Faces That Only A Mother Could Love

I spent the last weekend in a workshop with the vey talented Suzanne McRae, you can read more about her on her facebook page Hip Hip Decay. It was a very short introduction into her techniques for producing whimsical and anthropomorphic animals. The workshop was great fun and  left the way open for us to create in her style but not copy.  We needed to come along with our 'heads' made and then the development of our unique animals would take place. With time on my hands and plenty of clay available I made a few heads as per the instructions and left them to dry. A visiting friend remarked  that  they were so ugly that only a mother could love them.

This is Gertie, my first born.

Mug shots, her head needs to be painted and a closer view of her eco dyed/contact print fabric body. The feathers for the wings and tail are chiffon.

The saying that practice makes perfect does not necessarily mean that making five heads is enough for perfection. However, this mother loves her children and will eventually create more bodies / animals to go with the heads or maybe just have an ever growing bowl of heads as I work at perfecting them.

And of course a cat

The group photo

Some more finished than others.

The beginnings of Gertie's body.