At the romance fantasy writers' retreat that I helped my sis, Terry, with in January, we had some craft time along with all of the author meet and greets, workshops, games and meals, snacktimes, and treat times.
There was a LOT of good food, we ate like Hobbits-
Here is a sample of a Hobbit's menu for the day:
Breakfast - 7am.
Second breakfast - 9 am.
Elevenses - 11 am.
Lunch - 1 pm.
Afternoon tea - 3pm.
Dinner - 6 pm.
Supper - 9 pm
Yep, that sounds about right. We had a lot of tasty breaks for goodies.
The whole weekend was pretty interesting, even though the books weren't my typical genre to read, it was a racy yet, light hearted change for me. And the attendees were so happy to there that their enthusiasm was contagious. The hostess, S. E. Smith, is also an artist and she travels with Sculpy clay to create with during downtime at the workshops she attends. She brought some along for this event and led us in making some baby dragons hatching from eggs.
This was my first Sculpy experience. I've worked with paper clay and air dry clay, and each have their own pros and cons. I didn't do very well with this stuff, but it was fun to try. I found myself re-smooshing and ruining an area I'd just worked on. I think that with practice and with tools, I could get the hang of it though.
One thing I discovered is that if you use multiple colors, they can smear together easily. At least if you aren't careful.
One of the things most people love about this clay is the way it can blend as you use multiple colors to make your creations. But I found it messy and flat looking. Here is my hatchling at the event, and I wasn't too thrilled with the way I'd made him.
This one is even worse.
So, when I got home, I got out my paints and touched them both up. Adding some metallic and pearl paints really helped.
While they still look like a first attempt with clay, I think they are better than before. And I love an excuse to have something to paint.
Which reminds me, I need to go and paint some frames. Not quite as much fun as painting dragons, but I'm doing them for my "Farewell to Downton" art journal swap, and that is pretty durn exciting for me! I scrapped my first example because I didn't think it was as regal as I wanted it to look.
Back to the drawing board, because this book had to have the feel of luxury that we all drool over on the show. After searching online, in all my favorite stores, and trying lots of different ideas, I found some mini, ornate frames to add to the covers that was PERFECT touch. But they are garish colors, and need to be painted white with glints of gold.
Look for details to join the swap soon.
If you don't want to miss my announcement and would like me to contact you with the info when it is ready, please leave a message here or email me at:
karlanathan@sbcglobal.net
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