Two Less Heads on Sticks

I love to sculpt faces and I generally have several "heads on sticks" (sculpted heads on dowels) sticking in the tool holder or in the paintbrush basin on my studio table. Sometimes it takes me a while to get around to completing the dolls.

Professor Pocus changed so many times from the original concept (and his head had been around my studio for a couple of years). Originally I intended to do a European style hobo clown holding a skeletal umbrella. The idea was to put him in the guest room when I had it painted. I sculpted his head, hands and feet and there he sat in that state for over a year.

Then I had the idea to use him in a box, he was going to be a magician with a top hat with a rabbit coming out of the top of the hat on his head. I began working on the box...but...that's not really what he wanted to be either.

The box took on a more rustic look and I added the great feet by Tim Holtz. The box dictated that he be more of the traveling snake oil salesman, so I started working on that concept.

I was doing his body out of a piece of 2x4. I drilled and glued and attached his hands, arms and head. Again it sat, not quite coming together.

Last month when the gals were over for our monthly art play day, I got the idea to carve out the center of the 2x4. I dug out my handcarving tools and started working on hollowing out the center. (Husband asked why I didn't just go out to his shop and use the power tools - heck, it was 104 degrees that day & it is an uninsulated metal building).

Once I carved out the center, he began coming together quickly. I used grunge board and dies to cut gears. I painted them and added them inside the 2x4. I also used Tim's sprocket gears. I decoupaged pages from an old book on the top hat and dressed him with mulberry paper. I found the perfect item in my stash for him to hold, one of the Industrial Chic pieces I had picked up from Michaels several months ago.

So now I'm proud to introduce Professor Pocus & his Traveling Magic Show.

The other head on a stick that had been sitting around my studio was done with an air-dry clay that I was testing (I love this stuff - I do hope it becomes available soon). I decided that I wanted a cloth doll for this one, so I got out one of my Patti Culea books, Creative Cloth Doll Couture and used the pattern from it. I made the doll body and it was too small. I had to enlarge the pattern. The second doll was much better sized.

I gessoed the doll and painted her with Tim Holtz crackle paint. I used distress inks to enhance the crackles and to give her some aged character. I choose old laces to dress her and created her boots, skirt and belt from ostriche hide. I liked the hat that I'd done for the professor so much that I took rusted sewing patterns and stamped on them to decoupage on her hat. I added a Boutique Fleur flower from the Recollections collection with lace to trim her hat. I haven't decided on a name yet...any ideas?

Valentine's

I hadn't played around with altered or paper arts in quite a while. I decided to do some items for Valentines this year. The first picture shows altered recipe boxes. I got the recipe boxes from the Fun Finds section at Michaels. I sealed them with gesso and had fun with several different types of paint. I stamped and embossed, added grungeboard embossed hearts, rusted jewelry components and stamped shrinky dink images to create a less traditional Valentine. I filled them with chocolate and travel size lotions, bath gels and such to give to my friends.

I also did some bookmark tag Valentines with hearts. I covered the tags with decorative paper, did some stamping, some masking, inked the edges, added hearts, ribbon, Prima flowers and such to make more non-traditional Valentine's.

One of the art doll egroups I belong to did a Queen of Hearts swap. I used a dollar store porcelain doll as the base for my doll. Her wings are wire and screen, she is covered with tissue paper and painted. She has stamped embellishments and a brass pressing crown.

The local polymer clay guild meeting is on Valentine's Day this year. Our swap theme is nature, so I did the turtle pins. We are supposed to wrap our swap items and I thought since it is Valentine's, I would wrap them appropriately. I made pilow boxes from red gloss cardstock and added Prima flowers and ribbon.