I have to admit that working with paper clay has brought me excitement and lots of ideas. I had prepared three sets of legs - using cloth - when I decided that perhaps I could add a pair of shoes to at least one pair of those cloth feet.
As I coated the feet in paper clay I decided to add some design to the shoe by making curvy lines. It wasn't until I started the painting that I realized how difficult it was going to be getting the paint into those teeny, tiny lines. Why do I do these things to myself?
Trying to put clay over already painted feet wasn't so bad - but the shoes then had to be painted without painting the legs and feet along the way. One painting coat might be okay - but try three - one coat of raw umber, one coat of orange and lastly an antiquing wash. I used the blue tape that one uses with regular paint projects. Can you imagine how tiny those pieces of tape had to be?
I'm paving a new trail for myself -- and finding out that stamina and perseverance are going to be my biggest need. "When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps." - Confucius
I have spent hours on-line looking at beautiful, wonderful paperclay figures. Some of them abstract, some of them fine sculpture. Some of them whimsical, some serious and some downright sad. I have tempted myself with complicated images.
In between looking and dreaming there was the actual working time with the clay. I have read and heard people rave about paperclay -- they were all correct. Its wonderful stuff. If even I, a total novice, can figure out how to actually get the clay to stay in place - add features - manage the finish painting then it has got to be a 'hands' friendly product.
As I followed my learning curve (without actually getting seasick), I realized that I had to let go of preconceived ideas. Those fantasy creatures with perfect noses and haunting eyes were probably not for me. It was better that I just covered the styrofoam and then let things happen as they happened.
Along the way I began to recognize the look that came most naturally to me. A somewhat primitive look - a simple look - a look that might tell a story. Why not try to recreate those aims using clay? Let's see what happens.
I'm sure there will be some changes as I go along - as I learn more, as I learn to control the clay better, as I venture out into the unknown. But for now - I'm happy, feeling quite elated that new little people are beginning to populate my studio.
"A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find that after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us." - John Steinbeck
My first paperclay head was pretty ugly -- BUT at least it looked like a head and not just a blob of clay. Thanks to both Jane DesRosier's and Moriah Betterly's on-line tutorials (found at Cloth Clay dolls) I was able to practice and learn just how to do this. My first two heads were made on styrofoam bases. This second one even sported ears.
Next I worked on a couple of cloth dolls - putting the paperclay over cloth. I'm not sure how well I like the results of this because the head is too 'flat' and ended up looking more like a primitive stone statue - perhaps something worshipped by early man (and woman) - definitely not the look I was searching for.
The scariest part of the process was no longer working with the clay but painting the 'raw umber' over my carefully sculpted 'masterpiece'. Yikes!! It looked dreadful and I really worried that this whole process wouldn't work, even though I had seen from the tutorial that it would. Still this was only practice so why not give it a try?
I'm 'training' myself to play - to experiment - to learn and not to worry about finished product or perfection or any of those other limitations on creativity. Its quite refreshing.
"One of the greatest joys known to man is to take a flight into ignorance in search of knowledge." - Robert Staughton Lynd
As we were driving around the other day I got to thinking about the traffic signs that we frequently observe.
My thoughts turned those 'rules of the road' into 'rules for life'. How many of them might qualify as reminders as I move through my days? How often do I detour from what I am presently doing? Do I detour off to do it another way or do I detour off and then return to the main road eventually?
"Merge" - on the road this means that I have to move into the traffic - keeping up with the flow and blending in. In my life this might mean that I have to do the same thing with my fellow human beings. It doesn't have to mean that I am not an individual but that in order to live among others there is a certain about of 'merging' that must take place.
"Construction Zone Ahead" - oh this could certainly pertain to my own personal life -- its a constant 'construction' zone, isn't everyone's, or it is just me?
"Yield" - Yield to what? Do I yield to every random thought that comes into my head? Do I yield to the injustices that occur in this world with no thought at all? Do I yield to the 'lazy' way instead of the right way? Just how much yielding am I supposed to do?
I'll be watching for signs that pertain to me as I enter a new year. "Write down the thoughts of the moment. Those that come unsought for are commonly the most reasonable." - Francis Bacon
