Saturday, June 27, 2009

Something new....

Sorry for being absent this past week. I was trying to sculpt and finish up some details on a few pieces and ran into a snag. I opened a new bag of paper mache mix and evidently there was more powder binder in this bag than normal because my hands started cracking and the clay was setting up within a 10 to 15 minute period of being mixed...which isn't normal!! When my hands started having a burning tingle as I put them in water I knew it was time to stop and rethink what I was doing. Because my hands needed a day out of the clay I painted yesterday and have the initial coats on two of the Haunted Harvest figures' heads....now, they aren't done, but I have a start on them and thought I would show you what I have been up to.


Lillian Lumina and Squish Squash....they are distant cousins.

Lillian has a bit more work to be done on her lips as I got carried away with her lip gloss....

and I have more layers of glazing to do on the surface of Squish Squash's head. You'll learn more about his name as the figure is completed.

Today is laundry and more painting...I told my husband we need a wife to cook and clean for us and he just smiled at me. I'm not sure what he meant with that smile and decided it was best not to ask.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the Mad Tea Party today!! (I wanted to play but other obligations got in my way!! )

Laurie

13 comments:

Christopher A. Klingler said...

FUN new WIP pieces Laurie.

Busy...busy!

You GO with your current Gorey challenge piece auction...worth every penny! '-)

Enjoy your weekend!

Chris

XOXO

Unknown said...

I love these two little guys (gals) . They have great appeal!

Judy C said...

They are wonderful

yoborobo said...

Hi Laurie!
You know, I have gotten that same exact smile from my husband. :) (And I decided not to ask, too!) The lip gloss is fabulous, they are both going to be spectacular!!!! Have a great weekend. xox Pam

Monkey-Cats Studio said...

Thanks Chris...no one was more surprised than me!

Hello Doris...one is female...that would be Lillian, and brainy Squish Squash is a little boy. I have a little tuft of hair planned for Lillian so maybe that will help. I hadn't done any veggie heads besides pumpkins so I'm having a little fun with the conehead looking figures.

Pam...that look is kind of scary when it comes with a strange half-smile. Kept me from asking the question..giggle!! I hope they finish nicely. I just want my hands to heal so I can finish them little arms and fingers!

Thanks for stopping by all!
Laurie

Unknown said...

They are wonderful...Sorry about your hands..

Smiles,
Sonia :)

Hubby gives me same smiles alllll the time!!

PJHornbergerFolkArtist.com said...

You do the very best faces... love these... careful with those hands... rubber gloves? PJ

Monkey-Cats Studio said...

Hey Sonia, thank you!! Hands did pretty well for the first couple of hours and then the hand lotion and bag balm gave out. :(

PJ...thank you PJ, I love making the little faces. I can't wear gloves when I work because the clay sticks to them, but I can put lotion on at night and then put gloves on....they will get better when I get out the clay to paint. It was just a really bad batch of paper mache mix.

Thank you both!
Laurie

PEA said...

OH you poor thing. I have terrible skin and have them crack, bleed and even sometimes so swollen that I can't open them from the claw position they are in so I can totally relate.
Hope your hands get the rest they need. SO when is hubby getting the other wife to come in and cook for ya? LOL That was funny. I would do it for ya if I could watch ya work? LOL
Your new pieces are extraordinary as always. LOVE the names you come up with as well.
Have a wonderful week and hope you get some R & R soon.
Hugs,Pea

Chicken Lips said...

Love 'em Laurie!!!! I especially like the elongated "gourd head"...just brilliant! I had some problems this weekend as well with my Fastmache. It was really irritating my hands! What's that all about?!

Monkey-Cats Studio said...

Pea,
My skin usually doesn't crack like this so this was a huge surprise and irritating. I slept with my hands lathered up with gloves last night and I'm continuing to use the bag balm. Thanks for the offer. He read the blog last night and just shook his head at me...guess that means I don't get a wife.

David,
I had a little trouble this winter when I had my hands in clay everyday, but not like this. It's like the setting agent in the fastmache ate my skin. I have peeling like I had blisters, only I didn't have blisters, and putting my hands in water just sends them tingling...in an unpleasant way. I got three sets of hands/arms finished and had to quit yesterday. I slept in gloves last night and was a little disappointed they weren't much better. More bag balm and utter cream today. Nuts!!!!

PEA said...

Sweetie,
have you tried Eucerin cream? My doc said it is the best for skin irritations. Make sure you get the cream and not the lotion. It comes in a squaty jar and I also do the cotton gloves at night. I also take vit. E everyday as well as switch off the eucerin with cortazone 10. It all seems to help. Maybe try it. bag bom didn't seem to help me neither did the udder cream.
hugs,Pea

Little Dollings by Brenda O. said...

Hmm, Laurie.. I'm wondering what's in the mache to cause such irritation? Sorry you suffer so much, to bring these cuties to life. (gee, sounds a bit childbirth-ish!!)

I try the 'need a maid and a chef' line around here, too... Still got no maid and no chef... ;)

LOVE the new veggies!!
hugs,
Brenda