I got to Petaluma on Friday morning around 7am and waited for the class to begin at 10. Stayed in a funny old Victorian Hotel (Metro Cafe and Hotel) where the had make your own coffee and quiet signs all over so that you did wake anyone. But it was very relaxing and artsy and seemed to fit the whole mood of the weekend.
Three days of creative fun, exhaustion and birthing of new ideas and creatures. Once again Wendy and Toby Froud generously shared their creative process with 15 lucky artists.
Here is the fruit of our labor. Fifteen little creatures all made under the watchful eye of our mentors who gave us tips and tricks throughout our time there. Even the fur we used on our dolls was magical. We were using left over fur that was used on the movie "Where The Wild Things Are". On Friday we started the class with a meditation to find our creative energy and if we were lucky, to meet the creature we would sculpt. All day Friday we worked on the head, getting the sculpt just right. Saturday was heads and feet and wrapping the armature, then Sunday was painting and dressing.
And to top it off we had the class at the Petaluma Art Center and at the same time they had an incredible doll show. The show runs until the middle of September. If you have the chance to go, you will be rewarded with the opportunities to see dolls as diverse as E.J Taylor, Wendy Froud, Christine Shivley, Leslie Molen, and Kat Soto just to name a few.
Because Wendy and Brian were promoting their latest collaboration "The Heart of Faerie Oracle, Brian also came to play on Sunday.
My little creature just told me that he was a bird man, so now I need to make some birds to be around him. I will publish a picture, once he is finished.
So I fiddled all afternoon trying to get fluffy feathers to stick to this little bird. Ugh! They are up my nose and glued to my feet, but looking good. Need to paint his feet so they aren't copper wire....but that will be after the glue dries on the feathers. What a mess feathers are and I've never created a bird, so what do I know about what they look like. You will never find this one in a backyard at your house, but if you follow a certain path in a hidden cave with a small stream ..... and then find the magic door unlocked...then you too may find him sitting on a branch....looking for the Birdman...
Sometimes he comes into the house and sits under my living room lamp...but that is only when their are lighting storms and his feather's get wet, then the Birdman knocks on my door and I feed them honey and seeds and they tell me all their adventures....
