Hello and welcome to my blog :) I have something very different to share with you today. I've really got into my mixed media lately, and one of the mediums that I am really enjoying working with at the moment is light air dry clay. I use it with moulds and cutters to create 3D projects. For this project I have used the latest moulds from Katy Sue Designs 'Realms of Fantasy' range, plus a few that had been released previously; I have also used acrylic paints, Pearl-Ex paints, Starlight paints, Hearty air dry clay, some dies and an embossing folder from my stash.
Next I painted a mask with black gesso, and let it dry. I used the Dragon Skin mould and some more clay to create some skin, then I moulded it over the mask and left it to dry insitue.
I then created the eyes in the same way and added one of them to the front of the mask, adding it to the skin and over one of the eye holes. I placed the other eye inside the mask behind the other eye hole, moulding it gently to the shape of the mask. I removed it carefully and let it dry.
When the clay was dry I painted the skin, eyes and claws with green acrylic paint and left them to dry naturally.
I made some clay ferns in both white and green clay, painting the white ones when they were dry. I did this to create a variety of colours of ferns, making them look more natural. I also created some clay tree bark with one of the moulds, and painted the bark with brown acrylic when dry. I then added some highlights with Starlight paint by dry brushing over the bark. I then die cut some cogs from black card and added gilding waxes. I also made some clay cogs and did the same when they were dry.
I painted the eye balls with my old favourites, Pearlex paints. I wanted the eyes to have a bright sheen to them. I painted some veins with a very fine brush, and painted the slit iris black, before adding Glossy Accents. I added another piece of skin on the other side of the mask and treated it in the same way.
I then added highlights to the skin with another Starlight paint.
I added some strong PVA glue under the skin and the eye on the outside of the mask, then attached the other eye to the inside of the mask with 3D glue gel. I began adding the cogs, hinges and some faux sheet metal that I had made from black card that I embossed in a folder before colouring it with silver gilding wax. I cut the faux sheet metal into pieces and attached them to the mask with glue. I then added some clay screws on top to make it look like the 'metal' is being held in place with them. I added a clay lock and key to the mouth, to give the effect of clockwork.
I painted a canvas with acrylic paint and when it was dry I attached the mask to it. I then attached the bark, breaking it into smaller pieces to fit it around the mask. Finally I attached the claws and the ferns, to give the illusion of the creature peering out from a leafy forest.
. As you will know if you have visited my blog before I LOVE my mixed media, and as soon as I saw these moulds I wanted to create a piece of artwork based around a decorated mask. These moulds by Katy Sue Designs are beautifully detailed, and I know I'm going to have a lot more fun with them! The only question is .....is the lizard trying to break out from the clockwork man, or is the clockwork man trying to break free from the lizard?!!
Thank you so much for popping in today, I hope you've enjoyed this post, feel free to browse other projects on here, and leave a comment if you like! I hope you'll come back to visit again soon :)
