Powertex goes Industrial

Hi I'm Kore, artist, crafter and tutor at SkySage Studio. I'm bringing you my industrial Powertex make using the Owl Project Kit. I've always loved birds of prey and I had a close encounter with a rescued barn owl once. She was called Willow and she wasn't nearly as excited as I was!

My industrial owl project is inspired by my love of the film Bladerunner. Real animals are rare in that futuristic world and synthetic, fake animals were kept instead. So here is my half organic, half machine owl.

The owl project pack contains everything needed to make a beautiful owl for indoor or outdoor display. I add some Stone Art, a drop of ivory Powertex and some red Bister spray to my ingredients!

I start by painting my mdf pieces with the bronze Powertex. While it's wet I adhere one of the wings down. I've already decided I'm going to decorate my owl in two halves so I add a thin layer of Stone Art powder to the right side of the wet Powertex. This makes a great natural texture. As you can see I'm not too precise with it!

I leave the Stone Art to dry and add strips of lace, covered with Powertex and lay them out down the left side. Some Easy Structure paste through letter stencils is layered on top of the Stone Art. I'm not trying for readable words, just random shapes. The Stone Art leaves a soft "furry" feel on the right side.

While that's drying I mix up some Stone Art clay with the bronze Powertex. Just enough to cover the raised wing and make some textured feathers. I press the clay onto the wing, thick enough to press in some metal embellishments, painting them, layering them up and sticking them down with Powertex.

I roll out the left over clay and use the wooden beak shape as a template to cut out some feathers. When the Easy Structure paste is dry, it's time to paint everything with bronze Powertex and start adding the rest of the embellishments.

Adding the geometric pieces from the Drop Outs creates the machine like shapes. I've chosen my pieces so now I just keep layering them up, wooden shapes, metal pieces and my Stone Art clay feathers. I check everything is covered with bronze Powertex ready for dry brushing.

While I wait for that to dry off I prepare the wooden circle for the eye. I apply some ivory Powertex, and Bister with heat for this lovely crackle technique. Time to wait for everything to dry....

I choose Copper and Green pigments to add colour by mixing with Easy Varnish. Dry brushing on Green for the organic parts and Copper for the machine parts. I use some white highlights for contrast but the pigments in the pack can be mixed for lots of options. The green and copper look brilliant together.

The final pieces are dropped into place on the eye and a quick check for the need for any more white highlights.

Here she is, my mechanical Willow.

I got so absorbed by this project. Just me and my Powertex. I have all these pieces left over for another project!

Don't forget to post your finished project in our Facebook group at Powertex Addicts United. I'd love to hear what inspires your owl project.

You can find more of my art on my Facebook page SkySage Studio.

Until next time, let your art out to play!

Kore x