Merry Christmas

Well, it's Christmas. Tomorrow. So, what does that mean? It means that tomorrow we will be celebrating the birth of Christ by exchanging presents and feasting with family members. Even people who don't claim to be Christians celebrate Christmas. Why is that? My answer is that people feel the importance of rejoicing on this day, even though their hearts are far away; it sounds powerful, and it is. People celebrate Christ's nativity without even having acknowledged Him. That, to me, is amazing, and though others might try to cross the Christ out of Christmas and replace Him with Hallmark, that can never be, because all people feel His presence too powerfully to deny His holiday by ceasing to recognize it. I know that all of this has nothing to do with clay or Shakespeare, but it's Christmas tomorrow, and I would just like to say a little something today.
Cheers everybody, and have a merry Christmas!
L.P.G.

The Winter's Tale

Autolycus, a rogue. What more is there to tell? Shakespeare's best descriptions are those with fewest words.


Enter AUTOLYCUS, singing
AUTOLYCUS Lawn as white as driven snow;
Cyprus black as e'er was crow;
Gloves as sweet as damask roses;
Masks for faces and for noses;
Bugle bracelet, necklace amber,
Perfume for a lady's chamber;
Golden quoifs and stomachers,
For my lads to give their dears:
Pins and poking-sticks of steel,
What maids lack from head to heel:
Come buy of me, come; come buy, come buy;
Buy lads, or else your lasses cry: Come buy.

The first sales jingle was invented by Shakespeare. (:
Cheers.

Unbaked Rogues

Well, here he is. I am putting in the final revision touches at the moment, then it is to the oven. He is leaning, yes, but only because he has no base yet, and won't for a while. Oh man, do I wish I had a real work space, I don't even have a desk. Why? Because the room is too small. A house a house, my kingdom for a house!
Anyway, I pre made some eye balls, which I have been meaning to do for quite a while, so I think the eyes should turn out a bit better this time. I also have to make sure I tilt the head downward a bit more before I bake him, because he looks like he is stargazing. I hope he looks roguish enough.

Nick-Nack

Autolycus, a rogue. That is what the list of characters before The Winter's Tale says, anyway. So here lies the question- what on earth does an Elizabethan rogue look like?
The man is masquerading as a merchant of nick-nacks and trifles, yet goes about picking pockets and swindling swains during and after business hours. What would a such a man look like, who walked about the country singing "Jog on jog on"? Worn, wrinkled, brown, cunning, and...merry. Yes, merry. If he wasn't merry why would he sing a duet with a shepherdess? Needless to say, Autolycus is a fascinating character, and, though I often tend to spend most my time on what my figures wear, I think I will need to focus hard on the face for this one, then dress him in something vague and cover him with trinkets and bird cages and ribbons and rolls of old song sheets...
In short, details, details, details! Just thinking about him makes me want to sing--

"Jog on jog on the foot path way,
and merrily hent the stile-a.
Your merry heart goes all the day,
but your sad one tires in a mile-a."

All's Well That Ends Well

As you probably have already noticed, I did it again. I did not post progress pictures. The thing is, it's just so annoying to stop and take pictures when all one wants to do is sculpt or paint. Anyway, that is not what I am unhappy about. The issue is with Helena, she is leaning backwards!!!! I am SO unhappy. You can't tell in the pictures, and hopefully it isn't terribly bad, but in person it just looks horrible. Ugh.
Anyway, at least the rest of it turned out okay; you can't see the hair very well in the picture, but it turned out pretty well, I think. Of course, the "touch of red" I talked about earlier blossomed into a huge skirt of red, but that's okay too. I guess she did turn out all right, but she certainly doesn't look like how I imagined, somehow the clay always ends up deciding what a person will look like.
Helena is a woman who is in love with Bertram, and the entire play is about how Helena tries to marry and keep the unloving Bertram through impossible circumstances.


KING.
What 'her' is that?
LAFEU.
Why, doctor 'she': my lord, there's one arriv'd,
If you will see her,--now, by my faith and honour,
If seriously I may convey my thoughts
In this my light deliverance, I have spoke
With one that in her sex, her years, profession,
Wisdom, and constancy, hath amaz'd me more
Than I dare blame my weakness: will you see her,--
For that is her demand,--and know her business?
That done, laugh well at me.

The Decision

I guess I will make Helena from All's Well That Ends Well. I can see her so clearly in my mind's eye, that I am afraid my art will not do her justice. Such a mischievous expression, with dark brows and light hair. Such a gown and hair style, pompadour fashion, such a personality! This will take me awhile, I know, because I have to get this right. I think her color theme will be white, black, and a touch of red. Colors reflect a personality, of course. I will try to post pictures periodically.

What Now?

Alright, so what do I make now? I have an armature for a skirt already made, so the person has to be female. However, the question is, who should I make? I need help, there are too many plays! If anybody wants to make a suggestion, by all means, leave a comment. I just feel at a loss as to what to do right now...
Then again, nobody reads my blog regularly, according to the stats. Where are all those Shakespeare people? I know your out there! Somebody!
(cue echo effect)

The Tempest

Knowing that the Shakespeare world is all abuzz with the up and coming movie, The Tempest, I thought that a sculpture of Ariel would be quite timely. Now who is Ariel? He is and airy spirit in service to a magician. Makes perfect sense, doesn't it? The beginning of the play sees a violent tempest, but it is not until later that the reader learns that Ariel is the cause of it. My sculpture shows Ariel looking on as the sailors drown, with a smug look of satisfaction on his face. I wasn't quite sure how to represent a faerie person, so I ended up trying to make him look wild and forest wight like. Notice his clothing- it is scant, but savors of the mischievous dryad. You can't see it very well in the picture, but his cloak took a lot of layering with colors to create the right color and texture.
PROSPERO

Hast thou, spirit,
Perform'd to point the tempest that I bade thee?

ARIEL To every article.
I boarded the king's ship; now on the beak,
Now in the waist, the deck, in every cabin,
I flamed amazement: sometime I'ld divide,
And burn in many places; on the topmast,
The yards and bowsprit, would I flame distinctly,
Then meet and join. Jove's lightnings, the precursors
O' the dreadful thunder-claps, more momentary
And sight-outrunning were not; the fire and cracks
Of sulphurous roaring the most mighty Neptune
Seem to besiege and make his bold waves tremble,
Yea, his dread trident shake.

The only place outside without snow on it was the woodpile, so I had to settle for such a setting for Ariel, which is too bad. Oh well.

To One Thing Constant Never

I have decided not to place a deadline on my sculptures anymore-it's just not going to work that way. So, I will still post my stuff, just not with an obligation. I am tired of History plays, I think I will make Ariel from The Tempest next. This one should be fun.
Cheers.

Henry V

Katherine, Princess of France, is complete. In the play Henry V, Katherine appears only twice, however, she is destined to become a French queen to an English king and country. She recognizes the fact that if France loses the war with England, at the peace negotiations she is likely to be given in marriage to the eligible English king. In spite of that, Katherine throws the English king hurdles to his wooing, such as, not allowing him to kiss her because it is the fashion in France. Shakespeare gives her all the force and wit of one of his major heroines, even though she plays a relatively minor part in the performance.
"O bon Dieu! les langues des hommes sont pleines de tromperies."
Translation: O good God! the language of men is full of deceit.
Very apt.

Update on Henry V

Front view of Katherine. She has no feet as of yet; I meant to take in progress pictures of her, but I couldn't find the camera.

When my mom looked at Princess Katherine, she said, "I really like the back part of it." I hope my specialty does not become bustles. She looks a bit peaked right now, but after she is baked and colored she should look better. I think I need to fix that chin too. The skirt of the dress turned out well though, I do believe; it is always difficult to make folds just right. I couldn't give her curly hair because the hair styles back then were rather...tight, if you know what I mean. I hope she looks corseted enough, I had a bugger of a time trying to make her look corseted- a thing I have never done before. The seat is holding up, hurrah! I hope it doesn't collapse in the oven. Well, time to make some feet for her now.

TLS'ed and Bak'ed and a'

I changed tactics, and although I did TLS and bake it, that is as far as I will go until the final baking; after which I will add detail in paints for bringing out the grain of the wood, paint the ribbon, and make the nobbins some sort of metal color, and gloss it. All that has to wait until I bake it the last time, however. Now, for some reference pictures...

Seating Object

It still needs more details, such as the grain of the wood and making the legs look better, but I added a few more elements, such as the ribbon tied to the leg by idle fingers and metal embellishments. Once I finish it I'll brush some diluted TLS tinted brown to try to create a varnished look. I will bake it once for about 30 min., then I will sculpt the Princess sitting on it, and bake them both (sufficiently supported!) for probably an hour. I have enough clay to start Kate, but I will have to wait to finish her until more clay arrives. Meanwhile, I will look up some reference pictures of dresses, headdresses, hair styles, etc. But even before all that, I have to finish some homework, make supper, and finish the object of repose!

A Stool or a Table?

I am working on what I planned to be a stool, unfortunately it has four legs and looks like a table. I am loth to give it three legs because of sturdiness issues. Here is what it looked like at first:

And this is what it looks like after I added a couple details:

It doesn't look too great yet, but its all in the details. I will work on it some more this evening and try to make it look more "finished."

From England to France

Next sculpture will be (as I stated earlier) Katherine, Princess of France, from the play Henry V. Here's the plan, Kathy will be sitting on a stool. I have never made a stool before. Fingers are crossed, lets hope this stool turns out, otherwise royalty will have to submit to sitting on the floor; I sure hope I am skilled enough to prevent such an atrocity from happening. Of course, she could always stand, but that's boring, and I would have to make an armature for her skirt, which is complicated. Thinking of Katherine makes me feel like I'm making a little Shakespeare character family, which is odd. Anyway, stand by for stool news, I'll try to keep this blog better updated.

Henry IV part two

Prince Hal is done! In the play Henry IV, Prince Henry is the King's prodigal son, he means well but doesn't quite do well. Since Hal is the King's oldest son, he will inherit the kingship, which is a great worry to the old king, for he does not want the kingdom to fall into idle hands. Near the end of the play, Hal, when he sees his father supposedly dead, takes the crown as he would take a burden, which killed his father and which he is glad to keep, that it may poison him like it did his father. However, the old king did not die, he just fell asleep. The ensuing conversation is my favorite in all of Shakespeare's work, my paraphrasing cannot do it justice; read the play, it is worth it! In short, Hal reforms and the king dies content with his son.
"My gracious lord! my father! This sleep is sound indeed, this is a sleep That from this golden rigol hath divorc'd So many English kings. Thy due from me Is tears and heavy sorrows of the blood, Which nature, love, and filial tenderness Shall, O dear father, pay thee plenteously. My due from thee is this imperial crown, Which as immediate from thy place and blood, Derives itself to me. (Puts on crown)." Thus speaks Henry, thinking his father is dead, but he is only very ill, and sleeping soundly.

Henry IV part two update

Alright, so I am almost done with Prince Hal from Henry IV part two, I just have to touch up the paint job, make a base, and take his picture. It's taking me longer than I expected already, too much homework! But I should get him up pretty soon, I am so close to finishing him. On a sad note though, his legs are too long. A quarter of an inch too long. I'll have to be more exact next time, but it is so annoying since I can't change it now. Next character will be Princess Katherine of France from Henry V. Hmm, I think she would look good in a red dress, curly hair maybe, and a tall headdress? I have to finish Hal first though, and buy more clay. These people are so well dressed they take up too much of my clay! I can't wait to make some dressed-in-rags plebs...or not.

Henry IV part one

For Henry IV part one, I made Sir John Falstaff. He has been described as a corrupt Santa Clause, a corrupter of youth, and a drunken, gluttonous, lying coward. Here's a quote from the play that commences after Sir John asked what time of day it was.
"Thou art so fat-witted with drinking of old sack, and unbuttoning thee after supper, and sleeping upon benches after noon, that thou hast forgotten to demand that truly which thou wouldst truly know. What a devil hast thou with the time of day? unless hours were cups of sack, and minutes capons, and clocks the tongues of bawds, and dials the signs of leaping-houses, and the blessed sun himself a fair hot wench in flame-color'd taffata; I see no reason why thou shouldst be so superfluous as to demand the time of the day." 
Though all this may be in the highest degree unflattering, still Sir John is one of Shakespeare's most memorable characters, and while reading the play one might unwittingly take Sir John's side and end up rooting for him instead of Prince Hal.

Shakespeare Sculpting Challange!

 I am a huge fan of everything Shakespeare, and I love sculpting in polymer clay, so I thought, why not try to make a character from each of Shakespeare's plays in, say, a year. I gave my self a large enough time frame since I am a full time student now, which also means I probably wont be posting every day, but I will try very hard to keep everything updated.
I will be making all my figures out of a polymer clay called Super Sculpy, with a foil and wire armature (core), colored with acrylics and chalk pastels. I have Sir John Falstaff from Henry IV part one already done, and I will post that as soon as I can so that you all can see what kind of work I do. Since I did jump the gun a little with getting started, I am not sure about the end date; I'm thinking of the end of September 2011 maybe? I'll start with the Historys, then the Comedys, then the Tragedies, and finally the Romances. I will be going from my Riverside Shakespeare, and I will not do Cardenio or Edward III. Once I get more familiar with the whole blog thing, I will post a list. Feel free to comment on what you think!