If I had wings

I was browsing through the official website of one of my favorite artists, Keith Haring, and found a quote from an interview that I just loved. Haring was working on an art project with kids in Chicago, and one of the kids wrote on the mural, "I WOULD FLY IF I HAD WINGS AND SOMEWHERE TO FLY." I almost cried; as a kid I regularly fantasized about flying away, but outgrew the habit when I realized that there really wasn't anywhere for me to escape to.

Whether that was the actual implication behind that Chicago kid's art installation, I don't know. I hope not. But there's nothing wrong with being wistful every now and then.

Friday Dogs: Casey

Casey lives with my friends Tiff and Joni in Superior, WI. She has a sensitive heart, a territorial streak, and a gentle, feel-things-out-along-the-way approach to most people and situations (the main exception to this being strange dogs, at whom she immediately barks if they don't approach right away to say hi).

Two-toned noses, along with one-ear-up-one-ear-down, are one of my favorite features in dogs.

Casey is rather enamored with Rufus. I love this photo because her leash looks almost as though it was Photoshopped in.

Anubis mask: Progress pictures

(To see the start of the project, see this post.)

Here is the mask base, all dry and resting on the original clay sculpture. To make the mask form, I used muslin mache - basically just paper mache but with cloth instead of paper and a slightly stronger glue formula. To make it extra sturdy, I coated the mask inside and out with a super-thick layer of Sobo brand glue (non-toxic and non-smelly) and then lined the edges with black duct tape. It is quite flexible and surprisingly strong — it took over an hour just to cut out one of the eye holes.

The ears are not attached yet — they're just there to see how they look proportionally. Anubis is a jackal god, so his ears are quite tall and narrow.

Gold satin glued over the right eye. This will later serve as the swirly markings around his eye.

The ears are also lined with the same gold satin. I cut up a plastic Arizona iced tea jug to form their basic shape — the jug's shape is also the source of the ears' curvature, as well as the droopy tips... which, while I didn't plan for them, I kind of like the way they look.

The head is mostly furred here. The ears still aren't attached, and the nose has not been added yet.
(The deer-crossing sign, by the way, was found lying in the woods near the local college. I didn't steal it off the road or anything.)

With the nose added! It was originally going to be black, either folded leather or Sculpey covered with that rubberized tool-dip stuff. But I was in a hurry, and thought the gold nose added to the stylized look of the head.

Next on the list:

• Figure out an effective way to attach the ears
• Finish (or perhaps scrap and re-start) constructing the lower jaw
• Fur the neck and the back of the head
• Paws and tail!
  

Behold the chaos!!

This is what my studio looks like right now:


I hope this gives you some idea of why I haven't been posting regularly. We'll be moving out of state in late October, and I have a lot of projects to finish and a lot of downsizing to do before then.

HOWEVER. In the interests of my sanity, I've decided to do the following:

• Dog profiles will happen on Fridays (if I have a new dog to post).
• Regular posts will happen at least once a week for now, to the extent that I can manage even that much. Please mind that much of my life currently resembles my studio. :)
• I've committed myself more firmly to posting more progress pictures of various projects. To that end, look for an image-heavy update on the Anubis mask later this week!
  

I'll get the hang of this blogging thing yet, I promise!