The Nose

I posted last week about progress on The Nose - commissioned as a carnival game for our local radio station KFSK's Kiddie Carnival on the Fourth of July.  Here are a couple more shots of the process:

 

I began with chicken wire, bending it to a nose-shaped armature and stapling to the pre-spray-painted  4'x5' sheet of plywood.

 Working with paper mache is something I really love.  My favorite paste recipe is as follows:

1 1/2 parts flour

1part cool water

1/4 part white (PVA) glue

Put water in a mason jar, dump in flour, put on the lid and shake well to blend, then add glue and shake some more.  Mixture should be consistency of thick cream.

The finished Nose - a bucket of small toys will be placed within reach of those toddlers brave enough to reach their hands up into the Nose.

Credit for this concept goes to the radio station' talented staff - I was just the maker.

Happy Independence Day tomorrow, those of us living in USA.

(Flossy can't wait for the Dog Parade and Variety Show, and may be posting her report here)!

 

 

Scene, Recently #34

It has been a game of catch-up since Daughter flew back to her home last week but I do not regret a moment of the days spent on 'stay-cation' with her.  One project I got busy on immediately after she got on the jet is the Nose - a carnival game for our local radio station KFSK's Kiddie Carnival at the July 4th celebration.

 

The Nose - paper mache on plywood - work in progress

 My morning walks continue to fill me with serenity, which sometimes flies away later in these busy days.

This morning a layer of fog glided along the Wrangell Narrows.

One thing I love about Blogland is the opportunity to exchange art with some fabulous artists.  The past week my post office box yielded an envelop of mail-art treasure from Connie Rose. 

Mail Art from Connie Rose

artist trading card from Connie

Thanks, Connie - an ATC in return is on my list, way up near the top.  As soon as I finish this Nose...

Happy mid-week, All!

Three Ring Circus

Whew!  The days sure flew by this week, kicking off with a wearable art workshop I taught through our wonderful local library.

I had one student, J, a very focused third grader who brought her own recycled fabrics and great design idea drawn up in her sketch book.  Very impressive!

headband sketch by 8 year old student

While my librarian friend and I cut out flower shapes for her, J stitched away on her project, attaching the flowers to her t-shirt with buttons and beads and sequins.  

She designed this charming headband to accessorize her outfit (see sketch above).

After 2 solid hours of determined hand sewing, J's wearable art was complete. She was pleased and we were amazed at her tenacity.

Back at my studio, more wearable art is evolving as I develop a second 'look' for next month's show.  This one will be modeled by a young friend of mine.  

The base for the head piece is 16 ga. wire bent to encircle the head and rest on the shoulders

Cardboard shoulder pieces being attached to the wire frame with paper mache.  (My paste recipe is 1.5 parts flour to 1 part cool water plus .25 part white glue, stirred smooth).

These silk yoyos will adorn the head piece, along with leaves fashioned from the velveteen I dyed last week.

Hand-dyed rayon with Dynaflow textile paint vines and leaves.   (These are incorporated into the skirt).

I also spent some time wandering through my fabric deciding on a split complementary palette for the next Fiberactions challenge.  All in all, a great work week.  I like the three-ring circus approach, do you?