Simply Curious

Yeah, so you think I have nothing better to do. I know I have plenty of other projects without starting something new, but I just can't help it sometimes. And this one hasn't been easy.

Mom and I experimented last night with the tea dye. Four bags to a bowl full of water, heated for five minutes in the microwave, then soaked til I got bored. Immediately we discovered something interesting with two of the fabrics. The pattern on them had been printed with some sort of ink. The fabric was changing color, but the ink wasn't! I stood there with my stirring spoon, poking at the fabric and chanting, "Dye! Dye! Dye!" It didn't help. While it had an interesting effect on the striped fabric, the beautiful lacy print didn't really do all that much. We couldn't believe it. Next time, a different fabric, and perhaps more tea.

I had bought about 6 different fabrics on Friday, trying to decide which to use for the skirt. Today I chose the three in the picture. (None of these are the weird fabrics from the tea dye experiment.) I rather wish I could have gotten the garments grungier looking with the tea, but I'm not done yet! I may try spraying a solution on with a water bottle, and experiment with ripping the fabric or adding patches.

I also sculpted her hands and feet and face and shoulderplate. Then I ran out of clay. I had to mix the color to get the effect I wanted, and didn't make enough. I DID, however, make enough for the parts that would show, so it really doesn't matter what goes underneath. The hair is embroidery floss (obviously not in its final shape yet). I was hoping to imitate dreadlocks, although later it occured to me that cornrows or even a kerchief or turban would do just as well. I rather like the idea of a turbanish type hat. I will experiment and see!

While Tia Dalma inspired me to create the doll, I still have a strong impression in my mind of Queen Mousette in Blues Brothers 2000. I know I have stills of her costume somewhere, but I remember it as being very shiny. I think I prefer the earthy bajou look. Again, I still have to experiment. But first, I need a body to dress.

The clay kept getting too warm, and too soft. I had a hard time preventing everything from shifting the wrong way, and I can never see my mistakes til I take a picture, at which point, it's too late! I tell myself that real faces are rarely perfectly symmetrical, anyway. Just please remind me not to forget to paint her eyes!

I forgot the penny again. For scale, a penny is the size of her head. I just measured.

Item Four of Very-Hard-To- Find-In-One-Inch-Scale items: swords.



Attempt at a Katana. Roughly four inches long, so it's just a little bit too long for true one inch scale. (that'll teach me to eyeball things.) The silver and gold clay by Premo has a really great effect to it, doesn't it?

However, I'm having a problem. I'm not sure if it's the clay or the way I'm baking it. While this sword may LOOK halfway decent, it, well, it's a bit . . . floppy. Admire it all you want, but take it in your hand and it will allow you to perform daring feats of strength and skill by bending it almost in a circle. On letting go, it will slowly begin returning to its original position. It's basically a miniature rubber sword.

That wasn't exactly the effect I was going for.

Stop laughing.

2 am, and I'm making miniature canopic jars.

Worried. DEFINITELY worried.

I think they turned out well. I really like that 'gold' clay. Took quite a bit of research to figure out just what canopic jars traditionally looked like. It boiled down to a figures of a human, a jackal, a baboon, and a bird (falcon? hawk?). The baboon proved to be the hardest to sculpt. I realize there should be writing on the jar, but I'm not sure how to go about it. Hieroglyphs are a lot more complicated to do when they're that small!



Go ahead and add THESE to my list of things not available in one inch scale!