Michelle and Antonina are two experiments with paper clay I published in 2017. Once I am settled in my new home and have my art studio all organised, I want to paint pets on paper clay.
Michelle (Bonjour) and Antonina with her flowers, Mixed Media brooches.
My art work room is cluttered with experimental projects in different stages of completion.
I can find fault in all of them. But it is easy to get sidetracked when there is so much art to try.
I have never worked with papier mâché and the thought of creating fanciful figurines has me off on another tangent while my canvases collect dust for a while.
The armature for one such figurine is finished and I only need to apply the papier mâché. The really exciting part of the process for me is painting the hardened paper and wondering what quirky character might show up.
As often happens, I was excited about this new project and started asking myself what if?
Artistic distractions are the bane of my life at the moment, but I allow myself to be pulled in this or that direction as I search for my true calling as an artist.
So instead of working on the figurine, these brooches became my focus. They are experimental of course, but I do love their little whimsical faces.
My art room looks like a production line with paper clay brooches in various stages of completion spread out all over the counter and the worktable.
As time consuming as these brooches are, (I need to refine the process), they are also very satisfying to finish. Each one is unique and I have a few dapper men to add to the collection as well.
Michelle wishes you a good day but something is troubling her. She has a very concentrated look on her face as though she is sizing you up very carefully before telling you more about herself .
Antonina, on the other hand, is an old-fashioned woman. Shy and retiring, she surrounds herself with her flowers rather than participate in idle gossip. Each clay brooch has a story to tell. (See Walter and Millie, two other brooches I created in 2017.)
This new venture excites me a lot.
