From Conception to Completion

The making of Finial Santa Begins with an idea. I never draw anything first like normal artists do because, for one thing, I can't draw. And for another, my piece rarely turns out like my original idea. The piece evolves during the creation process and I almost always hate the first attempt. In this case, while I'm not overly fond of the first attempt, I thought I'd share it with you anyway, since I went to all the trouble of documenting the process. And while I do love Santa's face on this piece, the body didn't turn out exactly the way I wanted it to. But here it goes anyway.



This is how every piece starts.
With a foil core.
This is the beginning of Santa's Boots.







The foil Core gets covered
with a layer of Polymer Clay.








The tops of the boots are added
and strengthened with wooden dowels.









Lastly, the details are added.
Then it goes into the oven for 15 minutes.

While the boots are baking,

it's time to work on the body.

It also begins with a foil core.







The first layer is added and textured.

I bake between layers so

I don't loose the texture

while I am adding the next layers.







The process is repeated

for the next two layers.











Time for the head,

then the fun begins!











Now for the nose and lips.

I like to make them as large

as possible. I think it makes

the piece more whimsical.







Then I add the beard and

usually a moustache, but

in this case, I added hair

instead of a moustache.







The beard and hair get their

texture too. Aren't those

lips to die for?











The hat is added and

then the finishing touches.










Lastly, I antique the intire

piece to bring out all the detail.
Once the antiquing medium

is dry I add the blush tint to

the lips and cheeks.

Then I sign and date the piece.