How to build an alternative statue ........

Hello everyone, Annette here......

I hoped you've all had a stunning Summer and are ready for an awesome Autumn.

My challenge this month was to create a statue representing the star sign Virgo......mmm that certainly made the old brain cells fizz.  SO......Virgo is represented by the virgin carrying wheat and she is an Earth sign.  With this knowledge I set off on my creative adventure.

Using the wood and metal base, I pushed this through a polystyrene egg (my egg came in 2 parts so I secured it was making tape around the centre and top to bottom) and then packed the bottom of the spike with foil to stop the egg from slipping down.  I used the egg so that I could get a nice full skirt that was supported underneath.

I then built up the top of the egg so that when the plaster head was seated on top the proportions were more balanced.


To attach the head, I used Grace from the European range,  take a piece of foil and wrap it around the figure just below the shoulders and attach to the plaster with masking tape (only a small amount needs to be on the plaster as this will determine your neckline).


Now open up the pocket you have made, with the foil, and sit it on top of the extended egg.  You may need to tear up the sides slightly to get it to sit properly.  Secure with masking tape making sure it is well attached.

As my statue is going to be carrying something, I needed to add hands and arms.  Take a piece of foil and fold it to create a narrow strip.  Place the hands at either end ensuring that the thumbs are pointing upwards at both ends.  Now wrap the foil around the wrists and secure with masking tape.

Take this strip and lay along the back of the plaster head placing the hands to the front.  Check the positioning of the hands and if necessary fold the strip back onto itself behind the shoulders if the arms are too long.  Secure to the back with more masking tape.




Using small pieces of foil fill out the arms and round them out.  Also check that you are happy with the shaping at the waist and the back of the statue, use pieces of foil to build out any areas which need more shaping.

Once you are happy with the overall shape and positioning cover everything with masking tape and then coat the whole statue, including the plaster head, body and base with a layer of Ivory Powertex. Lay a small piece of clingfilm between the hands and body to stop them sticking together.

Now let this dry


For the clothing I used Ivory Powertex and worked it through strips of Natural Paper Decoration for the bodice/sleeves and muslin for the skirt, I used four separate pieces of muslin so that I could shape each piece over the fullness of the egg.  It is also easier to work with smaller pieces that one larger piece.

Let this dry.

I liked her at this stage and would be happy leaving her here however she needed something to represent the Earth sign so.....

I took a piece of Powertex Rice Paper (the one I choose had images of the earth/sun and moon on which fitted perfectly with the Earth sign) and using a wet paintbrush I drew around the shapes I wanted before pulling them from the piece.  This causes a feathered edge which blends into your background better than a cut straight edge.

Using Powertex Easy Coat Matt varnish, I attached the pieces to the dry clothing.  I coated both the clothing and the back of the rice paper then pressed the piece into place.  Using a soft brush starting at the centre of the rice paper smooth it out towards the edges,  this stops it tearing and ensures it is all stuck down.  Now take some more varnish and coat the front of the rice paper ensuring you go over the edges.

Leave this to dry

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She now needed colour adding in to pull everything together.


On a spare piece of fabric I tried using tea stain to see if this would work but decided it was too flat.






I played around and found that the Powercolor Yellow worked perfectly so I mixed this with Easy Varnish and heavily dry brushed the clothing.

For the hair I mixed the yellow with mocha Powercolor to give it more interest.  The eyeliner and eyebrows are a thin line of Bronze Gold  Colortrix and varnish  and the lipstick is coral Powercolor.

To finish her, I found some seed heads in a nearby field and made a small bunch for her to hold.

You could make a statue to represent any of the Zodiac star signs and use different rice papers to tie into the specific attributes of the sign.

I hope you've enjoyed this project and look forward to seeing what you make.  Don't forget to post your pictures on our facebook Powertex Addicts United or Powertex Studio

Until next time, happy Creative Adventures

Axx

What a hoot!

What a Hoot! - by Abigail Lagden

I have loved the owl templates since Powertex first introduced them, so imagine my delight when I opened my design team parcel to find not just the owl, but lots of extra embellishments and shapes too in the Project Pack Owl. Here they all are:

I wanted my owl to have lots of texture and ruffles, so I also used the following bits I had lying around (very little gets thrown away in our house if it is deemed to be powertexable and I judge just about everything on a texture rating) :

• Some part-shredded cardboard packaging (courtesy of my Powertex parcel!)
• Some zig-zag corrugated cardboard which had been protective packaging around a plant pot
• Some embroidered, stretchy peach fabric which those of you who have been to one of my workshops will know I affectionately call my 'hideous fabric' - I hate all skin coloured clothing and also know this would be a nightmare to sew with.
• Some t-shirt material
• Some flat cotton yarn
• Some cotton lace with a circle design
• Some elasticated, ruffled, cotton lace

This is how my owl was created:

1.   I used the wings as templates to draw around and cut the embossed paper to size. These were coated with bronze powertex and stuck onto the mdf wings and the top surface painted over.

2.  The owl shaped mdf base was fully painted with bronze powertex

3.  The ruffled lace was used in strips for the tail and the shredded cardboard laid across this to form the branch.

4.  One of the mdf rings was wrapped with the flat cotton yarn. One of the circles from the lace was cut out and attached to the other mdf ring.

5.  The corrugated cardboard was cut to make a shape to cover the owl's belly. This was attached using powertex and painted over.

6.  The 'hideous fabric' was used to add some ruffled texture around the corrugated cardboard.

7.  T-shirt fabric was used on the face and ruffled around the two mdf rings which became its eyes.

8.  The feet, beak, button and butterflies were then positioned, and finally the gorgeous eye.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words... so I guess a video must be worth at least a thousand more. To prove that point (and also because it easier than stopping to take photos when 'in the zone') I have included a couple of time-lapse videos in this blog to show you my project's emergence.

This one shows the owl being 'built'.

And this video shows the colour being dry brushed onto the owl. I used different blends of burgundy, red ochre, yellow ochre, orange and white powercolor pigments, followed by some rich gold and bronze gold colortricx.

I hope you found the videos useful. You can see more of what I have been up to on my facebook page.

Take care. Until next time, Abs xx