Friday, April 26, 2013

A Fun Little Fairy House Box

by Eleanor Hendriks


Soft slab construction Fairy House Box -yes the roof/lid is removable!
Funny little window


Out of focus eye stalk/ chimney
Fairy sized door
And some colourful fun...

...for Wacky Hair Day -A smile goes with everything!




Saturday, April 06, 2013

Woodland Diner -Making a Hand Painted Sign on the CHEAP


by Eleanor Hendriks

So I haven't made much pottery lately, and what I have made, I didn't take pictures of -it's easy to get out of the habit of documenting the making process when it isn't happening regularly -and since my blog has always been based on pictures, I've had very little to post here. I hope to change that soon because I have some pieces nearing the end of the (very slow) making process at the Guelph Community Pottery Centre that I would like to show off.

     In the meantime, I would like to share something else I made with you (any readers that may still be hanging around). The assignment was to make a church kitchen look like a 50's diner for a fundraiser -and I was to make the sign -on the Cheap!! So with a cardboard box left over from a bathroom renovation, some leftover primer and 4 colours of Walmart acrylic, I made this...

 Large cardboard box.
Left over primer to reduce the absorptiveness of the surface.
 I did both sides of the cardboard with the primer, because it started to curl.
 The black took two layers to cover completely.
 I created the design in Corel Draw and used a polka dot pattern in the background to make it easy to line up the tiled printout.
 I tested the colours over black before painting the whole backgound -thankfully the Walmart colours had enough pigment to do reasonably well at covering the black with one coat -though I did have to be careful not to spread the paint to thin -and had a few areas of touch up -but overall much less work than painting the black around the lettering!
 Painting on cardboard is frustrating up close because it is impossible to get a smooth, straight  line over the corrugations -but it doesn't show from a distance -and cardboard is the right price for a project like this.
 Trimmed around the edges and painted them black -this is the least satisfying part of working with cardboard -the edges were fuzzy and uneven. If I were to do it again, I would consider cutting the shape first and trying to neatly tape the edges before priming -but that could take a while -maybe not worth it for a one evening use sign...
 I think the end result looks pretty good.
 'Dry' brushed highlights in a lighter shade and white add depth and a look of neon glow.
 Dots made with the handle end of a foam brush look like lights -to be really authentic I should have skipped a few or done them in black to look burned out.


 I can't believe my son let me draw this 'tattoo' on him with Sharpies! He's a good sport. And this is a rare sighting of me in a pink headband -don't expect to see it again any time soon.


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