Marionette Mayhem

Hello New Year, it is nice to meet you.  As I mentioned in my last post, our lives got ramped up in October and went strong passed the New Year.  In that busyness there was a lot of family, a bit of sickness, a craft show (a bomb, but now have stock at the ready),  a trip to Arrowmont, parade watching, and a week entertaining our granddaughter over her Christmas break.  So yes, even though our time was well spent, welcome New Year and the peace you bring.

As I was leaving Arrowmont at the end of my class in the spring, Ms. Rebecca told me to be sure and apply for a Fall Scholarship.  Having just spent 2 weeks away from work and home, I was not so sure if that was a good idea but Husband just smiled and said that it was worth a shot.  Little did we know that I would receive a class, including full room and board.  What a wonderful surprise!!  My chosen class was doll making using air dry clay and found objects.  It was very similar to my earlier class but instead of carving the figure, you start with a base of newspaper sealed in masking tape and covered in clay, adding in the details.  Once again, having packed my supply cart to the hilt, I had plenty of items to choose from to create my "doll".  Knowing that movement makes me happy, I had, in my mind, a picture of a marionette playing with his marionette.  The above picture shows the outcome.  The smaller marionette jumps and bounces around when the arm on the larger figure is moved.  I used a bit of wire and a lever action to do this.  The figure is made with springs, a clamp thing holding a nail for his tie, and he sits on a bench created with a door handle and an old hinge gifted from my BFF.  If I had a desk job he would sit proudly next to my work space and I would play with him all the time.

I have been extremely lucky with the ability to stay with BFF or Mother-in-Law to make these trips affordable.  This was the first time I have had the opportunity to stay on campus and it was wonderful.  I had a room to myself and was able to decompress from the ways of the real world.  I cannot say enough about how grateful I am to Arrowmont for their generosity and to my husband for supporting my creative learning.

I have my next class picked out and with it I will be returning to the wood shop. It is called Sculptural Woodworking and Experimental Techniques.  Sounds fun, does it not?!  It is in May and I have made my reservations with Mother-in-Law.  Yippee!

I have loaded a short video of the piece to my Skinny Dipper Designs facebook page if you are interested in seeing how he works.

Time for supper of butter noodles and chicken, yum!
Peace,
Hilari