Carving little comfortbirds

I had some nice small pieces of soft fir wood, and carved several tiny comfortbirds – which was fun, the carving as well as the giving away.

Comfortbirds seem to have a kind of tradition in the US and Canada, carved to be given away especially to people who need a bit of help, are going to rough times, suffer from anxiety & stress, are in hospital etc.

But of course they can just be a little nice something to give as a present to people one cares about (like I did) or/and to lift them up a bit without a consciously meant psychological twist to it.

these two are about 5 cm long

this one is about 7 cm long

Latest wood gnarlie finished: Sad and Sorrowful Sean

So this is Sean, sad and sorrowful and finished – I enjoyed his mellow company whilst carving him and he smells so good with his being of very fragrant fresh rowan wood.

I was really lucky with this piece of wood – not too dry, and some interesting texture to work with. Taking adequate pics of him was quite challenging. He is one of my favorites so far in my group of moody men / quirky fellas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cowboy Curtis – third wood gnarlie finished

So this is the third “wood gnarlie” I finished. Tiny and challenging, from birch wood. It was fun especially after I had reached that certain “breaking point” where the work suddenly seems to make sense and the flow begins. Before that it sometimes can be a bit … ah well … gruelling. I called this one Cute Curtis because to me he looks a bit like a Cowboy with his dimply chiselled chin and reminds me a bit of Woody from “Toy Story”, so there you go.

 

New friendly tiny wood gnarlie – work in progress

Hi,

so here´s the piece I am working on at present, a very tiny head, challenging because of the size but again a lot of fun. It´s still in the early ages and I am not soooo sure how it will turn out. But in any case – it´s a fun process I really enjoy a lot.

I need to force myself to take breaks in between because the hands get tired more quickly than I like :-).

Handsome Scotsman with Dog – starting a Scot Sculpture Series

Hello there,

yes this corner has been quiet lately, but I was and am more than busy wth several jobrelated activities…still, I insist on finding time to do what matters very very much to me: sculpting. Although I finished the writing desk for handsome George of Faunia, there are still some minor works to be done there  – so it will be some time before will show it off here.

Meanwhile, I got carried away to Scotland, not literally but still thoroughly. “Outlander” hooked me. Those of you who might know the books by Diana Gabaldon and have watched the series know what I am talking about – all others: if you like stunning landscapes, great acting, fantastic costumes and a compelling love story , with “Outlander” you are at the right place. Anyway, herewith I start a “Scot Sculpture Series” by sculpting various characters from the story, starting with Jamie Fraser (portrayed by wonderful Sam Heughan – the role of his life, I would say) – my first human made in SuperSculpey , mind! Next one will be Dougal McKenzie (portrayed by wonderful Graham McTavish – I think he was made for this role!). But of course there will be more creatures of Faunia, by and by, it´s a never ending story 😉

So. Here we have the handsome scotsman with dog aka “Jamie with Lucais”. The sculpture is tiny, about 19 cm high which was very challenging for me as my macquettes are usually bigger…but I am really happy and content with the result –  and just love his costume, especially his waistcoat with the binding on the back. The Tartan gave me a headache and I had to leave out some details because it was just getting too time consuming…but it was absolutely wonderful to sculpt it. And yes, there just had to be a dog included in my”sculptural setting”, you know me…and Dougal McKenzie will definetly be accompanied by one of the impressive wolfhounds of Castle Leoch, to be sure.

To be continued… 😉

Oh by the way. I am on Facebook now, maybe you´d like to drop by some time there and connect.

Have a great week.

Work-in-progress: an early sneak-preview of a new Faunia character

So this is an exclusive sneak-preview of a new creature of Faunia – Louis, the intellectual assistant of Mayor Miles Mulligan. Louis loves discussions with his boss. Even though these two guys have quite different personalities – Louis a serious thinker and a bit nerdy, Miles with an attitude “live-and-love-the-moment-and-talk-about-it” – they get along perfectly.

As I keep working on him, he will get furrier and of course more details will be added…and I already look forward to the paint-job on his looooooong black-and-white tail. His wife Stella, by the way, is a dancer (her specialty: Tango Argentino) and gives dance workshops in the forest, accompanied by Faunia´s talented musician Jamie Finn playing joyful tunes. Louis and Stella have many many cute children that run around everywhere in Faunia…wait and see some of them in one of the upcoming posts 😉

 

 

 

YAY! Finished! Finally! See dragon Tripodd in all his clumsy glory!

Here he comes, Faunia´s eager school-dragon, ready for a new day.

Wouldn´t you like your children to have such a friendly and enthusiastic “teacher´s pet” in the classroom? 😉

(pics by Th. Schramm)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dog and Dragon update.

Hi there, dear readers!

This post will be about two of my favourite topics: Dogs and dragons 😉

Last weekend, I had to say good-bye to my beloved “walkies”-buddy Nando, because he has found a new home and hopefully will be happy there. So this past week-end, I made a new friend – this is sweet Chicca, a very well-mannered and friendly dog with a cute moustachy face, quite tall, and with a bit of Schnauzer. We got along beautifully even though I do not know what “Sit!” and “Give paw!” in Romanian is (that´s where she´s from), as she does not know it in German – yet ;-).

And apart from making lovely new friends, I´ve been in Faunia, sculpting my clumsy three-headed school-dragon Tripodd…I herewith proclaim him almost finished!

There will be some tiny details to add, but all in all, that´s him!  I imagine him well in summer when he takes the little fauns and centaurs and other creatures on his back after school to carry them to the pond for a thorough swim. He s a very distant cousin of Dougal, the pond-police”man” (ah waterdragon) and enjoys dog-paddling in the cool water.

 

  

 

After I have finished him ,  I will do some serious sketching to give you a clearer idea what all those crazy characters are doing in Faunia.

Until then – hang on, there will be posts to different creative topics  ! 😉

 

 

Step into the office of Miles Mulligan III.

(pics by Th. Schramm)

Welcome to the office of mayor Miles Mulligan III, fully “garbed” in his best – well – fur, a nice handmade mug with a dipped-in biscuit handy (not in tea, rather a veggie-broth as the whole community of my fantasy realm is vegetarian), a functional stylish (kind of) desk and quite a few meaningful thoughts to share. I imagine him having a nice full far-carrying baritone voice (Richard Armitage-ish) with a slight Scottish accent ;-).

I had a lot of fun scultping & painting him and crafting his office “chair” and “desk”. The latter both are made of styrofoam. For the sofa – yes I name it, can´t really tap around it, eh? He loves his comfy office-sofa – I used felt which I sewed onto the base.

The mug is made from clay, the biscuits are – can you believe it – real, just like the pen and paper. Oh and the carpet is handknitted by me, yeah I know a bit wobbly , but it´s rustic style out there in Faunia.

Hope he makes you smile just like he made me smile on this rainy monday. Please feel free to comment, I look foreward to hearing from you.