A Hairy Problem Solved~

September 14, 2011

i've done several sculptures of dogs over the past years, but every time i do, i learn something new or i find a way to make it better. white, furry dogs for me are especially tricky to do. so when i agreed to make 8 dogs, some of them hairy, some of them white, while some were hairy AND white, i had second thoughts. i tried making them the usual way, but i couldn't sculpt the clay to make it look the way i wanted it to look. i got stuck, the project stalled and gathered dust on my table, and pinned me with an accusing glare every time i walked by.

i was about to finally accept defeat at the ~~hands~~ paws of white, hairy dogs, but what stopped me was my client's obvious love and devotion to her pets and i knew i couldn't say No-- how could i to a kindred spirit? :)

a few good things came out of this experience. for one thing, i think i finally got over my white-hairy-dog apprehension. the other things are happy accidents and the result of finding my seldom-used acrylic paint petrified in its tube.

first, i found that "whipped cream" is good for things other than cupcakes:

stiff whipped cream solved my hairy problem :)

it was a solution so simple, i was smiling like a sissy the whole time i was making the first dog. i had an easy time "moving" the clay around without making the clay all grubby, and the features were much, MUCH easier to do-- it's insane!

when i finished making the dogs, i got out my paints. i have big tubes of neutrals (white, black, burnt umber and raw sienna), and small tubes of those i don't usually need. for this project, i needed yellow ocher but found the small tube all dried out. so lacking the patience to snip open the tube in an attempt to reconstite it, i got out my chalk pastels, mixed it with white paint and experimented with that.

pardon the mess :P

this turned into a happy surprise -- and a really economical one. i'll never again have to worry about paint drying out! it worked really well. i think in multiple applications, too, it would lend some texture, so that's another plus :)