And now for something completely different....

A few months ago i got together for a play date and visit to the flea market with some co-workers.  We made cards and tags shown here.  Yesterday we did something i have never done before!  We made sculptures out of wire and clay and papier mache.  Our work was quite varied.

I am most proud of this majestic bird.  I started with a big wad of newspaper and made a very simple wire form.  I used med gauge wire - making a rough body, legs, tail and head. There is a silly collar of fine copper wire around his neck.  

We used plaster cloth like this to make some of our sculptures.  WE LOVED this stuff!  So easy and fun to work with.  You cut strips or squares and dip it in water and lay it on your base.  you can spread the plaster around to get a nice smooth surface.

The hardest part was getting my feet to support my heavy bird.

These are two little birds i made with air dry clay.   They are perched on top of candle sticks - i was thinking of maybe making "nests" for them to sit on.  I also made holes to add twig or wire legs - so not sure what i'll do with these little guys.

I have used other air dry clays with mixed results.  This one dries a little grey, but has a nice weight to it.  it is nice and soft and easy to mold.

So i made this too - not really sure what i was going for - sort of an aardvark in a figure skating pose?  This one was made with just a wire frame wrapped with the air dry clay and then etched with a modeling tool to give it "feathers" or to look like it was carved from wood?  Just imagine it painted a frivolous colour, maybe a tutu and with little skates on her feet?

Here are some of the very creative things created by my friends:

 R. created three letters (two shown here) to give to her nieces.  She made simple forms from folded newspaper, wrapped with fine wire for a bit of support then wrapped with the plaster cloth and painted.  She will probably add some fun embellishments for the girls.

J. made this very interesting baby bird! Not quite finished, but isn't it cool? Porcelain doll head, plaster wrapped body over newspaper, clothespin legs.

N. created this, well, we're not sure what it is exactly, but we decided it looks like a polar bear with a very interesting nest of treasures on his back. She extended the plaster right onto a wooden base.

This is J.'s creation.  When we did tags and cards before Christmas - all her designs included a secret pocket. She carried that theme forward here creating a key holder with secret compartment on the bottom.  Those "knobs" are chess pieces covered with plaster and clay. the keys along the  back are glued then secured with the plaster gauze.

As you can see we had a very creative day. To top it all off the Canadians won the hockey game!! Thanks N. for hosting a fun play date.