Studio News & Updates

Its been a busy month so far for me, I’ve not been well after catching a bug from my daughter last month, I just can’t seem to shift. Feeling like I’ve swallowed a cactus, have a washing machine for a stomach, and my head has been put into a vice have been a bit of a nightmare over the last 3 weeks, however, though its put me on the sofa or in bed a few times in the last 3 weeks, and cut my time short a few times, but I’m getting back on my feet and I need to.

So I’ve found an exhibition that I’ve entered, I’ve put in 3 pieces, my Little King, Big Dreams, young Mountain Gorilla, my Libera, the baby pygmy hippo and Tender Tread, my Bengal Slow Loris sat on a leaf, so fingers crossed I get in with that one, I’ve also seen a few others that I am considering entering and hope that getting my work out there helps build my name. My recent sculptures are not finished just yet, however since the small changes that I’ve made are working out, my sculptures are so much better in quality, and I’m getting some amazing feedback. So I am thinking that some of my old pieces that I sculpted at the beginning of this year, I am going to give them to my daughter to sell so she can put away the money to buy herself, her first home. Its the least that I can do as a mum and I’m not only helping the animals but I’m helping my daughter too.

I have some pieces in mind so keep a look out on my portfolio page because that’s where they’ll be. I am also going to start a new page called On Sale to Save, and hopefully that will get some pieces to their new homes.

What else is new, well I have got a new design for some business cards, so I’m just looking who can print me them off for the cheapest cost. I was actually thinking of just getting a printer and printing my own, however by the time I’ve paid out for the printer that I need, plus ink, I’m not sure it will save my anything, this is something I’m going to have to look into. I also have some other cards that I wanted to print out, to put with each sculpture, containing their name, what they are, how endangered they are, and to finish it, each animal has a small rhyme about them to you to cherish with your sculpture.

My newest pieces have been an Alpine Ibex, a Kemps Ridley Sea Turtle, a Yangtze Finless Porpoise, a Vaquita Porpoise, a Silverback Mountain Gorilla, a Mountain Gorilla mother with twins, a Hippopotamus, an Asiatic Lion Cub, and a Giant Oceanic Manta Ray. These pieces are by far some of my best work that I’ve created since I started sculpting and I can’t wait to see how they turn out once fired and airbrushed. The Vaquita Porpoise will have to be made again sadly, as he exploded in the kiln when being fired, after looking at him, there was a tiny air bubble in the wall of his head which I couldn’t see and couldn’t have known was there, so sadly he will be made again in, however the Ibex and the silverback have both fired beautifully, along with the finless porpoise and the sea turtle. Nothing else will be fired now though until we get to the bottom of a kiln problem

My kiln is not reaching temperature at the moment so Jools is now going to do some testing of the elements to see if that is the problem, I will be a bit miffed if it is the elements as we only replaced them approx 5 months ago, however, I am still dreaming of a larger kiln so that I can fire some larger pieces, and my manta ray is a prime example of that problem as by the time I’d finished putting his tail on, he was to big to fit in my kiln, so he will have to now sit in the drying room along with my tiger and my aardvark until I can find a kiln to put them in.

Thats really about it for this blog, but keep checking in and dont forget to sign up for my newsletter, dates for exhibitions, sales etc will all be in the Newsletter before they are placed anywhere else.

Take care all

keep crafting

Dee