Tag Archives: Maria Greene

art, art tutorial, mixed media

How to make a simple clay bird

How to make this ornament:

I started with a “banana” shaped core of aluminum foil, and then I covered that with polymer clay. I rolled out a sheet of clay approx. 1/8″ thick and applied in sections to the bird shape. Then I added wings and some feather texture. I had clay beads from a previous project and used a couple of those and a jute string for hanging. I used an awl to push a hole through the bird before I baked it. Easy peasy!! If you don’t want to make one but want to buy one, you can do so HERE.

I had a pretty productive month of July, and here are some things I made, mostly clay figures: As you can see there were a lot of different figures involved! 🙂

I used polymer clay, plaster, paints, resin, and a few ready-made embellishments. I was particularly pleased with the figure with a dangling heart in the middle, made of plaster and a foam core. I love to experiment, and plaster is such a fun material, if messy.

The crochet blanket is my latest project that I finished last night. I think I’m obsessed with crocheting! If you missed the other blanket I made this spring, here’s a link to that blog post. Click HERE. The design is by Janie Crow. Everything she designs is breathtakingly beautiful.

How to be courageous

The only way to learn new things is to DO them. Book learning or art classes are good, but I don’t want to paint like the instructor or read books about art when I can sit down and experiment. I’m not saying it’s easy.

I constantly look for what inspires me, but then make something similar in my style. To develop a style, you have to try many things, make ugly art, and never give up! The challenge is always there, but you learn how to live it and “carry on” no matter what. Follow what makes you excited and make that in whatever medium you’re drawn to. Keep following that excitement and see where it leads! 🙂

You can always buy small batches of material and try them. That way you don’t spend $$$$$ on materials that then sit unused on a shelf. That makes you feel guilty every time you look at them.

All the above items are available in my etsy shop EarthandFaery.

I also have a YouTube channel with many mixed media art tutorials. Check out my latest video where I unbox a Grabie watercolor kit, and a Himi gouache kit. Click HERE.

Have a wonderful and creative August!

Lots of love,

art tutorial, clay, craft, crochet, etsy shop

How to make a rustic clay plaque

How to are two words that I live by. I love to learn new art techniques, and I love to share my knowledge. I published a new YouTube video this morning on how to make a rustic clay plaque with cute embellishments. See picture below. You can check out the video HERE.

May was a very productive month for me, and I spent most days in the studio. It has gotten midsummer hot already in Florida so I like to stay in the air-conditioned house.

Here are a few examples of my art in May:

There are many more, but I don’t want to upload all of them since some look mostly the same.

Do you struggle with creator’s block? I find that picking up a new type of art expression or taking art classes helps to kickstart your inspiration. Sometimes I get too many ideas and it’s hard to choose what to pursue next. I had difficulties with motivation earlier this spring, but after spending hours on Pinterest and re-taking some old online classes, I was ready to go again. Sometimes you have to regenerate by not making art, and that’s ok. We think it’s the ultimate virtue (by society’s standards) to always be super productive.

Trust in your ability to rest and renew your creative well. All goes in cycles! I say: enjoy every facet of your life!! 🙂

Many of the items above are available in my etsy shop: EarthandFaery

I also took up a challenging crocheting project, a blanket, the Fruit Garden design by Janie Crow. You can find the book on Amazon. Here’s a picture from the book.

So far I’m enjoying the challenge, but it’s not easy. I know I will finish it, but it’s going to take a long time. Taking up a new hobby helps with art inspiration as well.

Have a wonderful June! I wish you lots of creative energy. 🙂

Lots of love,

Apoxie Sculpt, clay, Polymer clay

The pros and cons of various art clays

The pros and cons become quite apparent as you work with the various clay brands. I’ll put down some insights here since I work a lot with the medium.

I started out with polymer clay, Sculpey III, which I still use a lot. There’s also Super Sculpey, which is a lot stronger than the Sculpey III. It usually comes in 1 lb blocks; I use it for figures and more complicated work.

The plus side of Sculpey is that it stays soft until you bake it, and you can work on it all day or even leave it for another day without worrying that it will dry out. The downside is the need for baking. Not that it’s a big con, but if you’re making sculptures (like I do,) you have to think of the inner armature. You can’t use anything that will melt at 275 degrees. If you do, the clay is likely to crack big time. (Been there, done that.) Also, if you live in a hot climate, the clay gets so soft as you work that you have to keep it in the fridge. When I need a chunk I have to run to the refrigerator– back and forth.

I have also made things out of air-dry clay, but the con is that it breaks pretty easily. I’ve made some spirit doll faces and bowls with it, but no sculptures. I tried the Plus brand from Joann’s, and it’s ok to work with but dries and cracks easily. I cover the item as it dries with a damp paper towel and that seems to help. I’ve also tried DAS, which is similar to Plus, but a step up in quality.

Recently, I took a clay sculpture class with Kathy Lewis, and she uses Jovi clay. I hadn’t even heard of it, but I ordered a block from Amazon. It smells like wet plastic, and it’s smooth to work with, but it tends to crack too, but not as bad as the other air dry clays. I guess practice makes perfect, but I don’t like repairing the figures. It makes me doubt that they are sturdy enough for sale.

I mostly work with Apoxie Sculpt, a super strong epoxy clay. Pros: it’s pretty easy to work with, but it takes practice. I have gone through several 2lb containers, and I’m ordering more! It smoothes easily to make a hard surface. It gives you confidence that the item won’t break easily. You can drill and sand it, and it takes paint well.

Cons: It’s expensive. You have to mix the two-part epoxy clay really well, and it takes a toll on your hands. You only have a couple of hours of work time before it hardens, and you can’t save leftover clay. I make small items with leftovers to add to other projects. I have used Apoxie Sculpt to fix items made with other clays.

Here’s an example of a bunny I rescued. I started out with Jovi clay, and as it dried, the arms fell off and some of the other details. I added epoxy clay arms, fixed the cracks, and enforced the delicate area between the head and ears. Jovi dries white, and the epoxy clay is gray as you can see in the picture below.

I also had a bunch of dry eyeballs made with epoxy clay to use (to prevent any flattening if working with air dry clay.)

Below you can see the finished bunny, all painted and varnished. 🙂 It’s available for purchase in my etsy shop, Earth and Faery.

Here’s a link to Apoxie Sculpt on Amazon. (No affiliate.) You can also order it from the manufacturer: Aves Studio. It’s also available on Dick Blick. It also comes in smaller containers than the 2 lb tubs.

Conclusion: Sculpey is great for smaller items and is great for working details. I always use it for my mosaic tiles. I prefer epoxy clay to air-dry clay due to the cracking and easy breakage, but the preference is of course personal. I’d love to hear what your clay experience is like. 🙂

I have two classes using polymer clay: a whimsy girl and a mosaic tile box. Check them out.

Lots of love,

art, art making, collage, craft

April was a good and busy month

April was good though I went through a lot of changes with my art. I resisted painting my fantasy flowers even though they were fun and oh-so-colorful!

I always feel I should paint something else after painting five or six of the same motif. Do you feel that way too, or do you love to explore the same motif until you’ve excavated all that it can give you?

After these two paintings, I went in a slightly different direction:

Still flowers though, inspired by spring no doubt. Then I went in a different direction:

The still life was great fun, so I’ll explore more of that style in the future. It’s funny how art goes in various directions if you let it lead you. I feel that I’m always learning more, and that will never end.

I also had time to make some clay sculptures, which is always an effort in trial and error. This “cage” doll started out as a thrifted candleholder. It took me a while to finish, but I was happy with the result.

The one below is built around a blue agate geode. I used Apoxie Sculpt for both sculptures.

All of these items are available in my etsy shop Earth and Faery.

I also made some narrow flower paintings / collages, which was fun. I usually don’t paint tall and narrow, so it was a challenge.

We’re coming into the hot months here in Florida now, so I’ll be spending more time indoors to escape the heat. I’m pondering more art classes to add to my class site. I have two available now: How to Make a polymer clay whimsy girl, and How to Make a mosaic box with clay tiles.

You can check out those offerings HERE. I’m gathering supplies to make spirit dolls using my sculpted faces, and I’m thinking about designs. I will make several dolls in the course.

I made a simple, mostly no-sew, one a while back on YouTube that you can check out HERE.

What have you been working on lately? A day without making art is partially a wasted day in my opinion, but we do the best we can.

Lots of love and inspiration to you!

art, art assemblage, clay, creativity, doodle

Doodle art mania in my studio

Doodle art mania has been happening here in the studio lately. I took some watercolor paper and cut it down into postcard rectangles. Then I watered down the surface and added acrylic paints and inks to get some background to doodle on.

I made a YouTube video of the process. Each postcard is unique, and I doodled where I saw movement in the background paint. You can find the video HERE.

The whole process is straightforward, and all you have to do is add your own doodling style to the background. I used permanent markers for the doodle: Sakura Micron03 black, and Faber Castell Pitt artist pen brushes. I also used Posca pens and Elmer’s Paint Pens. At the end, I sprayed the surface with acrylic varnish.

Doodle art mania

I’ve also been making Santos cage dolls, but I have to make those in stages since the epoxy clay takes 24 hours to dry. It’s not easy to work with, but the clay is so strong when dry that I like to use it for larger projects. Normally, I use polymer clay, which you can use for this, but the armature has to be able to stand the oven temperature.

In my last blog post, I wrote about the process of making a cage doll. I finished that project, so here’s a picture:

It turned out okay in the end. 🙂

I look back on the month of March and realize I made a lot of items even though my creativity seemed so slow. I made a truly funky chicken sculpture and some cute cat sculptures.

funky cats
Funky chicken

At Michael’s, I found some rustic-looking wood panels that were painted white. I figured they would look cute with a metal hanger and my handmade clay beads. I painted a couple of flower bouquets, and the hangers looked cuter than the hemp string Michael’s offered as a hanging mechanism. What do you think?

The first one sold right away, and I’m grateful for that. I have many repeat customers in my etsy shop, and I can’t be anything but grateful!

My shop has many new goodies, Earth and Faery.

Despite my resistance, I make the choice to paint or make something in my studio every day. I used to get excited when I saw clean, drying paint brushes by my sink–oh, the possibilities–but these days, I’m happy if something turns out well.

New procedures are always scary, but think of the knowledge gained from venturing onto unknown paths! 🙂 Creativity is an ongoing lifetime exploration.

When all else fails, doodle something…

Doodle art mania

Let’s make more art stuff in April. That’s my intention. Maybe I’ll try something new. I bought the book Plaster Studio by Stephanie Lee and Judy Wise. I’m going to try my hand at making a bowl with plaster strips. Maybe I’ll have a picture for my next blog post.

I have some perennial polymer clay classes you can check out HERE.

I wish you lots of inspiration this spring!

Lots of love,

art

Fear of failure

2 Comments

Fear of failure anyone? I have experienced a lot of resistance lately as I’ve been stretching myself to create more complicated sculptures. I have always enjoyed making them, but if I make too many of the same style, I get bored. I have been wanting to make more Santos cage dolls, and I found some interesting “stands/cages” at a thrift store. They were probably part of wall sconces in the past, but I could see their potential.

Possibly a wall sconce in its prior incarnation

I used one of them for the first cage doll. To make them look a bit less modern, I wrapped and glued all the parts with sewing pattern paper.

Anything to make the process easier (than making a cage from scratch.) If you’re handy with wood and nails, go for the traditional cage. There are videos on YouTube.

The hardest part is to visualize the doll on top of the stand. I went for a longer dress but, traditionally, the cage is the “skirt.”

I use epoxy clay (Apoxie Sculpt brand) for these sculptures because it’s very strong.

The resistance/fear shows up questioning if the sculpture will be any good. Will I come up with a design I like? What if I waste all that pricey clay and have to scrap the project?

The doubting imp is always lurking on the outskirts of my mind. I am well-versed in the Fear of Failure! 🙂 There’s always uncertainty when you start a new project, especially if you have never made it before. They say that fear is the only thing that stops us from moving down untrodden paths. BUT, they also say that if you can visualize the project, it’s already done.

Fear of failure project

The choice is: do I go into the studio and start (or continue what I started?) Or… do I clean the fridge? There are always dirty areas to clean in the home.

The fear wins out often enough, and lately, I’ve had a very clean house, haha.

But, ultimately, the sculpture won’t go away, so I surrender to the process wherever it wants to take me. More often than not, the end result is okay, and if it isn’t, the sculpture can be used in another project. (Hope springs eternal…)

I have many ugly parts that I repurposed or took apart for elements for other projects.

The silver lining is: I learned something during the process that I can apply to future projects.

The more I listen to the urge to create “no matter what”, the more insights and experience I gather, and that’s priceless!

I leave the fridge cleanup for another day. That will always be there, but the exciting inspiration breeze from the muse fades away if I don’t use it.

Fear and resistance will never go away, but we can choose not to listen to them!

Uglee hands

I’m okay with this sculpture, but I need to work on fixing the hands and the hearts. One thing about Apoxie Sculpt, it is super soft when you mix the two parts together. I let it sit for about an hour before I use it, but then you have to work quickly. The good thing is you can build on top of the clay without a problem. I also have to attach another heart, and work on the one that “collapsed.” I will add another heart on top, and no one will be the wiser. 🙂

Have a wonderful, creative week.

Lots of love,

Maria

If you want to learn how to make one of these polymer clay sculptures, visit my Whimsy Girl workshop HERE.