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I begin all my canes by first doing research. I do my research on Google
usually. First by web sites then by images. I find all the images that match my project for inspiration only. Never copy
anyones image! After I have gathered some inspiration, I draw my image out in pencil then color in with Prismacolor pencils.
The picture is a very rough sketch. I do not claim to be good at drawing. But it helps to have the 2D image when
trying to create a 3D cane. The finished product will most likely look somewhat different.
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Next comes mixing clay. I mix a brick of white. Then block of yellow and a block of
golden yellow. And some dark gray for outlines. I created a skinner blend with white to yellow and rolled it
into a log. Formed a square log. Cut the log and insert the lines for the window.
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Comparing my image to the cane, I
see the cane is much to large! I must reduce it so that my finished cane is not the size of a
dinner plate.
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the image and cut it to a length of 1 1/2". It's important to not let your cane get away from you.
Drawing the image out first will allow you to keep each part of the cane in proportion to the desired
end size. I like to work with a length of 1 1/2". Any shorter and the cane becomes difficult to reduce.
Especially a larger rectangle cane such as this will be.
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Then I mixed my red for the
body of the lighthouse. I formed it to the basic shape I needed, then cut at the places where
I will need to insert other pieces. I will set this aside for a while. |
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Wow are my arms sore! This took almost
two hours to mix. I now have five different shades of blue. About two full pounds I believe.
I lay them out strategically random for further mixing. |
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Rolling flattening, and then
reassembling again and again yields my sky pattern. I size it up to my image and it looks a little
shy. Part of the center will be filled with the lighthouse so I should have plenty. It's always
a good idea to mix more than you think you will need. Especially on custom mixes that will
never be recreated. |
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Sea grass comes next. One cane
becomes eight smaller canes after reducing. These canes will be placed beneath the lighthouse on
the beach, in the sand. |
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Sparkling sand enters the picture.
Again, I size it up. Making sure I have enough. |
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The little vestibule is done, finally!
This small little "house" took two hours to complete. It was tedious, but it looks like it turned out.
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Padding is added for protection.
It's easy to loose your shape, this will hopefully prevent the house from shifting and loosing it's
shape. I've worked up some shrubs to go beside the lighthouse vestibule. |
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