journey has been amazing and I have learned so much over the years. My love of experimentation and trying out new products has produced some interesting results. When I feel rather timid and unsure of where to go I just remember how courageous I have been in willing to try almost anything creatively. Now I can say if it works, it works. If it doesn't, toss it aside and move on.

Have a great weekend one and all.