ARTworks Agency in Colorado Springs, CO hosts impromptu art exhibits that they call "pop-up" art events. They arrange the art for the event and a local business or private home hosts it. This Friday, Feb. 12, from 5-7 p.m., they will be at Coquette Creperie, 915 Manitou Ave., Manitou Springs. For more information call 235-3082 or e-mail info@artworksagency.com

It's been a while since the last post, but I've accomplished some color work since then. Things have been a bit hectic lately (though not because of the season), so progress has been a bit slow. I sure hope they improve soon! In any case, I think I've finished coloring the leaves and possibly the fox. I've also put some color on the mat and backing. You can see the fox and some of the backing in the photo below. I believe it's close, but I think I need to assemble it and possibly play with the color a little more after assembly. [Hover over image to enlarge]

Before putting more color on the fox, I decided I needed to see how things would look put together first. The photo below is how it looks so far. I was originally planning to "hide" the fox in the leaves fairly heavily so that the interest would be in discovering the fox and looking for its details behind the leaves. I got a few inputs from other people and the consensus is that the fox should be relatively unhidden -- mostly because the detail in the fox is the primary interest of the viewer. I'm uncommitted to that approach, but I am thinking about it. [Hover over image to enlarge]

I spent some time this weekend preparing the backing and a "mat" (not a typical mat...I made it from MDF, but it will be placed in the frame just like a mat). I was finally able to put some color on the fox today. It's only a base coat, but it's definitely showing some signs of life. [Hover over image to enlarge]

Very little progress on this since the last entry, but I did stain the fox. Staining highlights the cuts and individual impressions in a textured piece of leather. Some people are interested in seeing it. The downside of doing so is that many of a piece's imperfections are emphasized, and if you look, you may find some in the photos below. For the most part, my 2-D pieces are usually executed well enough that such imperfections are hard to find. Not the case for the 3-D pieces. As a result, I haven't been confident enough with a 3-D piece to leave it in a stained state....it will also be colored with acrylic. [Hover over image to enlarge]

Finally, sculpting of the fox is done. The fur texture was added as the top layer of leather dried. Ears were also tooled and added on and the back of the ears have been filled with a leather and cement mixture (referred to as "leather putty"). Now it's on to color! [Hover over image to enlarge]

After much time and frustration, I finally got the fox sculpture core the way I thought it needed to be (I would later find that I missed a bit). The light areas on the first photo are areas that are built back up using a mixture of leather dust mixed with an adhesive. Due to the thickness of the top/finish layer of leather, the core needs to be cut down further than the finished state of the sculpture. Then the top/finish layer of leather is molded onto it and textured appropriately. It turns out to be a challenge to get the core to the right shape to account for all the folds and bends and textures on the top layer. I'm looking at a different way of doing this next time. (I really don't envy stone sculptors at all!!) [Hover over image to enlarge]

The next photo shows the initial top/finish layer of leather covering most of the core. The core was screwed to a piece of plywood. A hole was cut in the piece of leather to cover the core. The nose was inserted through the hole and the leather was molded to the core and nailed to the plywood to keep it in place.


Finally, the nose was covered with two more pieces of leather and properly sized and molded to best hide or camouflage the seams (we'll see how that works out later!!).


The next entry will show at least the texturing of the piece, if not the whole fox assembled (notice the ears are missing!).

In case you don't recall my last attempt at a drawing bag, it was a mess! (Check it out here: When things get out of hand.) That one is mostly torn apart, now, and some of the leather pieces were used to build a more streamlined bag. There are only two compartments...one for the sketch book and one for drawing tools. It's much more convenient to take with me, now, since it's small and light and still carries what I need. Just for fun, I also carved some simple designs in the cover. I'll probably carve some more in other places, eventually, but I won't obsess about it.

Progress remains slow, but I'm still making it. Other things keep jumping on my plate! Here is the fox being sculpted into its rough form. Still plenty more to do before I'm ready to start wrapping it with it's top layer. [Hover over image to enlarge.]

Finally back in the studio (albeit intermittently) after a time-out to build a web site. After two failed attempts at building the core of the fox by experimental methods, I went back to the tried-and-true method of laminating it up with saddle skirting (first photo). Being paranoid, I thought it best to make the nose a little more rigid than the leather could provide, and drilled a 1-1/4 inch hole through the nose to hold a dowel (second photo). Aside from providing more support for the nose, it's also good for holding the screw that will fasten the fox to the backboard (not that it's required, but it's a little more assurance). Now I get to sculpt down to the final shape. [Hover over images to enlarge]