Project 34 - Krae Glas baronial birthday platter PT 4

Step 4 - Apply shading.

In step three I tried two different methods of shading. Method one mixed 50/50 yellow and black (lower belly) and method 2 diluted the black (one drop black to three drops water) and used it as a wash. Pre-firing they both looked a bit sketchy but the black wash went on smoother. Post-firing, the black wash is chunkier and doesn't present the smooth grading I need for this project.

For the final piece I decided to go with the black wash but this time I diluted it 1:5 and mixed it extremely well to ensure there were no chunks of pigment. The wash went on nicely. The shading turned out pretty well. The only thing I'd change next time would be the shading on the back of the sea-dragons. It should be horizontal not vertical allowing it to conform to the shape of the beast better.

I picked up the plate the morning of the event, and as usual, forgot to get a photo.

Project 34 - Krae Glas serving plate for Day of Honour 2014 - Picture by Baron Cormac.

Toys for the tot

My sharehouse has had a recent addition. The couple upstairs have given birth to a little girl named Layla. It seemed like a lot of work (and no doubt will be, going forward) but she's quite a cute baby at the moment. Sometimes it's nice to live vicariously through others and not have to do these things myself.

As I've had a couple of friends spawn in the last year I thought I'd try my hand at making toys. I started by making a giraffe for Olfus' boy but I found the mane a little time consuming. I was tempted to make an elephant for Layla but got a little frustrated. Luckily, one of my friends had Pinned a number of interesting toy ideas. I ended up making a couple of Stegosaurus - who doesn't like a good dinosaur? It's called a 'taggie' which I assume refers to the loops of ribbon used as the defensive plates. The pattern is one sided so doesn't standup but would make a good chewtoy I suspect. Someone with more time than I could probably work out a 3d four legged pattern.
As I had excess fabric, I made four. One for Layla, one for Bennie, one for the next infant I happen upon and one for the first person to register interest.

Two days before Layla was born I decided to try something a little more difficult. My awesome sister works with felt alot. She makes things like screaming avocados and other quirky items. So I thought I'd make something with felt that Layla's SCAdian parents would find appropriate.

 

 A dragon for Layla the Dragon Slayer!  Pattern from here with many thanks. I also found this  pattern for a rampant dragon but I don't think he is as cute.

Islamic Dragons

Document delivery via Monash University is a wonderful thing. You simply click on the book you want and they eventually deliver it to a library near you. Unfortunately it isn't always as quick as one would like. Take for example, todays book: The Dragon in Medieval East Christian and Islamic Art by Sara Kuehn (ISBN: 0929-2403 / 9789004186637). It arrived recently and I can't for the life of me remember why I had it. I suspect I ordered it because I was planning on entering an A&S competition that featured images of Wyvyrns and I wanted to find one that suited my persona.

Anyway, I've flipped through the collection of articles in this book and here are some of the best images for your consumption:

A winged dragon with forelegs. Buckle of a belt, Mongl Empire, Astrakhan region. Probably 13th century, Silver, gilding, inlay in a black substance (niello?) Length 6.3 cmm width 3.1 cm. St Petersburg Hermatiage, inv. no. SO-762 . (I really really like this one!)

Confronted pairs of winged dragon tailed dragons with forelegs. Detail from a candlestick base, the Jazira. Thirteenth century. Copper alloy, silver inlay. Metropolitian Museum of Art. Inv. no. 91.1.561.

 A musician with a dragon-headed stringed instrument. Wall painting. Panjikent (Tajikistan). 8th century. Dushanbe National Museum.

Confronted dragon-headed birds with interlaced necks. Missal, Armenia. 9th or 10th century. Ejmiatsin, State Library. MS 958 fol 10.