Tutorials

Shenandoah Salamander

Shenandoah Salamander

The topic of my student presentation for my Master Naturalist class was the Shenandoah Salamander. Unable to present the class with a live specimen I created a Papier Mache’ sculpture, about 15 times larger than the actual Shenandoah Salamander.

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Papier Mache’ Rain Maker

Papier Mache’ Rain Maker

About 15 years ago my daughter was given a rain stick made from a cactus. During a move the rain stick became damaged and rather than throw it out I decided to fix it. As I was working on it I thought, “Hey I could make one of these out of a papier mache’”. So I came up with a plan. The odd thing is that every time I make one of these, it rains. So mine are called Rain Makers.

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Why Not A Purple Cow

Why Not A Purple Cow

The purple cow became famous in a short humorous verse written by Gelett Burgess in 1895. Today the essence of the Purple Cow
is a sense of something out of the ordinary. Something different. Something remarkable. Something unique.

Please join me as I create my version of the “Purple Cow”.

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Papier Mache’ “Firdemu”

Papier Mache’ “Firdemu”

The idea for my “Firdemu” came about while I was painting “Lunch At The Stevensburg Cafe”. I had an image in my mind of a creature that was a combination of the dinosaurs in the painting and an Emu but hadn’t come up with a name for my creature.When a friend made a typo error calling her birds “firds” I added fird to emu and came up with “Firdemu”.

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Hats Off to Dorothy

Hats Off to Dorothy

“Hats Off To Dorothy” was conceived out of the desire of The Artist Of Windmore to honor the memory of a dear friend and fellow artist, Dorothy Skelton. We decided upon a 3 dimensional piece of art that would incorporate Dorothy in our exhibits. We also wanted to use some of the wonderful hats that Dorothy had created over the years. I was entrusted with the creation of a whimsical sculpture to pay tribute to Dorothy.
The sculpture is made of Papier Mache’ and found objects. It took approximately three months to create. I used bright colours to represent Dorothy’s joyful spirit and included a ‘Van Gogh’ like background to represent her dedication to the arts. There is no doubt that Dorothy would find great pleasure in this whimsical tribute to her.

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Papier Mache’ Van Gogh

Papier Mache’ Van Gogh

On October 4th 1998 the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC opened an extraordinary exhibit of 70 paintings by Vincent Van Gogh. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to view these masterpieces. No form of media can convey his bold use of colour. The incredible textures which seemed to be sculpted on his canvas. I was overpowered by the emotion in his creations. Inspired by this rare opportunity I wanted to create my own Van Gogh… only with a twist… in Papier Mache’.
Please join me as I demonstrate my Papier Mache’ Van Gogh.

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Clay Whistle Tutorial

Clay Whistle Tutorial

These whimsical stoneware whistles are hand crafted using the pinch pot method. They are bisque fired, glazed, then fired again at 2200 degrees. With a few exceptions each whistle can play up to three different notes. Over the years I have enjoyed the reaction of smiles and delights from folks who see them. Here’s how to make your own.

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