Sunday, 9 December 2012

Wired angel

Hi everybody! I have been working on my wired angel on and off for the past few days. As I can't do fine things just now because of my shaky fingers, I decided I needed to do something with hammer and tongs and glue-gun, and I did.

I started off with a papp-maché torso, which I covered with scraps of tissue paper. This step was really a waste of time, because you can't see any of it now, but I just enjoyed tearing the bits of tissue and slapping them on with golden gel, and getting nice and sticky once again. After it had dried, I used my fingers to smear coarse structure paste all over it, which was a bit hard on the fingers as it is rather scratchy. Then I put it by the radiator overnight to dry. In the meantime, I put on my thick workman's gloves, and started scrunching a piece of chicken wire into a pair of wings, and bound the middle with some wire.  By this time I was determined to give her a hat, which had been made from aluminium-foil, moulded over a tennis ball, and then covered with soft wire mesh, and given a rolled up brim.  The hat was made for another angel -who has disappeared! -some time back, but I was sure it would suit this angel just as well.
BUT - she needed a neck to support the hat! This time I took a loo-roll, cut it a bit shorter, and snipped into one end about every half an inch so it would fit over the neck. I covered it with some embossed paper and painted it white, and then fixed it over the neck of the torso, using some smooth plaster, and holding it down till it had dried. Then I covered the join with coarse structure paste. When it was all nicely dry, I glittered her with Ice Stickles in blue and silver, and she glitters beautifully. After she had had  another night by the radiator to dry off, I got to work with the heat gun. I only got one blister this time! First I fixed her wings in place, then her belt - a scrap of wire mesh - and finally her hat, which put up a lot of resistance and did not want to be stuck onto a loo-roll neck. But I won in the end, and here she is in all her glory.


But she was not satisfied till she had been photographed from all angles...







And she demanded having flowers put round her feet....


And then the birds started making a fuss because they wanted to be on a picture, too!


I am linking to ABAC Challenge 8 ( celebrating the light or seasonal holiday)

I'm still looking for a name for her. Any suggestions?

Thanks for looking, have fun, and take good care of yourselves!


33 comments:

  1. Ha! I love her! I think I would call her Tusnelda! Great piece, Val! Hugs, Sarah

    ReplyDelete
  2. wow she is so sophisticated and the torso is fabulous. Terrific project Valerie. The name I am offering is not very original but its the best I can do...........Gabriella...........Hugs Annette x

    ReplyDelete
  3. OH MY! She is indeed quite spectacular! You've been busy. I think she will tell you her name shortly. hugs, Donna

    ReplyDelete
  4. oh she looks fabulous! I love how you have adapted to your skills!

    ReplyDelete
  5. What fun!!!!

    I love her wings.

    Thank you for my card and sweet little book, they are both lovely.

    Yours is 'en route'

    Love Karenx

    ps what is Cissie doing for Christmas btw ;)

    ReplyDelete
  6. She looks great! Looks like she was fun to make, too.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Love your "Hot wired Angel" Val hope you're keeping. well. I haven't been blogging at all for a while. Just popped in to say hello. xx

    ReplyDelete
  8. On Wow! Valerie, this is an exceptional piece of Art. It is just so amazingly cool. I love everything about it.
    :) Chris / CS Designs

    ReplyDelete
  9. Fabulous Valerie and nice to see you back on form getting good and messy :)
    Angelina come to mind for a name :)
    Take care hugs Von ♥

    ReplyDelete
  10. She is a stunning Angel and sure looks fabulous in that hat. Loved the description of how she came into being. As she seems to have a lot to say and has organised her photo call, how about Gabby as a name, a shortened version of Gabrielle.
    If folk where I live have a lot to say for themselves we would call them Gabby.
    Take care, Yvonne x

    ReplyDelete
  11. wow, she is stunning, such a wired beauty and the blue is just perfect

    ReplyDelete
  12. Love, love, love your angel! How about Serafina? Hugs, Barb

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh she looks wonderful and I'm sure she was lots of fun to make. Love those cheeky birdies getting in on the act!

    x

    ReplyDelete
  14. This is fabulous Valerie! She looks very, very British, very prim and proper, I am surprised she is so outspoken with you! I would name her Harriett, or possibly Catherine, as she somewhat reminds me of Catherine Hepburn too! What ever you name her she is stunning!

    ReplyDelete
  15. This is an angel with attitude for sure Valerie and I just love her. So pleased you were able to make her.

    Best wishes Chrissie xxxx

    ReplyDelete
  16. Oh you've been having way to much fun Val. What great texture she has.
    I'm thinking Matilda suits her well.
    Hugs Lynn

    ReplyDelete
  17. She looks like an Angel Wilhelmina to me! She's adorable!!!
    Love and hugs,
    Narda

    ReplyDelete
  18. Your angel looks fab Valerie. Loved seeing her in all the angles. x

    ReplyDelete
  19. She is wonderful Valerie so quirky I love her. Great techniques used. So glad you are getting better and better. Hugs Sandra X

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hello Valerie!
    FANTASTIC, absolutely love this art form, great work! ~xx
    Clever & creative... CHEERS!! ~xx

    ReplyDelete
  21. Wow she is beautiful! I love the chicken wire wings!

    ReplyDelete
  22. She is beautiful Val. Such details and the blue is the perfect colour.
    Angelina comes to mind but I see you have many to chose from already. So good to see you getting back into the crafting spirit my friend.
    Take care, Lesley ♥♥♥

    ReplyDelete
  23. Oh my goodness my friend. Your angel is gorgeous. You did a fabulous job. Right down to that gorgeous hat. Thanks so much for sharing it with us.

    Hugs~

    ReplyDelete
  24. Wow Valerie, she is a masterpiece. You must have had so much fun creating her - I am also visualising you with your big workman's gloves on, thank goodness no-one rang your doorbell at the time, they would have thought a mad woman lived there! Lol! I'm going for Madge, It's the hat that does it! Big hugs. Suze xx

    ReplyDelete
  25. Oh she is quite wonderful! I think she has attitude, so of course so must her name. No abbreviated cute names for this one...Griselda! Hugs,

    ReplyDelete
  26. She is spectacular! I love all her texture- I really really love all that wintery texture!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Im for Maude its the hat that did it for me just like Suze. She's absolutely amazing and I just adore those wings !
    Marie

    ReplyDelete
  28. Im for Maude its the hat that did it for me just like Suze. She's absolutely amazing and I just adore those wings !
    Marie

    ReplyDelete
  29. Loads of work here and I know how much that chicken wire can hurt your hands - just love those wings!
    Thanks so much for sharing her with us at Anything But A Card.
    Juliax

    ReplyDelete
  30. Fabulous little project and awesome job on the wings! :) Thanks for joining us at Anything But a Card this challenge!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment. All your comments are much appreciated! Please be aware that by leaving a comment you are voluntarily sharing your name and / or the details of your blog.