Monday, March 30, 2015

Finally...Miniature Koi Pond-THE BIG REVEAL!!!

I have ALWAYS wanted to do that!

It's not that I HAVE a really big reveal...heck...you already saw the majority of the Koi pond already, but when I can squeeze TWO blog posts out of  ONE manic effort, you best BELIEVE I'm taking advantage of THAT "crazy', my friends.

Without further ado, here it is:

The actual measurements are something like 1-3/4 x 3/4. I'm not sure if this is truly 1:12 scale, which I'm told is the scale normally used by miniaturists, but to go any smaller would necessitate my losing weight in my fingers, and since I can't do it anywhere else on my body, I doubt I'm going to be successful there. 

Once again, I've got to point you to the girl that provided the tutorial on youtube...she's amazing, and her tutorial is one of the best I've found. I'm not crazy about hearing someone talk on video tutorials. Mostly because I'm one of these fickle people who, if I wake up on the wrong side of the bed, might hear your voice and it could trigger my Misophonia (see THIS post for further edification if you missed it the first time) and things could end up badly for both of us. 

I've made ONE video tutorial and won't do another where I talk. In the sense of fairness, my OWN voice can drive me to mayhem, so don't take it personally.

But THIS artist plays calming music and does a beautiful job of filming what she's doing. No small feat (no pun intended...trust) when you consider how small everything really is.

To get the finish on the fish, her advice was to mix a pearl and translucent clay together. It also makes the fins almost transparent as well. I really love the effect. 

I have two more artistic endeavors I'm working on and hope to have them done midweek. As a teaser, one of them is another miniature, but much more difficult than this. It involves actual paper engineering. The second is an art assemblage copy of an Art Nouveau piece that, if it keeps going the way it is, might just be the most incredible thing I've ever done. Not that my bar is set too high, mind you, but for ME...well...it's fabulous, if I say so myself. ;)

Not to mention my Graphic 45 Secret Garden shadowbox, which now has the 3 completed elements I needed to make it the way I wanted. Bobby, my beloved blog friend, asked if I would be making the flowers. Here's my official answer. 

**Ahem**

Those who know me are well-aware that I have made some pretty decent flowers in the past. But at some point, I believe that outsourcing a few things is a consideration that arises and must be acted upon. Therefore, I will be using flowers from a darling girl in Thailand, who makes the most amazing mulberry flowers...miniatures, mind you...along with the tiniest buds. As this task is boring to me, and due to the exchange rate where 50 bucks translates into 6 months of gorgeous roses, dahlias and buds-even I didn't use them all up in  that time frame!-I have to ask myself a hard question...

Am I going to sweat it out over flowers, after having a blast with these cooler miniature pieces, thus turning this project into drudgery, which will put me in a nasty mood for several days, and cause my children-who, like facing a vampire-will scramble to find, not a Rosary, but a Butterfinger and the number to grandma's to keep me at bay???? 

The answer is NO. Not just No, but HADES NO!

Besides, lovely girl in Thailand, whose name I'm not sure how to pronounce, and I are both happy with this arrangement. If you want to visit her, here's her link.

So, I'm out...off to finish up what I can. And for those of you who have been simply flabbergasted by 3 posts from me in 3 days, I don't want you to worry...I PROMISE to lapse back into my 'underachiever' mode fairly soon. I tell you this because you KNOW how I feel about raising anyone's expectations...that just causes me to work harder. And that never works out for ANY of us. ;)

3 comments:

  1. You really do underestimate your own ability by a long shot! There are so few who would undertake the incredible projects you do! I so agree about the flowers too and thanks for that link. The koi in the pond, WOW! They look so real right down to the fins. This is fabulous, Carmen!

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  2. Jaw dropping unbelievable!!!!! I am lost for words Miss Carmen...your fish look REAL!!!! Everything about your creations and stories, are truly wonderful.

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  3. Amazing! Wow. I don't even know what to say about the level you have a achieved on miniatures.... and didn't it all start with an Altoids tin and a drimmel? You are so talented my friend. Hugz

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