Yoga Tree Pose

WOW! what a project…over 60 hours and I enjoyed every minute!

You can (talking to myself) research until you've memorized every tutorial on a product, but until you are up to your elbows in Paverpol, you won't figure out what works best for your particular project. I love scupture, so I wanted to do my own body. I decided to use Creative PaperClay since I hadn't used it before.

There is a full process video on my YouTube channel…it will be live in a few hours and I'll edit with the link here. Below are some step-out instructions.

STEP ONE:

Using a macrame ring and a circular piece of styrofoam, I made my base. When it broke into two halves, I ended up gluing and taping it to hold and left for a few days to cure.

STEP TWO:

The armature was a new one for me, too. It involved a left and right side, hand to foot. R and L mirror each other, with a bend for the shoulder, elbow, hip, knee and foot. Then a length of 16 gauge wire folded in half to form a head. The remaining wire wraps around the spine area of the left and right pieces. Viol å! A body! Now all I had to do was form the flesh and muscles.

STEP THREE:

Using aluminum foil and masking tape I started with the head. Remember to leave room for it getting bigger with the clay! I took my time with the features, learning how the clay worked for the result I wanted. Mine turned out a bit too big, but isn't that noticeable. Is it?

Now for the body. Foil and tape, then formed with clay. I modeled the position of the body as the clay setup. Working in stages, her waist developed a crack because I was not finished with the legs. I decided to anchor the foot to the opposite knee so it could stabilize.

After curing, I put a small piece of masking tape around the crack. Mixing some of the clay with water, I made a slurry. About the consistency of heavy cream, then I could brush on a thin layer to smooth out some of her lumps and bumps. After curing this time, I took to her with my Sand-It tools and dry sanded her.

STEP FOUR:

I brushed bronze Paverpol all over her body. I got a very smooth finish this way and was very pleased.

STEP FIVE:

Back to the base. I started with muslin strips and transparent Paverpol. That became an exercise in futility, so after it cured, I took an old grey t-shirt and used the sleeves to cover the base with two pieces. Added bonus is that the grey cloth turned a granite color when cured.

STEP SIX:

I started with a piece of cotton shop towel (Sam's Club Scott brand "Rags"). These are heavy duty and have no embossed pattern. I wanted to make it look like Yoga clothes. Using the transparent Paverpol again, I tinted it with ColourArte Primary Elements. I painted her body, formed the cloth, then painted a coat on top of the cloth, encouraging wrinkles wherever I could.

For her top, I used a piece of leftover cloth that had been tinted with wipe ups. It had the same color, but in a more tie-dyed pattern. I formed her top the same way, and coated her on top with transparent Paverpol.

With a coral crochet thread, I made a rope to tie around her waiste, and brushed it with the transparent Paverpol. I then used a single thread to decorate her top.

STEP SEVEN:

I made a braid with the clay because I wanted her braid to be on the outside of her top. When it cured, I painted it with Bronze Paverpol to match her body.

STEP EIGHT:

Looking through my stash, I found a spool of smoky blue wired ribbon. It was twisted under her extended leg and through her arms. It will be coated with transparent Paverpol and will wrap around the brass ring. With the remaining blue Paverpol, I plan to put a stencil on the base and age it to look weathered. I want a few days to resolve these last details.

No point in rushing her now!

xxoo
Vicki
all my social media links are at www.VickiRossArt.com. I welcome comments and lurkers!

Yoga Frog Repair

My Yogi at NWA Hot Yoga had an accident with a ceramic frog. I volunteered to see if I could repair it.

I pondered the engineering aspects of the repair for several days. After I was all finished (I thought), I found some source images online. Engineering clouded my usual research mind. As I started to write this blog post, I just had to try to remedy the fact that I had made the on top leg mold into the under leg. AND, the thumb is like concrete, so there is not anything i can do to that :)

There is a full process video on YouTube HERE, and I'll do some step-out instructions below.

MATERIALS:

Narrow Craft Sticks or Popsicle sticks

Glue Gun

Aluminum Foil

Masking Tape

Creative PaperClay

Chiffon fabric or other smooth fine fabric

Transparent PaverPol

Acrylic Paint

Sand-Its (optional)

STEP ONE:

Arrange the craft sticks in position, and use a generous amount of hot glue to make sure they are anchored well in the opening.  Begin to form the toes and foot with aluminum foil. With the masking tape, wrap the foil so it will be sturdy.

STEP TWO:

Roll out the Creative PaperClay to 1/16"-1/8" thick. Cut in strips to apply to your frame. Use water sparingly to smooth. Allow to cure several days. I used an Activa Clay Roller Kit HERE

STEP THREE:

Cut the chiffon into small pieces and apply to dried foot in a collage like manner. I brushed PaverPol on the foot, placed the fabric on, and brushed over top of it. Repear until you have all the clay covered. Bring several long strips around the leg for more support. I put some strips on the other leg to match the texture. 

STEP FOUR:

Let the PaverPol cure several days. I sanded the rough edges with a Sand-It tool. Using acrylic paint to closely match the original ceramic, paint the foot. If necessary, bring the paint up the body to further disguise the repair.

STEP FIVE:

I was not happy with the shape of the top leg (the one repaired), so added some PaperClay to define the leg and lengthen the toes. When it cures, I will repeat the PaverPol and paint steps.

I love these products! They play very nicely together. I wasn't able to duplicate the smooth surface of the ceramic, but that would have required clay and firing, and may have been destructive to the frog.

RIBBET!

xxoo

Vicki

www.VickiRossArt.com is where you can find all my social media links. Please visit my YouTube channel and subscribe! If you have any questions, ask them there so the my community will see them.