Halloween Ornament Recycling Project

My girls and I just decorated our house top to bottom for Halloween.  Part of that exciting day is pulling out all of our costumes and seeing what we have to work with.  It is always interesting to inspect the mangled remains of wigs that managed to look decent for one or two days of wear (if you didn't move too much and definitely did not try to brush it). But what can you do with them once they are matted and tangled?  I have the perfect project that will keep that wig out of the landfill AND give you some fun, recycled Halloween Shrunken Head ornaments for years to come!

Here is a list of items you will need

• Halloween costume wig- the messier the better
• Creative Paperclay 
• acrylic paints in browns and black
• paint brush
• small bit of wire (or a paperclip) and wire cutters
• scrap fabric (I rip woven cotton and cut strips of burlap, or raid discarded costume parts)
• wooden beads
• assortment of string, twine, raffia
• scissors
• Glue (I am using Fabri-tac for this sample and highly recommend it for this project)
• about 12 inches of aluminum foil

1.  Begin by scrunching up and shaping your aluminum foil into a rough head shape with a "neck" as shown in the photo.  The neck is important because you will be adding decorative elements later.
   
   
2. My example is made of Creative Paperclay but you can use polymer clay as well. Cover the foil base with the paperclay and rough out a face.  The beauty of sculpting a shrunken head is that you do not have to worry about it being a perfect face.  In fact, the more lopsided, bumpy and odd it is the more character it will have!  If you want open eyes you can simply press black beads into your clay and roll clay eyelids over the top as shown in the photo on the left below.  I wanted mine to have eyes "sewn" shut so I covered the eyes and rolled small pieces of paperclay to look like stitches.
   
3. Use a sculpting tool or toothpick to make holes in the lips and ears.  You can also add holes at the brows or insert a stick or broken toothpick through the nose.  Be sure the holes are large enough that you will be able to get your thread through them later.
   
4. Cut about 2 inches of wire and twist into to form a loop on one end (as shown in the supplies photo).  You can also use half of a paperclip bent to a similar shape.  Insert into the top of the head. You will attach a string hanger to this later.
5. Allow your head to dry completely.
6. Once your head is dry you are ready to give this guy or gal some character!  Paint the head in your selected colors.  I am using a selection of browns and blacks for my example but you can really go crazy here- especially if you have some crazy wig colors, or try glow-in-the-dark paint!  Again, a rough paint job only adds to the rustic charm so don't worry about skill levels, just have fun.
   
7. Once your paint is dry it is time to thread your chosen string through the holes in the face and ears.  Tie at least one knot to secure string before adding beads.  Use your imagination and remnants here-braid in raffia, tie in a feather, add a stray plastic spider, etc.
   
8. To decorate the neck run some glue around the surface to secure your fabric to. Now take your ripped fabric and/or burlap and tie it to the neck.  You can also add more of your string or raffia here depending on the overall look you desire.
   
9. To apply the hair, gather small portions of the wig's hair in about 8-inch lengths and cut in a straight line.  Keep that cut line in your fingers, apply glue along that edge and work the glue into the tips of the hair to bind it together. Set this piece aside to dry and continue cutting and gluing clumps of hair.  Some wigs can be very knotted but keep in mind that this will look great once it is applied and go ahead and cut right through knots or matted areas.  You will need about 5 or six lengths of hair for most heads.
   
10. Apply a fairly wide glue strip along hairline on your sculpted head and place your lengths of hair TOWARD the face and neck as shown. This will give you a clean hairline once you pull the hair up to style it.  Wait a few minutes for the glue to set. 
    
     
11. Tie a long piece of twine to the wire loop.  This will be your hanger so make sure it is longer than your hair. 
12. Now it is time to style the hair. If you have fairly straight hair clumps (like the ones I have here) you can tease the hair for a fuller look. Now gather the hair up above the head and tie it to the twine hanger. Your shrunken head is complete and ready to hang!
    

Wizard Fest 2014

I spent Saturday at Country Village's Wizard Fest.  It is so close to where I live I couldn't resist going once again.  Country Village is such a beautiful location and the only outdoor venue I show my work at so far.  This event is mainly for children although witches and wizards of all ages do attend.  It is a fun break from the big art shows and I get to take my children with me to tend the booth and run our free raffle.  The Seattle area happens to be in the middle of an unseasonable heatwave so we were thankful for the shade of our tent and the sound of the large water fountain near our location.  I will share some photos of the day below.

 The Wizard's Magic Show brought the skills of Hogwarts to the Village and thrilled the budding students.  I'll tip my hat to this fabulous and funny wizard to managed to perform so graciously in his stunning robes in ninety-plus degree heat!

One of the great things about an outdoor venue is you get to meet lots of pets.  At a wizarding show people tend to have some unusual pets.  This giant iguana was content to ride on his owner's jacket or stroll confidently on his leash.  I also had some of the Village chickens wander into my booth as I was setting up- just missed getting a photo of one eye to eye with one of my sculptures!

Even the vendors came decked out is robes.  Who wouldn't want to shop this gentleman's store?

One of the main reasons I love this show is it gives me the chance to catch up with Dennis Brown.  He is a fine artist and adviser and I always enjoy his company.  I am lucky to have someone with such skills living so close.  This time we swapped pieces and this photo shows Dennis holding the piece I took home.  I have one of his borrowers and this pumpkin-headed guy is now sitting next to it.

So the work completed for the past twelve days of my Summer Challenge was dozens of baby house elves and creatures.  The remaining pieces will be added to my Etsy shop this week.  I am finally able to get back to preparing for Halloween and have some hard sculpts in the works of a witch, pumpkin man and mummy.

Check in for photos soon!

Alice, Unicorns and the Midnight Hour

I am 10 days into my summer challenge already!  All in all I would have to say I am happy with my progress.  I managed to complete one sculpted Alice in Wonderland, a custom art doll and seven charms.  The one truly helpful factor is the sun being up so long.  I can easily deceive myself into feeling like it is 4pm instead of 9pm, at least for a little while.  It also helps to be motivated by what I am making.

Here is this week's group shot.

This is the first time I have done a little unicorn elf charm.  More of these are on the way largely because I committed to appearing at Wizard Fest again this year.  The show is tons of of fun and very child oriented so the charms are perfect for that show.  It is also a fun one for my daughters to attend with me.  If you are in the Seattle area come by Country Village on the 12th and say hello!

 

The challenges this week were scheduling.  Five doctor appointments, a plumbing mishap, relatives coming for a short stay and a day camp to juggle.  It was an eventful week but it was also a fun one.  It does help to know I am reporting in here every week to keep me plugging along into the wee hours and I am still curious to see what I can accomplish each week! For now, I will leave you with a photo of Alice and get on to planning the next few projects!

 

My Summer Challenge

My family is officially four days into summer break!  This is a welcome end to a crazy school/lessons/sports schedule and the beginning of summer fun.  It also means that my work hours go from being daylight to midnight if I am lucky.  If I were realistic I would dial down expectations and to do lists accordingly.  I am not that sort of person of course.  I like a challenge.  So what better thing to do than defy the laws of summer and challenge myself to not only keep my three girls busy and happy but to keep accomplishing actual, physical sculpture work every day.

 Madness! 

Now that is more like it.

The goal is to sculpt or paint or otherwise work on completing a piece.  This does not include computer work like marketing or blogging, shipping, paperwork, etc.  Those things generally get done because they must.  They have actual deadlines. Production of new things usually gets pushed down the list.  This is manageable when I have actual full work days, no so much on summer schedules.  I plan to document this experiment daily through my Instagram feed (griffinwyseinsta) with a #griffinwysemadness.  I will update the progress of the completed work and comments here, no doubt kicking myself for ever thinking this up and then being fool enough to commit publicly.  That being said, I may just get more done than I could imagine and blow my own mind with new skills and groundbreaking ideas ( I find it helps to stay positive).

  Wish me luck and Happy Summer! I am off to work!

Polar Elf Fashion

I have been away from my blog for far longer than I anticipated!

 This year has been full of twists and turns largely of the undesired kind but I am happy to say the most wonderful things have been happening in my artistic life.  I have been accepted into a talented group of artists- The Professional Doll Makers Art Guild!  My White Rabbit is on their cover page currently.  The link to the site is http://www.artdollguild.com/.  There are some amazing artists in this group whose careers I have followed and I am honored to now be a member.  If you are interested in seeing the variety offered in the art doll world, this site is a great place to start. And I get to check this off of my Bucket List! Cheers!

Working in the studio is such a solitary environment it is easy to forget that my work is actually out there being seen and collected.  I tend to feel like a mad scientist here some days working furiously away on my latest must-creates and ticking away to do lists. I am now preparing for a holiday show and getting around to galleries in an attempt to balance the in-studio and out-of-studio time. 

So what is materializing from all of this?

Elf Fashion

 Not the cover girl you were expecting, is it?

I will venture to guess you have not spent much time pondering this subject but there is a job for everyone and currently this is mine.  I tend to think that if a being is around for very long periods of time (hundreds of years, let's just say) they would tend to have a large repertoire of fashion history under their belts.  Elves must create.  It is part of their job description.  I don't think they would just get up, throw on sweats and haphazardly sling paint and hammer day in and day out.  No way, not a very romantic notion by any means.  In my estimation of elf culture (insert knowing raise of eyebrows) they would have wardrobes as varied and eccentric and they are bound to be themselves.  No simple red shifts and puff-topped sock shoes here please.  My latest little pair reflects a mix of classic, Victorian and a touch of steampunk.

Colette and Pierre

Edgy elves may not be a household phrase just yet but give it time.  I will keep designing away here, mixing up decades and trims, the sleek and shabby, throwing in a potion or two to see what falls together.  Life can be unpredictable; mix things up and have fun!

Carpathian Circus

One of the wonderful things about creating a world of your own is that you are limitless in characters, events, places and abilities. I love the idea of the circus- a traveling make-believe world.  When I was very young and staying with my grandparents one summer I woke up to find a circus setting up in a large field across the street from their house.  I remember staring out the front window waiting to get a glimpse of something fantastic.  We did cross the street at one point and a kind man there let me pet one of the horses- magic for a child.  Even now I have a sign in my office that might be more reflective of both my active household and studio space combined, saying "Impossible you say? Nothing is impossible when you work for the circus!"

  Based on these ideas, the most recent Griffinwyse growth has been the development of the two circuses; The Carpathian Winter and Midsummer Circuses.  The Winter Circus is a vision of black, white, grey and red.  It is a more mysterious, dark web of magic and illusion and its patrons and performers reflect that feel.

 Here is Deirdre, a fortune teller with the Carpathian Winter Circus who finds sprouting horns most entertaining when trying to keep patrons honest during a reading.

 Ciardha and Chandara are vampire sisters.  Circus-goers believe this is a disguise, merely amazing make-up to add to the other-worldly atmosphere under the great tents.  The true great secret of both circuses is that everything one sees is truly skillful magic disguised as illusions.  Feasting on patrons is not allowed, however, as these two can attest.

The Midsummer Circus is a celebration of color, characters and imagery.  They are a wonderland of the odd and interesting wrapped in trims and nonsense. Why two circuses, you may ask?  I believe it is opposites that I love most- dark and light, sinister and innocent, and the very opposition that makes each side more distinct when compared to the other.  Would I want to attend a moody circus of dark and interesting characters in the season when darkness comes early and spooks and goblins seem most likely to wander? Yes, please.  Would I be just as eager to see a circus manned by curious characters of borderline sanity romping in the spring? Sign me up.  Let them (as they say in show business) entertain you!

 Sweet Tessa, a face-painter with the Midsummer Circus, loves children.  She skillfully paints anything a child desires in no time at all, sending them happily skipping off to their next destinations transformed.

Celeste is a perfect example of the merry clothing that adorns the performers of the Midsummer Circus.

There will be larger, elaborate characters added to each circus as time allows as well as more of the loop-jointed and fully poseable art dolls and figurines.  On the list waiting to be brought to life; the bearded lady, tarot card reader, magician, witch/wizard, balloon artist, etc. Who might you be interested in seeing?

Coming in my next blog- a little trip to a place called Oz, revisiting my favorite childhood film!

A Bride and Books

A few months ago I made Delphine, the first of my jointed dolls.  Little did I know she would start a whole line of jointed dolls.  I have become a bit addicted to making these recently.  There is a certain attraction to the movement and fabrics.  Today I finished my first bride and really took a trip down memory lane.  Years ago I was a bridal designer.  Working on this doll took me back to the few hundred fittings I was party to and all of those amazing brides.  My favorite day when working with each bride was the day they came in to pick up their gown and try it on one last time before their big day.  There was always so much emotion that day, each face a kaleidoscope as they turned this way and that looking at the dress they would walk down the aisle in.  Always favorite memories of mine.

Today my client was smaller but just as adorable.  She has been dubbed "Morrin" and I would like to share a few photos of her progress with you today.  Here she is with a freshly painted face, ready for hair.  I have many different colors of hair here but red seemed to fit her best.  This is also my favorite part of their transformation - bald to flowing locks...

I love wild hair so I may have left her a little unruly but even the most casual bride I ever worked with had a constructed "windblown" look, so I slightly tamed her locks under a jeweled tiara.

The Griffinwyse world is all magical creatures and folklore from every culture so I try to incorporate some unique elf folktales whenever I can.  In this case I started thinking of all of the luck and superstitions involved in weddings.  There are so many little things brides try to do to ensure their good fortune - some who feverently believe in their power and consequences and some who are simply nodding to their cultures.  Whatever the reason, I love traditions.  For my little elf bride I imagined it to be good luck to pin a photo of your loved one to the bride's gown.  Since elves of all kinds have such long lives, they must not jump into marriage quickly and their weddings would be few but marvelous events.  I printed photos of past elves I have made to pin to her gown, plus a few photos for her book.

I have always written a few details about each elf on my site but as their numbers grow they and the world they live in becomes more clear in my mind, there seems to be more to tell.  I believe any piece of art speaks to its owner and my elves all develop their own personality as I sculpt.  A tilt of the head or twinkle in an eye all offer hints on what they might be or do.  To give a little more insight into each doll, they are now coming with their own Griffinwyse scrapbook.  Each book is also handmade and I write a few more paragraphs about each elf and include photos and handwritten notes by each character.  My intention is that these will help bring them to life for each new companion who takes them home.

Morrin's gown came together easily.  One of the things I really loved about bridal gowns were the lace choices.  They were so beautiful and I never got tired of hand-sewing them onto the gowns.  There is something magical about a wedding gown that you simply do not get in any other garment.  The sentiment, the fact that it is made just for you, the detail and time that is no longer put into making garments for the majority of women.  Applying lace is like the icing on a cake, so beautiful you cannot help but enjoy yourself.  Here is the front of her gown with the photos attached.

Of course no bride can be complete without her engagement ring so I made sure Morrin had a lovely crystal ring.

Once the details were in place, her book finished and signed, it was time for photos.

I will be finishing commissions over the next week and my girls will be out of school until after the new year so time in my studio will be a bit harder to come by but new elves will be arriving!  I am anxious to get some festive Polar Elves out before Christmas.  I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and I will be back to my blog after the new year!

2012 Ornament Design

After many weeks of debate I finally have a complete ornament design for this year!  I debated the concept and design quite a bit.  It was a multi-stage process and I thought you might enjoy seeing how it all came about.  

 

The theme word was they easy part - "Peace".

Easy enough - now how to best set it off?  Originally, I thought I might stick with the general design I had in last year's "Dream" ornaments but change it up and add my favorite harlequin pattern.  So here was Option 1.

 Nice.  I love the pattern but it felt like I had been there and done that.  So I went in a completely different direction.  I had this cute little face begging to be tried out and I decided I would go for a more traditional round-shaped ornament.  Here is Option 2.

Cute, but I still wasn't jumping up and down with excitement.  So back to the drawing board.  I had the idea last year that a stocking would be a great shape to start with. I also threw in the harlequin print for some extra character and tested some fabric rope trim.  And so came Option 3.

Anticipation was mounting but I knew this was not quite it.  I loved the sweet face, the hair was a definite must-use, the shape was great, the pattern really brought it in to my Griffinwyse-y mood but it still needed something.  I realized this really looked like a Carpathian elf and Christmas is the Polar Elves' domain.  Polar elves are happy, lively and traditional with a twist.  Color was one missing element.  I also loved the sweet sleeping elf but wanted to try adding in some individuality and spunk with wide-eyed elflings.  I changed up the harlequin print to a four-color combination, sculpted a new open-eye elf and painted away.  Here is what emerged.

At last!  This had all the best elements of each trial, in my humble opinion of course.  I believe it brings together that one-of-a-kind, hand made, character-unique feeling I strive to bring to my work.  The variety in each piece will be in the individual faces and hair of each elf. I am limiting this to a 25-piece run.  These take quite a bit of time to sculpt and the painting is equally extensive.  This first ornament numbered 1/25 will be available shortly to those people who are signed up for my Members Mailing List and receive my quarterly newsletters.  If you have not signed up please head to my website www.griffinwyse.com and sign up. The rest of the ornaments will be making their way into my shop around the beginning of October!  

Happy Early Holidays!

New Blog Home!

I am so excited about switching my blog over to Blogger!  I was able to get everything up and running in no time and with the content and look I had been struggling to get before in my previous location.  I am not a computer guru by nature so those of you who feel the same will be able to feel my joy and relief!  My old blogs transferred pretty well and this will be a nice new home for future posts.

I thought I would also take this opportunity to post the info on an upcoming event I was asked to participate in.  Country Village is hosting their first ever Wizard Fest and asked me to bring my elves, wizards and magical creatures to help celebrate.  It sounds like a fun event for all of those Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and all-things-magical fans.  I will be offering specials on my own wizards for show attendees only so be sure to stop by to visit and check them out.  I will also be have some things on hand for the younger collectors, too!