Drawing a blank but the inspiration is always there

I thought that I would give you a glimpse into the way that I create my sculptures, in particular my "Landscape Rattle, By the Light of the Silvery Moon" that is in this months EHAG Emporium.

I don't design any of my sculptures. I run headlong into the making portion, sometimes with an idea and sometimes I just starting making a prop or base for the sculpture, point A, progressing on to point B. Sometimes,quite often actually, point B just doesn't work and so another alternative has to be created; the journey for me, seeing where I end up, is what it so much fun... and surprising.

My post about the making of the trees was point A for my last sculpture "By the Light of the Silvery Moon". Designing this way is scary sometimes but it keeps me on my toes, I have to be conscious of every element that is being created or replaced.

I had the trees but that was it. I was depressed because there was not a single idea... blah, blah, blah...

I felt empty because there was no direction... blah, blah, blah...

I never design my sculptures... blah, blah, blah...

they occur organically... blah, blah, blah...

if I did drawings like everyone else I would have an idea... blah, blah, blah...

(Sometimes the above happens, thankfully not that often.)

The only thought that came to mind was the paper wrapping the barrel of the drum rattle, I had used it for the “Landscape Rattle, Ambrose and Monty, his Parade Lantern”...

as well as the “Landscape Rattle, William and Timothy and the Toffee Apple”; I didn't want to use the painted paper for a third time.

I headed to my paper drawer; this paper was the inspiration. The colour combination didn't feel correct...

but this one the fit the bill.

A song or phase kept coming to my mind, "Dancing by the Light of the Silvery Moon". I had my idea, the Man-in-the-Moon dancing under the trees.

I looked up Jazz dance in Google images and found some great pictures of Fred Astaire...

and Gene Kelly. There it was my idea, pure gold, just waiting to be made.

I never intended to use two trees as they take a while to make and that translates into cost but he had to be dancing under two trees. He was strolling and dancing, having fun along the forest path.

I made the barrel rattle section of the sculpture added the trees and the realized that in order for the trees to appear tall I would have to make the Man-in-the-Moon about two inches to three inches tall. So much for my idea of pure gold, it s now a lump of lead. Are you starting to see how the process goes, point A sometimes does not necessarily connect to point B.

The Man-in-the-Moon is up at the top of the trees having a conversation with two of his friends and will on the ground shortly joining in on the fun.

Placing the Man-in-the-Moon in the top of the trees was challenging, I had to defy gravity. He had to have the appearance that he was floating above and in the tree limbs and not the tree limbs supporting him. I am pleased with how it turned out.

Merton, at the base of the tree on the left surrounded by the fireworks, helps to ground the composition. His eyes and the jumping jack firecracker on the ground in front of him direct your attention over to the dried yellow grasses at the base of the right hand tree which then direct your attention back up to the group at the top.

I had no idea that this is what the landscape rattle would look like. I am very pleased with the way it turned out. "Landscape Rattle, By the Light of the Silvery Moon is available here. 

The August EHAG Emporium is open!

HELLO!

I am so glad that you have stopped by to have a look at my offering for this months Emporium.

“Landscape rattle - By the Light of the Silvery Moon” - $350.00.

Who doesn't love a party! The Man-in-the-Moon has stopped by to join his friends for an evening of fun, food, and fireworks.

The barrel rattle that the landscape rests on is 5 3/4" wide and the ground that was built up with composition is roughly 3" wide. The cardboard cylinder was covered in a paper of my own design before adding the composition ground.

Inside the cylinder is a ½” wide x 2 1/2” high x 5 1/4” long piece of wood filling the centre of the interior, it has been glued in place.

Holes were drilled through the cardboard cylinder into the wood to hold the two 11 ¼ “ tall trees, the Jack-o-Lantern, his name is Merton not Jack as you would suppose, and the vintage turned wooden handle securely place. The handle is 5 1/2” long. Cardboard, painted black, covers each end of the rattle. Screw eyes were inserted in the centre of each end to hold the silver bells. It was then covered with a double layer of black glass glitter. Glue was painted over the glitter to hold it in place when the bells move across the surface.

The two tall trees were hand built from vintage florist pips, tissue paper, wire, and painted with acrylic paint. Check out this blog post to see the process of creating the trees.

The Man-in-the-Moon is made of composition and papier-mâché over wire. His colouring is built up with ten layers colours patted on by hand to achieve his mottled skin tone. In his right hand he is holding Arnold, a carrot lantern. Jane, a turnip lantern, is in his left hand.

At the base of the tree on the left side is Merton, a pumpkin lantern; he is surrounded by miniature handmade fireworks.

Sections of reindeer moss, corn silk, tiny twigs, and vintage yellow and purple florist stamens were glued around the base of the two tall trees at the back and in the front.

The composition ground has been painted with acrylic paint. Once dry, glue was liberally applied to the ground and a mixture of roasted sterilized soil, finely cut hand dyed green, brown, and natural sisal twine was dusted onto the glue.

This view shows a bit of my hand so that you can get an idea of the scale of the sculpture.

The overall size of the sculpture is 20” high, 8 1/2” wide from bell to bell, and approximately 3” deep.

This is a sculpture not a children's toy.

I will carefully pack this sculpture to ensure that it arrives safely to your home and will be a treasured part of your collection.

This sculpture arrives duty free into the US.

Please contact me at lenbenny@shaw.ca if you wish to purchase this sculpture. I accept Paypal as well as credit cards through Paypal.

Head over to "The EHAG Emporium" and have a look at what others in the group have available for sale.

Behind the scenes, how I build trees and shrubs.

Well, that title makes me sound like a master tree builder, creating these things for years on end, or is that in my mind alone!

The truth is that my wife and I love going for walks in the forest, the rural countryside, and by the ocean; we are so fortunate on the southern end of Vancouver Island that all of these areas are 5 to 20 minutes away from our home. I love looking at the plants and trees observing how the leaves and branches form as they grow as well as the landscape that they are growing in, so it is only natural that they pop up in the sculptures that I create.

The picture above is a bundle of vintage Made in Japan flower stamens that have been wrapped in tissue. Thirty-five years ago I bought the entire lot of stamens from a craft shop that was going out of business, at 75 cents a bundle that was a deal.

The batch of tissue wrapped stamens are then painted with a base coat of brown acrylic paint.

I sort the stamens into piles of one, two, and three stamens. The piles of two and three stamens are then wrapped in tissue paper and left to dry.

When they are dry they are then painted and left to dry. There is a lot of "Hurry up... and wait" during the creative process.

Wire is then cut into six to eight inch lengths. Each small branch is made up of a group of one, two, and three stamens.

The stems are painted, you can see at the bottom of the picture that I vary the placement of the one, two, or three stamen bundles.

Five stems are then wrapped together to create a larger limb. Several limbs create a tree. I use the branches and limbs to create trees or shrubs of different sizes.

Here are a few of the sculptures that have handmade branches and trees in them.

This decoration "Black Cat Came as a Bush" uses a crown made of leaves to create Black Cat's costume, a small bush with a pumpkin in a nest that is resting on his head.

I have created branch staffs for "ilexander", a holly berry candy container...

and this "Giant Portrait Rattle - Jack Came Dressed as an Autumn Jester".

This was the first tree that I created for one of my sculptures, a candy container and table centrepiece, "Patty, Wayne, and the Party Tree". The 24" tree is meant to be decorated with your personal ornaments.

This "Landscape Rattle - Ambrose and Monty His Parade Lantern" has my first very small tree, it stands 10 3/4" high, as part of the landscape.

I have used three small trees as part of the undergrowth for this sculpture, “Landscape Rattle - William and Timothy and the Toffee Apple”.

Bye for now, I must get into the studio and work.

The EHAG Emporium is open!

Hello!

You came by, I am so glad to see you!

“Landscape rattle, William and Timothy and the toffee apple” - $250.00.

Timothy loves toffee apples, he also doesn't mind giving his treat to William, one of his many friends. He knows there are so many toffee apples and treats to be had tonight that there is no reason to be greedy.

The barrel rattle that the landscape rests on is 6 1/4" wide and the ground that was built up with tinted composition is roughly 1 3/4" wide. The cardboard cylinder was covered in crushed, hand painted paper before adding the composition ground.

Inside the cylinder is a ½” wide x 1 1/2” high x 6 1/4” long piece of wood filling the centre of the interior, it has been glued in place.

Holes were drilled through the cardboard cylinder into the wood to hold the fence, the three small trees, the two figures, and the vintage turned wooden handle securely place. The handle is 10 ¾” long. Cardboard, painted black, covers each end of the rattle. Screw eyes were inserted in the centre of each end to hold the vintage brass bells. It was then covered with a double layer of black glass glitter. Glue was painted over the glitter to hold it in place when the bells move across the surface.

The three small trees were hand built from vintage florist pips, tissue paper, wire, and painted with acrylic paint. The wooden fence was made from branches from a vintage basket, nailed together with cigar box nails. The basket that Timothy is holding has been aged and distressed with paint.

 The back view shows William’s coat, also called a banyan, it was made from a piece of a vintage man’s scarf edged with black vintage trim. William stands 7 1/2" tall. Timothy’s clown costume was made from a vintage woman’s scarf lined with white silk. Timothy stands 4 3/8” tall.

The grey green composition that was used to make the ground that William and Timothy are standing on was painted with acrylic paint. Once dry, glue was liberally applied to the ground and a mixture of roasted sterilized soil, finely cut hand dyed green, brown, and natural sisal twine was dusted onto the glue.

Sections of vintage vegetal fibre rope, dyed raffia, corn silk, tiny twigs, and the three small handmade trees were glued around William’s feet at the back and in the front.

 This view shows a bit of my hand so that you can get an idea of the scale of the sculpture.

The overall size of the sculpture is 20” high, 8 1/2” wide from bell to bell, and approximately 3” deep.

 This is a sculpture not a children's toy.

I will carefully pack this sculpture to ensure that it arrives safely to your home to become a treasured part of your collection.

This sculpture arrives duty free into the US.

Please contact me at lenbenny@shaw.ca if you wish to purchase this sculpture. I accept Paypal as well as credit cards through Paypal.

Head over to "The EHAG Emporium" and have a look at what others in the group have available for sale.

The EHAG Emporium is open.

  HELLO!  

  HAPPY HALLOWE'EN!  

I am so glad that you stopped by to have a look at my sculpture - “Landscape rattle, Ambrose and Monty, his Parade Lantern”.

Ambrose and Monty, his parade lantern, are discussing the coming events for the evening.

Well, I suppose I will tell you about the making of this sculpture, what you can see as well as what you cannot see.

The barrel rattle that the landscape rests on is 5 1/4" wide and the ground that was built up with tinted composition is roughly 2" wide. The cardboard cylinder was covered in crushed, hand painted paper before adding the composition ground.

Inside the cylinder is a ½” wide x 2 ¼” high x 5” long piece of wood filling the centre of  the interior, it has been glued in place.

Holes were drilled through the cardboard cylinder into the wood to hold the fence, the tree, and the handle securely place. Cardboard, painted black, covers each end of the rattle. Screw eyes were inserted in the centre of each end to hold the vintage brass bells. It was then covered with black glass glitter. Glue was painted over the glitter to hold it in place when the bells move across the surface.

The 10 3/4" tall tree was hand built from vintage florist pips, tissue paper, wire, and painted with acrylic paint. The wooden fence was made from branches from a vintage basket; nailed together with cigar box nails. The basket with the miniature handmade fireworks was first aged, distressed with paint, and then screwed in place. I do not want anything to come unglued so I take many precautions such as this when building my sculptures.

This back view shows the orange velvet coat that Ambrose is wearing. It was made from a piece of vintage orange velvet ribbon. The collar of the coat comes from a piece of a vintage scarf. Ambrose stands 5 3/4" tall.

The grey green composition that was used to make the ground that Ambrose is standing on was painted with acrylic paint. Once dry glue was liberally applied to the ground and a mixture of roasted sterilized soil, finely cut hand dyed green, brown, and natural sisal twine was dusted onto the glue.

The tree has been glued into a hole drilled into the rattle. The trunk has also been nailed to the fence and also wired to the fence for security. Sections of vintage vegetal fibre rope were glued around the base of the tree interspersed with vintage yellow floral stamens to resemble weeds.

More weeds and dried grass were added to the base of the other fence post.

This view shows a bit of my hand so that you can get an idea of the scale of the sculpture.

The overall size of the sculpture is18” high, 6 ¾” wide from bell to bell, and approximately 4 ½” deep.

$250.00 plus $35.00 postage.  This sculpture arrives duty free into the US.

When I pack this sculpture it will be carefully wrapped, the tree bent over onto the sculpture so as not to require a larger box and much more postage. The tree can be carefully bent back into shape without damaging it.

Please email me at lenbenny@shaw.ca if you wish any more information or to purchase this sculpture.

I take PayPal and can also take credit cards through PayPal. I do not take personal cheques.