Autumn's Touch

The fall season captivates me each year. And today I got that first glimpse of the season. It has cast me under its spell today, reminding me how wonderful the season is. There is a reassurance of peace and rest during autumn. Today the feeling of fall was tangible. For me it is a time to reflect and renew. And of course who can overstate the depth and intensity of fall color. Please take time to see a few pics of the season of autumn captured by my camera. Enjoy! :-)

I took this photo one year while walking on the nature trail. It's one of my favorite fall photos.

This photo was taken last year while a couple of friends and I visited Old World Wisconsin. Look at the color. Ahhhhh.....!!!!

This is a gorgeous tree that was in front of my friend Deanna's apartment in Janesville. Why can't those leaves stay on the tree throughout the winter season?

This photo was another one taken while visiting Old World Wisconsin last October.

Happy Autumn!!! :-)

Playful Penguins Process, part 2 - the finale

And the penguin saga continues! My last post ended with a couple of pics of the penguin mock-up with the straw and glass. The following picture shows my penguin nestled in the middle of the inner tube. I placed it in the inner tube to estimate how I should shape the penguin's wings, shown here as wire mesh covered with some masking tape.

Here's the penguin with it's first layer of Apoxie Sculpt.

And here is my second attempt at the under structure for the inner tube. My first version was getting too big and too heavy, so I started from scratch for the inner tube. This time I used colored plastic wrap wound over a circle shaped wire.

And here my penguin is getting accustomed to the newly constructed inner tube.

Now my penguin and inner tube are covered with a coat of gesso, ready to be painted. I painted the cup and straw first, since I was anxious to try my epoxy resin for the "liquid' in the glass.

And here he is! Lounging the day away on his brightly polka-dotted inner tube!

Ahhhhh.....he's enjoying his day! :-)

My Playful Penguin hopes you are enjoying your day as much as he is enjoying his!

Missed "Playful Penguin Process, part 1"? click here

Playful Penguin Process, part 1

Here's a peek at how I created my Playful Penguin piece that's lounging on a polka-dotted innertube.

For the inner tube under structure, I used some wire to shape it into a circle. Then, I covered it with some scraps of gripper liner and aluminum foil.

Here's the inner tube under structure, with the penguin's under structure, which is a burned out light bulb. The white material on the bulb is a type of paper mache medium.

After covering the inner tube structure with foil, I covered it with a layer of paper mache medium.

And here is a mock-up of my penguin drinking from a glass with a straw. I used some sculpey clay to shape a mock glass and beak and inserted a wire to form the straw. The sunglasses shown here are the original glasses that I then made into a mold to make sunglasses with resin.

Here's a close-up view of my penguin/straw & glass mock-up. Stay tuned for my next post featuring more work in progress pics along with the finished piece all painted and glazed.

Stop by my facebook fan page album titled "Works in Progress Step by Step" to take a look at other pieces I've worked on. And please don't hesitate to become a fan of my Lilly Bug page. :-)