Thursday, June 30, 2011

Happy Canada Day!


 HAPPY CANADA DAY EVERYONE! 

Enjoy your friends and family.

Have a picnic or a special date.

"OOOH" and "AAHHH" with the rest of the crowd watching the fireworks.

HOORAY FOR CANADA!

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Things are coming along.

Here are some images of items that I am working on at the moment. I have mentioned before that I don't do drawings of the pieces that I create. I have found that if I design it first that I am held, no trapped, in finishing the piece "the way it should be". There are also the engineering problems that arise. How do I attach the back of the case while still being able to dress the the figure and paint the background. I am figuring this out at the moment with two very large portrait rattles that I am working on. There are no pictures of them because I forgot to bring them down to photograph.

This large brass shade will be turned into a parade lantern. On the left are four figures with their own treat pails. I have to paint the heads, build up the bodies with batting, and then dress them. I am in the process of figuring out the background and how to attach it so that each side is recessed but the interior will allow a battery operated tea light to be inserted. Oh, I forgot... there is the handle to sort out as well. There is a lot of behind the scenes work for each piece going on. The way I work is more like solving a puzzle, when the puzzle is solved the piece is finished.

This large head is resting on a paper covered wire tree. The finished piece will be a costumed figure holding a Hallowe'en tree all ready for the future owner to decorate.

The last picture shows some of the heads ready to be sanded and painted.

I must get back to work.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Happy Father's Day!


I have spent hours trying to find a picture of my dad and for the life of me don't know where to find one.


If my wife was here, she is in Toronto visiting our new grandchild, she would point me in the right direction.


So instead here are three vintage Father's Day cards. Times have changed, not that many men smoke any more!

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Studio Update

As I promised, here is an update with what I have been working on.

Here is a sample of some of the new moulds. The large moulds are from 6" - 8"  tall. The smallest heads, twelve of them, are between 1" and about 2". With this size range I could, if I wanted to, have a large candy container holding a treat bucket, this treat bucket would hold a treat bucket, the next treat bucket doing the same, ditto for this one, and the same for this treat bucket. That would be five little guys trick or treating! I don't know if I'll do that but you get the idea, Maybe you don't, that was a pretty cryptic sentence!

I will also use them for figures. With this size range I have greater diversity with what I can do.

I am so excited! Bye for now, it is back to work!

Saturday, June 4, 2011

I have been making lady's fingers...

As well as men's fingers and children's fingers.

I make each individual finger and toe for the figures. It is time consuming but well worth it for the finished piece.

Most of my time has been spent casting heads to be used for candy containers and figures. Some of them will be further altered by carving, sanding and building up the features. The painting and positioning the tilt of the head is what brings the face and figure to life.

I have a bunch of branches that had I produced a while back that will be used for some figures. They will also be used to create a Hallowe'en tree to display the candy container ornaments at Hallowe'en and Vine.

This is just a very quick update about the goings on around here.

I was going to post it sooner but my grandson, Ethan Charles Long arrived and totally upstaged everything that was happening around here. I love you Ethan!