I auditioned several of the party-going bugs to hold this tiny bouquet of flowers but the damask butterfly above won the part because it just strikes me really funny somehow. Something about a mean-looking butterfly bringing a cheerful bouquet to a birthday party is cracking me up. :-)
This prop and the other tiny flowers made last week are entirely unnecessary to have been made. And I have learned well on this project that making teeny tiny things not only takes as long as the big impact large things, but it often takes even longer. My mind says it shouldn't. Small things are small and should therefore be fast to do. I have found this to be completely wrong.
Rule #31: BEWARE: Tiny Can Take More Time Than Big. I still have no idea why that is.
This time it started when I was making tons of little flowers to grow along the new picket fence (please see next post) and I thought hey, I wonder if I used my teeny paper flower punch on sheer tissue paper colors (see left above) and layered them if they would look like petaled flowers too? Kinda-do!
I flocked the itsey centers (top) and attached each blossom onto fine dried twigs that were then painted with green tissue leaves added. I painted the bouquet with liquid porcelain and then repainted it green to have it be like a ceramic sculpture for no reason other than I love liquid porcelain, also for no reason.
The rest of these crazies daisies will grow in the
Writing Mouse's Front Flower Garden to fill it out a bit more. An unneeded touch that I'm a little happy about.
And also for no damn good reason I took small pieces of hardware and fashioned them into tiny terra cotta garden pots for mini-mini red geranium props for outside the mushroom cottages. Above you see me attaching a painted cardboard slice onto a small piece of painted brass tubing with a tack as a saucer. I made 5 like this in various teensy sizes for use in the smallest Halfland set scale, like the
Mouse's House Exterior and the
Bug Party Cafe.
On the left you see the smallest real clay pot I could make a while back for this. But with this new batch I could get easily 1/3rd that size. The two smallest pots, made out of mini metal grommets, flanks another mushroom door and shows how the
Village Landscaping will look when further finished out.
This week after being away from making props for months, I made a wood looking floor. While I was working on that, I realized how impatient I became over the time. I always think that designing with computers make the designer lazy, impatient.. Anyways, while I was working on the floor, I kept asking myself, -how did I work on my tree.. hundreds of leaves. And then thought about you.. You made about two thousand leaves I guess. Here I see all those tiny flowers. You are amazing Shelley and a big inspiration for me. You show me how to be patient. Rule 32 is recorded here: "Tiny Can Take More Time Than Big."
ReplyDeleteOne more thing I need to say here. The picture of you attaching a painted cardboard slice onto a small piece of painted brass tubing: this is a wonderful picture and tells a lot to me about both Halfland and you as an artist. When I first saw that pic it made me smile... Your fingers swamped with glue and that tiny pot with flowers sits there. Just downloaded this pic to my computer...
Aw, thank, Yazzy McSchnazzy!
ReplyDeleteI think the ballet classes have helped my patience a lot. I now have way more concentration and tenacity then I ever dreamed. Not enough to make my teacher happy, he gets really mad at my constant mistakes, but more than I would have had naturally!
xoxoxo s
Oh ballet, yes.. My daughter started taking ballet lessons and she was able to take only one lesson :) We went there together. Her teacher left her alone. You know she is only 4 and teacher wanted her to get used to the idea slowly. She danced around all alone for 2 hours. The other week she did not want to go to ballet again. Patience is definetely something learned as we grow up. Kids are always very impatient. And I guess one of the most important things need to be developed to become an artist is to be patient.
ReplyDeleteBallet is so great for kids, but I'd starting them only after eight years old, and then not in a strictly serious way, maybe just little tulips and duckies dancing in little shows type stuff. Real ballet, if not taught in a healthy way for a child's forming bones and joints can be very damaging!
ReplyDeleteAt four Zeynep should be with other little dancers and "Run from the bear!" and "move like a bird flying!" and "Jump like a big frog!"
I did those things with 8 year olds and it was hard to keep their attention for a whole hour! I became EXHAUSTED!
Much love xoxoxo
Thanks for the recommendation. I feel better about it now. We never push Zeynep to do things she does not want to. But I want her to really try ballet sometime. Here kids start very early. There are even 3 yearsold ones. The teacher was not like making them do things too seriouly. But still is an education you know and it has some kind of disipline. We will try later when is older.
ReplyDeleteThe discipline of ballet is fantastic. Especially if Zeynep has a love for the world of dance.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you and Hakan will know what's right for her and when.
xoxo
I never thought of a butterfly as looking mean - and especially not when delivering a bunch of flowers - but it's a great image! Maybe more a gruff, grumpy butterfly who's a bit awkward about things like giving flowers.
ReplyDeleteCrikey, them is some small flower pots! I have a lot of setmaking and props to do in 1:24 scale so I'l take inspiration from that.
Oh! This guy's mean, Nick, real mean!
ReplyDeleteNot evil, but surely sinister! Look at that face! He hates parties and the other bugs going but he has to go and be nice and bring flowers.
(There. That's a story cue for Cirelle!) These things tend to write themselves! HA!
Whatcha building at 1:24!? Can I watch somewhere online? Is there a blog I should be subscribing to? Or do you talk about it on the board?
Wow !
ReplyDeleteThe flowers pot is outstanding !
Thanks, Vincent! Small = fun:)
ReplyDelete