Balancing Act – A Polymer Clay Figure

Balancing Act

This week-end, I continued to stick to my resolve to begin (and complete, hopefully) projects that I have been thinking of for what seems like forever. This project is actually at least 7 years in my head. This is figure #1 in a series of 8.

Here’s a shot without the experimental background, that’s another story. But this story begins in 2003 when I was director of the Highlands Art League. We were having a children’s furniture painting class one summer and I was in a thrift shop looking for inexpensive chairs and I found these beveled glass light shades.

There were 8 of them and only $1.00 each and I couldn’t walk away. We were restoring 3 old houses from the 1920s and I thought maybe we could use them somewhere.  I also saw bases for figures in my head. Mixed media art dolls if you will. Maybe a class when I had time?

I bought them and donated them to the cause.

I left the art league for a couple of years around 2004 and didn’t return until 2006. While cleaning and sorting, I came across them in a box on a shelf. A volunteer said, “We have no idea what they are or what to do with them.” I laughed and decided nothing was ever going to happen with them there, so a took them home with me a create  those figures in my head.

Her nose is kind of big and there’s a reason. It’s been awhile since I’ve done any sculpting and on the second baking, I covered her with tin foil again, but not well enough and her nose got very, very brown.

I had to cut off her nose to spite her face and build a new one. It ended up a tad bit bigger and not quite as nice, but I save her I happy to say.

Then next baking I remembered to cover her nose with polyfil after first heat setting with my heat gun.

I’m still playing around with what will be inside the beveled glass, but I just wanted to get her picture up and start another one. Practice, practice, practice.

Thanks for stopping by today.