60 for 60 Day 23

My Sweet old lady dog, Magic.

Rain, wind and hail this morning so no trip to the farm today. The deer are staying well into the woods and the wind is howling.

My trusty old Newfy, Magic is always there to cheer me up. She's like a huge teddy bear, always ready for a good hug.

This time of year she is still fur, fur and more fur. I've been combing it out by the bags full. She's so patient.

The sun did peak through for a second so I ran out to take these pix. Thank's Magic, you are a wonderful model.

60 for 60 Day 22

Oh Deer!

The neighbors toss treats out to the deer from their deck. The deer are quite wary, but can't resist the free handouts.

This was definitely an awkward position to catch, hard to get the proportions right. I guess even wildlife don't look glamorous in some poses.

The bonus of taking a photo is seeing where proportions have gone awry, similar to holding a painting up to a mirror.

60 for 60 Day 21

Clouds and rain took over the area. Actually normal for this time of year, but we got so spoiled. I decided that it was time to step out of my comfort zone as far a s the clay was concerned but stay in the comfort zone in the house. 

Each year Vic's work has a fund raiser for the American Cancer Society and I get the benefits. He comes home with a bouquet of daffodils, one of my favorite flowers. This year he surprised me with a little bear to accompany them. They are so cheerful! 

60 for 60 Day 20

We're a third of the way through already!

It was a dark and stormy night...well not exactly. But it was rainy. Vic and I meandered around the countryside after our visit to the Maple Festival and found some lovely cows. They were happily munching in their pasture, ignoring the wet atmosphere. We stopped the car and I rolled the window to snap a few pix and get started on an armature. Well, cows are cows and they just had to see what was going on. If we were any closer they would have stuck their heads right in!

 Luckily it takes a little while to get the armature together and by then they were bored with us and started to do cow things. I decided to catch this heifer satisfying an itch.

The nice thing about having a herd to watch is it gives me information about the back side of things as well.

I just love cows!

60 for 60 Day 19

My favorite subject again.

Actually, Vic and I had a very enjoyable day. We drove down to Meyersdale, PA where they have their annual Maple Festival, pancake breakfast, exhibits, demos etc. It takes us through some wonderful country and the intent was to enjoy the festival and on the way home find some farm beasts for me to sculpt. We did, but that's a story for tomorrow.

It was too late to photo and I don't have a good indoor set up, so what I did today will show up tomorrow. Meanwhile, I decided to post one of my back-ups done a few days ago of my favorite subject, Dreamer.

He loves his ball and his frisbee. He is learning to fly, as you can see.

Luckily he loves his frisbee so much that he doesn't get tired easily and I can flip it to him whenever I need to see where to put the clay next

60 for 60 Day 17

Another great visit to the Round Hill Farm.

Yesterday I had intended to sculpt this big guy but as I posted yesterday, we were interrupted by grounds clean up. So I came armed today with an armature and some determination.

He was not visible right off, so my wheelie cart and I went up the path that goes in front of the pasture to the dirty path that continues into the woods. Oh-that surrounds the pasture! ok, so off I went with the cart (sculpture stand, clay, board and armature and of course camera and coffee mug). It was a gloriously peaceful day, birds chattering and squirrels bounding about (oo... need to sculpt squirrels). He came in to view on the hill. I found a lovely spot in the trees where I could see most of him. I hauled my tools up to the fence and set up shop.

An absolutely perfect kind of day! I sculpted and just enjoyed being. What a gift! Fred wandered about on the hill grazing and even got curious enough to watch me for awhile. A wonderful morning!

60/60 Day 16 In Which Karryl Gets Her Groove Back

After struggling through yesterday, with all the noise and interruptions, I was happy to get my car back and head to the Round Hill Farm demo farm for some inspiration.

After walking the farm to see what would grab me, I decided to sculpt the lovely draft horse that was grazing on the side of the hill. I LOVE big horses. (and little ones too). But then the grounds crew came out with their chipper shredder (had to laugh, shades of yesterday) and off he went running over the hill. The goats were terrified of my set up (will work on that in the future) so I hiked up the hill to see sheep and Cows. COWS! I had so much fun. They are so curious. This lovely lady actually put her head through the fence to sniff the sculpture. She also gave me a big old cow kiss. I'm in heaven.

 I visited with the cows for a while and had a grand time sculpting.

It's a bit hard to do the feet since I am working in very soft clay and they are standing in grass. I was wondering when milking time was. This was the farm where I got to milk the cow when we first moved here. Too fun.

Even cows get bored, and off they went. By Cows, I'll be back!

60/60 Day 15, simple things

It was a difficult day for me. The neighbor was having a lot of tree work done, including big equipment, chipper shredder, saws, etc. Dogs needed a lot of reassurance. I was house bound because of car issues, so couldn't whisk them away and find something fun to sculpt. I was just generally out of sorts. 

I was planning to skip the day and try for 2 the next, but by evening, I just didn't want to go to sleep with that on my plate for the morning, not knowing what would pop up. So I persevered. Andrew was asleep in his bed by the fireplace and I thought it would make a simple composition. 

I am glad I pushed through. It's not my favorite piece, but I learned a lot and kept up with a commitment I made not only to the group, but to myself.

60/60 Day 14, It's exciting to try something new

Comedy of errors today. Vic had the emergency break lock on him in the truck yesterday while on business, so it's at the shop. Then he accidentally nocked the right mirror off hi little car (don't ask) so no car for me today. I was hoping to visit the small demo farm close by and sculpt some cows or goats or sheep etc. So here I was and no deer coming by and it's a bit hard to hike down to the park to bother the ducks and geese when clay and stands etc are involved. So, I sat on the deck and looked at the trees. Or the tops of trees anyway. It was an interesting experiment. I will revisit this idea again.

60/60 Day 13, It's Andrew's turn.

Sorry for the "blip'. I forgot to post here the past few days. I didn't forget to sculpt though. This is a little study of our Cavelier King Charles Spaniel, Andrew.

Some days you eat the bear and some days the bear eats you, I have heard. Today I felt a bit eaten.

I carefully did not select a face on view for this sculpture. I could not get those eyes to line up the way I wanted without destroying the head. once it starts looking like 2 different sculptures, I have to remind myself to just stop.

My mentor, Hollis Williford would have said, "ok, now do 100 more." I miss his council.

Had to ad a back view.

Check out the work of fellow 60/60 challenge artist, Victoria Wilson Schultz at

.www.victoriawilsonschultz.blogspot.com

60/60 Day 12

My little Dreamer again, not that I like him or anything.

Ever since he was a pup, Dreamer would twist himself into funny shapes to sleep.

I really enjoy the shapes that this little guy can bend in to.

He really is an active pup. I've just caught him in his quiet moments. I will be sculpting the wild man in him as well.

I think this is one of my favorite views. It shows the twist of his body and tiny leg and captures his personality.

Check out the work of fellow 60/60 challenge artist, Victoria Wilson Schultz at

.www.victoriawilsonschultz.blogspot.com

60/60 Day 11, moving right along.

Trying something new is invigorating.

I set my sculpture stand up on the deck and waited for something to come along. I worked on things around the house peeking out to see what might show up. After a few hours it became clear I had to take a more aggressive approach.

So, I packed my stuff into the car and drove to the park down the bottom of the hill. There is a pond there and I figured there would have to be ducks or geese around.

Sure enough, geese. I wasn't sure how used to people they were so I sculpted quickly trying to capture as much as I could. I am not the most familiar with geese forms, so it was all a good lesson for me. Sure enough, they didn't really enjoy my company and took off. Maybe they had an appointment somewhere else. I look forward to attempting this again.

Check out the work of fellow 60/60 challenge artist, Victoria Wilson Schultz at

.www.victoriawilsonschultz.blogspot.com

60 for 60, Day 10! The Dreamer

It was the day of the long drive back from Maryland, so I didn't feel up to an involved project.

 I hit the house and the pups were overjoyed at my return. A neighbor dropped by and suggested a walk. The day was so beautiful and the pups were so full of energy, I couldn't refuse.

Up the hill and down the hill and up the hill some more makes for tired, happy puppies. I decided to sculpt my little Dreamer in a quiet nap after our workout.

I have now done each of my canine family. Dreamer is the youngest, he will be a year old in a few weeks! Silly boy.

Check out the work of fellow 60/60 challenge artist, Victoria Wilson Schultz at

.www.victoriawilsonschultz.blogspot.com

60/60, Day Nine

The first Aussie I got to know belongs to a good friend of mine. I first saw Ribbon when she was just a puppy, too cute with a touch of mischief in her eye.

While I was trying to work in my friend's studio, Ribbon watched through the door. She made sure she was the subject of today's sculpture.

 Ribbon has the knack for making me laugh. She has a very distinctive grin and a funny way of walking tippy-toes when she's trying to get your attention.

This is a another little piece, maybe3 inches long.

Check out the work of fellow 60/60 challenge artist, Victoria Wilson Schultz at

.www.victoriawilsonschultz.blogspot.com

60/60, Day Eight

A busy day today. Change around some sculpture in the McBride Gallery in Annapolis (visit if you are in the area. A great place!) Running errands and catching up. A beautiful day for a challenge.

Sitting outside on my friend's patio by her pond. Woods behind us and birds all around. Peaceful.

I had intended to sculpt one of her dogs, or maybe the deer here. (yes, I know I have deer at home, but there are always more.) Looking closely at her pond, there were a bazillion (is that a word?) frog's eggs. Looking even closer and staying very still, there they were. Tiny little cute frogs!

Frogs? I've never sculpted frogs. OK. Time to start now. Cute little buggers, but foreign to my clay. A lot of fun, but I have lots to learn.

t's a wonder to me that this tiny little frog, along with his/her friends can make the most amazing noise in the middle of the night. I guess they were partying! Ribbit!

Check out the work of fellow 60/60 challenge artist, Victoria Wilson Schultz at

.www.victoriawilsonschultz.blogspot.com

60/60, Day Seven

I knew I would be on the road today, so my second sculpture from the zoo adventure gets to be posted today. My hands ache and are welcoming the break.

The Pittsburgh zoo has a wonderful herd of ellies of mixed ages. It's a great habitat with water hole and places to wander up and down hills. I will be visiting here again with my sculpture stand.

The elephants were constantly moving about. There are endless poses to be caught.

I told many people about the 60/60 challenge. Maybe they will continue to be interested and find us on line.

At one point I realized that I was going back closer into the detail. I was loosing a view of the whole and starting to focus in too close. I had stopped looking at the elephant and was letting my mind dictate what I "thought" I saw. That was when I realized it was time to pack up. Great lesson learned.

Check out the work of fellow 60/60 challenge artist, Victoria Wilson Schultz at

.www.victoriawilsonschultz.blogspot.com