Encaustics and stitches

A few years ago, I was reading a book about Galileo, and it mentioned a book he wrote called A Discourse on Floating Bodies. I loved the title, and thought about what the cover of such a book would look like. This is the first attempt:

A Discourse on Things that Float, I

encaustic on board

This is the second attempt:

A Discourse on Things that Float II

Encaustic on Clayboard

Rhaynie and Igor were playing around in the yard last night, and Rhaynie crashed into a bush. A branch stabbed her in the side, and cut a hole about 1 inch long. We had to take her in to get three stitches:

I think it probably looks a lot worse than it is, but it sure looks gross. She is very tolerant, and hasn't complained at all.

Halloween

Hallowween got me thinking about vampire and werewolf hunting kits again, and I decided I would tackle one this year. I was trying to find just the right antique container, but I could wait forever for that, so I am going to make one and age it myself.

I made this basilisk tooth a while ago, but I think it will work quite well as a werewolf tooth. I have it stored in a small wooden tea box, with a bit of raffia for padding. The tea boxes seem like something that would be used to store specimens in a museum. They are made from very soft wood like balsa, so it is easy to sand off the label, and they have a sliding cover.

encaustic

I have been playing with the encaustics again as well. I bought a new iron (my old one caught on fire) so I finally managed to get back to learning how to use the medium. I haven't quite got the hang of making it smooth or rough where I want it, and of course I am going to blame it on not having the right equipment, but it is getting closer to what I am aiming for. This is a mountain view by where we go camping (between Banff and Jasper). It is a 5x7.

Pumpkins

It has been a rough spring and summer, but I think life is gradually returning to normal. Our house still needs some furniture, my organized studio is a mess, and the dogs leave the house covered in mud every day, but those are relatively normal events that are easy to deal with, given enough time.

Now that fall is here, with cooler weather, earlier dusk and Halloween just around the corner, I am also feeling much more inspired to play. Not that I have a lot to show for it, what with all the cleaning (I shampooed the carpets twice on the weekend!), but I got a bit of time to play with some polymer clay, and made a bunch of tiny jack-o-lanterns. They are about an inch and a half including the stems.

Reborn Jaden

I finally decided to try making a reborn doll. I don't usually like to do kits, and this one was more than $200, but she is a really beautiful doll. I am really happy with the painting, and she looks so lifelike it is almost creepy - I feel like I am neglecting her if I leave her alone in a room. However, I was really not happy with the hair. I couldn't get it rooted so it looks natural, although that may have been caused by using dark hair instaed of light. I think I will try a very light alpaca hair on the next one (yes, I was happy enough with the results that I think I will do another one). And maybe I can find some blond eyelashes as well - all I could find was black, and it didn't look very realistic.

I put in real hair eyebrows too, and they ended up a bit scruffy, and the hairs are too thick, so the alpaca might be just the right texture for the next one. I chose Jaden because she looks like Gwen, but of course Gwen's hair was very short and she more bald than anything, so adding hair made Jaden look quite a bit different.

I was making a captured fairy for my sister as a birthday present, and got into a bit of a rush to finish. I put it in the oven before it was fully heated, and the broiler came on and burned the hands and feet. I am going to have to start all over, and won't be able to deliver it as planned.
He kind of looks like he was digging in the dirt. Or maybe an oil slick off the gulf coast....

Best in Breed!

Rhaynie won best in breed at the show on the weekend, despite my inept handling! Woohoo!
Now I just need to learn how to do this properly so she can place in the group again!