Steampunk Angel... reporting for duty Lord!

He looks ready for

 his next assignment!

"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, 

for by this some have entertained angels 

without knowing it." (NASB)

Steampunk Angel

Working on "Steampunk Angelus" 

has been a delight, from the get go!

He stands just over 18 inches high,

and has a removeable tin funnel hat

and those silly wire rim glasses!

His head and hands are paperclay,

his body is cotton canvas (10 oz.)

covered with vintage photo-transfers

of steampunk gears and machinery...

Steampunk's Tummy!

My "Steampunk Angelus" is finally finished!  

I added the clockworks and other small 

brass gears using rusty wire.

The upper arms are small, wood

craft finials that have been distressed.

The sleeves are photo-transfer images

of vintage gears and machines.  

His belt is a small leather dog collar... Ha! 

Another Peek at Steampunk Angelus!

Steampunk Angelus is almost finished!  

He needs to have his wings 

and arms attached...

and a few clock gears and springs added. 

I posted a few more pics at Cloth and Clay Dolls 

and Odd-Dolls on my pages there. 

Wow.... it's warm in Woodstown; 

reaching 98 today!  Whew... Daryle

"Steampunk Angelus"

I look at his big teeth, and just smile! 

Steampunk Angel has some arms 

in the works and a pair of wings as well!  
Perhaps later this evening 

I will find the time to give him a couple coats 
of face color and glazing!  

One can only hope...  Daryle

  

A Steampunk Angel!

"Steampunk Angelus"... a WIP!

He needs a face job, some arms, and a pair of wings!  What to use for his wings, that troubles me a bit.  He is 19" tall, standing on a wooden base.  I will probably give the base a checkerboard or pok-a-dot finish. I have some other springs and brass gears that I would like to see on him...somewhere!

I guess that's why he is a work in progress...  Blessings to you and yours, in the middle of this week! Daryle

Steampunk Angel... Up Close and Personal!

This work in progress still needs a face!  I found some great old hardware on our recent jaunt to Lancaster County.  The glasses are made with rusted hardware and wire.  His hat (I will add a brass gear to it later) is an old tin funnel.

Sculpting Angelus' mouth was a whole different story!  Ugh!  I wanted some significant teeth in this guys smile; well he has them... this was my fourth attempt!  Tsk! Tsk!

A Peek at Punk: "Steampunk Angelus"

I'm fascinated by the "steampunk movement"... and decided to begin working on a steampunk angel.  I photo-transferred some great vintage engravings of gears and machines onto cotton canvas... then coffee-stained it.  I found the images in Heck's Pictorial Archive of Nature and Science.  This is a copyright free publication by Dover Books. I added some clockwork gears and an old leather strap.

Farmer's Market Finds...

We drove over to the Farmer's Market 

in New Castle, Delaware this late morning... 

and found a few items to incorporate in 

Katie's cards and my folk art. 

 An early 1900's crocheted pair of ladies' gloves, 

a vintage optical camera lens, 

an old stack of playing cards 

a vintage infant shirt 

(that I use to dress my mohair bears with), 

and a tiny color plate booklet of Vermont scenes. 

Ahhh... now, to use them!

Yet Another Favorite Shop!

The "Re-Uzit Shop" in New Holland, on East Main Street has become one of our regular stops, when in Lancaster County.  There are always treasures to be found!  Poking around the book area (which is a small room!)... I found these three books and the vintage ruler (it was fifty cents).  The books were each one dollar.  The Song Eureka book is full of children's songs, circa 1894.  The other two books have lovely colored illustrations.

Thrift Shop and Salvage Shop Finds

Katie and I spent much of the day, driving around Lancaster County, PA.  We found three new thrift shops in Ephrata alone!  And a remarkable salvage shop in New Holland.  All of the old clock work pieces, the folk art carved wood bird, the metal hardware, and the vintage leather straps were found at "Carson's in the Cornfield."  A great shop full of salvaged hardware, wood trims, spindles, and hand painted folk art.  All at reasonable prices.

 The owner has dozens of bins of vintage hinges, screws, door plates, skeleton keys, odds and ends.  It is one of the WOW shops you walk through and just can't get enough of! 

Three floors... including the basement which is full of wood door panels, shutters, trims, on and on.  If you're in the area... you need to visit Carson's on Grist Mill Road!  
And the lovely old 13 x 15 walnut frame that everything is sitting on... we found at a roadside shop, and it was marked $3.50!  When I went to pay for it, the shop keeper said; "No, it's on sale, and is only one dollar!" I'm still smiling about that one!

The Sentinel... Sent to Laguna Hills!

I am delighted with the entire process... The "Sentinel of Winter" really took on a life of its own in terms of the design, fabric choices and the final "look!"  I was able to make use of some vintage buttons, fancy bead-work (on the hat), and that recycled wool blanket that Katie and I found at a thrift shop in Vineland. 

I used FolkArt's raw sienna acrylic paint for my over-glaze coat on the crackling.  I love the warm, rich, patina that it left.  Sigh... what's next?  Thanks so much for stopping by... Daryle

A bit of whimsy...with Winter's Sentinel!

I labored over this one... How might I introduce a bit of whimsical joy into this particular piece? Ahhh... snow! Sparkling.. White... Snow! 

My stash of German glass glitter to the rescue.  This tiny blown glass jar with a cork stopper, along with an itsy-bitsy coffee-stained tag became the perfect answer: "Snow Seeds!"  How whimsical is that?  The mittens are sculpted from paperclay, then painted and crackled.

"Die Wache Winter!"

The "Sentinel of Winter" was mailed today... looking for a spot in the Winter issue of Art Doll Quarterly's "milieu challenge."

"The Sentinel of Winter!" an Art Doll Quarterly Challenge...

The deadline for this particular Art Doll Quarterly Challenge is in ten days...Yikes!  It's the "Milieu Challenge"... choosing an environment or surroundings for a particular doll that you have designed. I have placed "die wache winter" in a 15th century guard house, similar to those used by the "Beefeaters" who protect the Tower of London.  The house is made with foam board, wooden finials and scraps of pine and cardboard.  All covered in paper towels soaked in white glue, adding texture.  

 

My sentinel is dressed in an off white wool coat with a separate wool hat... made from a thrift shop wool blanket.  The remaining clothing and scarf is made from a textured wool men's sportscoat (also a local thrift shop find).  

TO DO LIST: Paint and crackle the head, add some eyes, wire the arms and add mittens.  Sew those buttons on! Glue some scrap-booking papers inside the guard house, paint it, "winterize" it... and get it in the mail!  Say a prayer! Daryle 

 

Sascha and Gottfried: "Seelen der Freude"

Sascha ("defender of mankind")...

and Gottfried ("God's peace")... 

...along with all of the other souls of joy can be seen on our Cloth and Clay Dolls page.  You'll find the link here, on our blog!  Daryle

Meet the Boys: "Souls of Joy!"

I finished the "souls" this weekend!  Their little bodies are covered with vintage German sheet music that Katie and I found at the New Castle Farmer's Market last year. I used a one-step crackle medium on their heads and hands; to give them a warm, aged appearance.  Their (rather dapper) paper collars are made from heavy card stock that is coffee-stained.  They stand on stenciled and distressed checkerboard pattern wooden bases. They are (from left to right): Huppert, Sascha, Gottfried, Rafael, and Otto.  (take a bow, boys!)  Blessings, Daryle

Cactus in Bloom!

I have been (not too patiently) waiting 

for the cactus that I transplanted 

three years ago to bloom...

 Well, it is lovely!