Festive Stone Art Sculpture

 

Again this started life as a polystyrene circle, then I cut a piece cut out.

I covered the piece in stone art and ivory powertex and then threw everything at it until I was happy with the outcome.

Close up of the stone art texture and the colouring.

I added yellow, brown and blue bister, black powertex and then transparent.

And I incorporated some of the elements left from our gluhwein together with some elements from a previous woods forage which I coated in transparent powertex so I could keep their natural look.

Rustic

Another of my circles with a hole and piece cut out the middle.

I just kept going with it until I got the look that I wanted.

Close up of the rust powder, small balls and transparent powertex mix.

Then I went outside and took some photos when the sun popped out.

A close up of the colours and rust.

I love how this bit at the top has rusted.

I added rusty wire and nails.

Love how this bit rusted too with the dark and light.

More rust on the cardboard.

Egyptian Pharaoh Sculpture

 

Been making big circles again with my cutter.

I cut one of them into quarters.

Using my solder tool I made some marks in two of the pieces.

Used up the blue powertex I mixed for the bauble on two pieces and did the other two pieces in black powertex.

Then I toned them down a bit.

Next I secured the two lots of pieces together with wire and started to build up the bottom pieces and coloured it until I was happy with it.

And here it is finished and mounted.

Cherub in the Moonlight

This was the middle out of my wreath.  I used a sharpie to mark where I wanted to cut another shape out.

Cutter used, and I now have a 'C' shape.

I then gave it a coat of white powertex.

Next I made up a mix of 3d flex and powertex and splodged it on one side.

Next I found a cherub and some hearts and started arranging them.

I made some grooves in the three smaller hearts so they fitted on my piece of thickish wire.

Got a piece of cotton scrim for the figure to sit on and it's an easy way to attach it to the polystyrene.

I picked out some hearts and coloured them silver and also used silver treasure gold over the easy 3d flex texture.

Close up of the little cherub and hearts.

Close up of the treasure gold on the 3d flex.

Then I mounted it on a wooden stand.

Huge thanks to Ashley Hay and Natalie Parish for the inspiration over these last 5 days.

Polystyrene Cutter

 

Using some of my birthday money, I treat myself to a polystyrene cutter.

And I'm extremely impressed with it.

Managed to cut a perfect circle first time, well it would have been perfect if I'd used a square piece to start with, but I just tried it with an off-cut as I really didn't think it would work!

And what a fabulous shape I am left with from the off-cut.

Unfortunately I can't do any more today as it smells when burning through the polystyrene and I can't open a window as it's peeing it down.

Broken

 

Powertexed a block of polystyrene and cut out some arm holes.

I painted the hair and then used transparent powertex to stick it onto the head.

A view of the hair from the back.

And from the front mounted on a piece of slate.

Two Aged Cherubs

 

Not having much luck with the bone effect technique. I think it looks more like stone than bone!  I did use StoneArt on the piece of polystyrene that they are sitting on, but didn't quite get the bone effect on the cherubs.

Polystyrene Sculpture

 

Using up some more of the polystyrene, I cut the above piece in half.  Coated it in the remainder of the grey powertex from the skulls.  Once dry I added crackle paint and fibre paste to the left side piece and tar gel to the right piece.  I left it overnight to dry, then used my soldering tool to make the holes and finally I coloured it up until I was happy with the result.

February Powertex Box

"The love of my life opened my heart the warmth it let loose poured into my art" by Claire Ivins

https://youtu.be/yhrEOCbZDY4

 *** You may not get an exact replica of this box, but similar items will be included ***

I also gathered a few more supplies, wire, paper tape, tinfoil and a larger mdf heart shape.

I used the mdf heart shape to mould another from wire.

I used tinfoil to pad it out and create the shape I wanted.

Next came the making of the arrow. This is a thicker wire as I wanted it strong and sturdy.

I covered everything in masking tape.

Then I started to play around with some of the contents in the box.

I wanted to make a recess in the polystyrene heart for the plaster heart to sit in, so I drew round it.

And using a craft knife and a small pair of scissors, I dug out the shape.

I placed the plaster heart in the hole to try it for size.

 I painted it with a coat of red Powertex and whilst still wet pressed Stone Art powder onto it and rubbed it in, letting the excess fall off. The Stone Art creates a stone like effect. 

Then I sprayed it with red Bister. This red is more of a mahogany colour, ie a deep red.

I painted the heart and arrow shapes with the red Powertex an stuck the arrow on with it too. I cut out some of the polystyrene heart so it sat on the frame. I added the gold sequins from the January box and also used rich gold pigment from my stash over some of the heart shaped frame.

And to finish I mounted it on one of the Powertex metal stands.

Some close ups.

I did the same for my next project and started off by creating a layout. This time I wanted to show different shades of red and different textures.

I sprayed the plaster cherub with the red Bister.

I used the red ochre and varnish to create a paste and painted the wings, and did the same with the rich gold on the hair.

I painted the large heart from my stash, and from the box, the set of four hearts (including the one out of the middle of the biggest one), the smaller starburst shape, mini hearts and the wooden love word, all in the red Powertex.

This one I added strands of Power Cotton to the wet Powertex, painted over it and added the key whilst still wet. Once dried, I dry brushed with green olive pigment, which if you were lucky enough, was in the January subs box.

This one I sprinkled some of the small Powertex sand balls into the wet Powertex and dry brushed with rich gold pigment.

And for this one I added pieces of tissue to create some texture and to dry brush I mixed some of the blueberry pie with the red velvet acrylic paint and a touch of lipstick fizz pigment (for the shimmer) to create a deep purply colour.

Next I layered everything up and put it all together. I used the Powertex as a glue once I was happy with the placement.

Some more close ups.

For my next project I wanted to section off parts of the sheet of rice paper included in the box.

Instead of cutting it, I like to get a rough edge as I find it blends in better and isn't such a harsh line. If you take a wet paintbrush and mark out where you want to tear, if it's wet enough it should just pull apart. If it rips then the paper isn't wet enough.

It should just pull apart and creates a lovely edge.

This is what I ended up with. Don't you think they look much nicer than straight cut edges.

I also cut a piece to size and fitted it inside one of the metal embellishments I got in my box.

Then I completely filled it with transparent Powertex and left it for several days to dry. It is cloudy when a liquid, but dries clear.

I wanted to create a pink colour to combine with the images, so I mixed red and white Powertex until I achieved the colour I wanted.

I found a suitable glass bottle and completely painted it with my new hot pink colour and left it to totally dry before the next step.

Using transparent Powertex I glued on the pieces I'd torn out. I smoothed them out and also added a layer over the top. Now this looks really messy and you might think, oh no, what have I done. But, don't panic, stick with it, the transparent goes on cloudy, but dries brilliantly clear. I also added some of the fancy yarn I had left from my Bluebird (January) box around the top.

And this is what I ended up with once it was all dry.

I added some chain and a couple of metal charms, the hand and heart from the box. The transparent Powertex has now completely dried that I put in the heart shape, so it has now sealed the image.

And a decorated bottle makes a great candle holder. Should you wish to light the candle the dripping wax won't be a problem when it meets the Powertex. However, don't let a naked flame come into contact with any fabric, as Powertex is not a flame retardant. As with all naked flames, do not leave it unattended, we won't be held responsible for your house burning down!!

All three makes together. I hope that you have gained some inspiration for your own box, I can't wait to see what you do with it. Don't forget to share your makes on the Powertex Studio Facebook page as we love to see what you've been up to.