I get part way through projects and smack the palm of my hand against the side of my head thinking, "You dummy, you should have taken pictures along the way!"  By the time I think of it (or my mother does) its too late.  I'm usually slopping paint all over my project with the prior steps just a pinpoint in my artistic rearview mirror.  Mother Nurture, unfortunately,  is no different.

As with my Theatre de L'amour project, you have the opportunity to learn from my "mistakes".  And I made a couple here, so pay attention and do as I say, not as I do!

Even though this is the first time I have worked with Hearty Clay, I've always loved the stuff.  I have some sort of compulsive desire to squish it in its package.  If you ever order some from Joggles and note what appears to be a thumb sized indentation in the package, I swear, it wasn't me. 

As it turns out, Hearty Clay is great for more than just soothing OCD tendencies.  Its lightweight, air-dries to a firm consistency in about 24 hours, requires no kneading and is acid-free and non-toxic.  As well as white, it comes on a range of colors that are all mixable.  It takes paint well, and doesn't have any annoying side effects, like leaching oils into the surface that it is molded onto.  As it just starts to dry (think 25 to 30 minutes), it does some pretty cool stuff if you try to further manipulate it.  I got some pretty neat "gnarled tree bark" looking results when I twisted the branches and roots.

Despite being lightweight, it still needs reinforcing if you draw it too far out, like on my tree limbs.  I used some standard armature wire to support them.  Just to be on the safe side, I also propped the limbs up for a while until the clay started to set up.

See the hole in the tree where my little bird friend lives?  You'll note that there is no hole in the doll form when you get it.  With a steak knife and a little surgery, you too can create a gaping hole in your project that will scare the bejeezus out of you until you come up with something clever to put in there.  It can be therapeutic, too.  And by the way, if you choose to hack up your project, either do it prior to adding clay, or after the clay dries.  Otherwise, like me, you'll end of with bits of paper hopelessly stuck in the clay.  If anyone asks me, I say its texture.  The key is to say it in a way that conveys that I knew exactly what I was doing, thank you very much.

But, honestly, I like texture.  Texture provides visual interest and is also an excellent way to cover up and boo-boos.  For texture, I chose cheesecloth.  I also chose Golden's Fiber Paste.  Because its base is acrylic, it blends well with paints like Lumiere.  Its great for building up surfaces (read: fixing boo-boos) and creating texture.  I applied the cheesecloth directly to the surface of the doll form and the dried Hearty Clay with a blend of Fiber Paste and a base color of Lumiere.  I continued to layer on various colors of Lumiere (without fiber paste) until I was happy with the overall effect.

My little bird friend has a mate who is dutifully bringing back bits of copper wire for their nest.  Both he and his lady-friend were sculpted from Hearty Clay and then painted with Lumiere.

All of the leaves were made from sheets of copper or copper mesh from some of the Keepsakes and Crafts Metals Packs.  The metal is soft enough to be cut out with scissors.  Once cut out, I used a ball stylus to make the veins.  Over a semi-soft surface, such as a pad of paper, trace the overall vein structure on one side of the leaf.  Then turn it over and outline around the veins to make them stand out further.  It takes a bit of playing to get the hang of it, and your results will be determined by your own patience as well as tastes.  To give the leaves an "autumnal" look, I used heat.  Specifically a blow torch. 

A few words of caution: BLOW TORCHES ARE EXTREMELY DANGEROUS.  If you are unsure how to operate one, always seek assistance and ALWAYS WEAR PROPER PROTECTION.  I strongly suggest employing not only safety glasses, but a protective apron and heat resistant gloves.  I also used a 12" long hemostat to ensure I didn't get any closer to the flame than necessary. 

ALWAYS READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS AND PRODUCT LABELS.  FOLLOW ALL PRECAUTIONS TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR PERSONAL INJURY. 

You may look like a goofball, but at least you'll be a goofball with all of your fingers and both of your eyebrows.  If you are the least bit uncomfortable using a blow torch, choose something else such as an embossing gun.    As with the blow torch, all of the same precautions apply.

Watch the metal react in the heat.  The process is very fast with the blow torch and slower and more controlled with an embossing gun.  The metal turns blues, reds, oranges and yellows and then eventually takes on a dull finish.  In my opinion, that's a bit too far.  The interest, to me, is in the exotic colors you can coax out.  Most of my leaves went too far.  The good news is that they can be salvaged.  When they've cooled,  use a paper towel to buff them out.  They'll brighten up a bit, leaving that dull residue behind around the veins.  For visual pop, hold them over a candle flame.  Wait for the soot to collect.  When it cools, buff off the soot and you'll find, especially on the backside, that the veins collect the soot.

Back to my little bird friend.  She's nesting in some copper threads.  Those are copper from the same Keepsakes and Cards Metals Pack with the mesh in it.  Trust me when I tell you this: Me, you, everyone, we all have better things to do than pick this stuff apart.  I did it because I had it on hand.  If that's what you choose to do, you're loonier than I thought, because I rather drive 50 miles to the hardware store than pick at that mesh again.

When the time came to adhere all of my hard work, I chose E6000.  I bet they could fix Boston's Big Dig Project with that stuff.  If you don't live in the US, up in New England, that doesn't make much sense.  Google it.  Google knows everything.  Anyhow, E6000 is great stuff.  It dries clear but remains slightly flexible.  Its fumy stuff though, so watch out!  When you start seeing miniature pink elephants driving about your studio in little race cars, its time for some fresh air.  Once the leaves are in place you may want to bend and curl them a bit to make them look more realistic.  After you do, stand back and admire your work!

Materials List:

•13" Papier Mache Doll Form
•1/8" armature wire
• (2) - 5.25 oz. Hearty Clay
• Assorted colors of Lumiere
• Golden Mediums Fiber Paste
• Cheesecloth
• Keepsakes and Cards Metals Pack
• Ball Stylus
•12" Hemostat
• Blow Torch or Embossing Gun
   with appropriate safety equipment

I'd love to hear what you think.
Contact me with questions or comments at jessica@joggles.com

Copyright © 2007Jessica Rich.  May not be copied or used without written permission.

Questions? Comments? Please email barbara@joggles.com

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