Wee Bandit (b.15 September 2010)

27 February 2011

I'm delighted to introduce Wee Bandit to you - I met the real Bandit in photographic form back in August 2010 when a lovely lass called Gemma (who had just adopted lots of wee cats from my Folksy shop) asked if I could make up a Wee Bandit for her mum's birthday. And could I incorporate his favourite ball, Big Red, as well? Of course!

Wee Belle (b.27 May 2010)

Wee Belle

I've been making up so many wee dog commissions of late, I thought it might be interesting if I showed you some of the steps I take to create one of them. Each wee dog is very different, but some of the techniques used here I use for other breeds. I made Wee Belle back in May, so my techniques have evolved a bit since then - for example, I now create more defined legs, rather than just the impression of legs. I'll do another tutorial about a more recent wee dog soon (must remember to take photos!)

Wee Holly (b.13 May 2010)

Meet Wee Holly. She's one of my favourite wee dog commissions, and I have Steph Keegan to thank for this. Holly (aka Big Mama) has been a dear friend and companion to Steph for many years, and she wanted a little keepsake of her.

Wee Curum (b.1 May 2010)

Wee Curum

Curum was my sister's dog. Curum is Gaelic for 'cuddle', and she was a very handsome dog. Sadly she was put to sleep in April this year, at the age of 10 years. I made Wee Curum as a memento for my sister - it was quite poignant making it for her. I didn't know Curum well (my sister still lives in Scotland and I don't get to see her often), but I know how much my sister and her two girls loved her. It was a sad day when Curum went to sleep for the last time.

The top photo shows Curum as a much younger dog. As she got older, the black markings on her forehead faded away. To get the black of her muzzle fading to tan, I used a Skinner blend and then shaped it carefully over her muzzle. I used part of the Skinner blend for the inside of her ears, and also applied small triangles of black clay around her eyes. For her body markings, these were a mix of black, and black/tan. I made up the latter using the fur cane technique and cut the shapes out freehand.

I finished off Wee Curum's tail by having it curl round her body - I added some of the fur cane as well. Curum was always a bit mad, but was fiercely loyal and my sister loved her.

Wee Jack Russell (b.31 March 2010)

This wee Jack Russell was lovely to make up, and thanks very much to Karen for commissioning him. I have a very soft spot for Jack Russells having owned one when I was a lot younger. Jack (as he was imaginatively called) was a very hardy wee dog - my dad used to take him hill walking every weekend, so I can't imagine the number of miles he got under this belt! He was a little barrel of muscle and had mad half hours where he zoomed round the livingroom, much to our amusement!

Back to this wee Jack Russell. He has the most adorable heart-shaped markings on his face, with darker fur above the eyes. I made up a 'fur' cane to create the darker fur which was a lovely blend of tan and darker brown. I used a plain tan for the face markings as well as the markings on his back.

What I love most about creating wee dogs is being able to match the shape of the face and the markings to the canine model. I've become a keen observer of dogs when I'm out and about, and Jack Russells have quite an elongated, dainty face which has a rather fox-like quality. And those ears! Well, they are so perky and flop over so obligingly that they are a joy to make!

I used a wire armature to reinforce the tail, and created the impression of crooked "Queen Anne" front legs (although I don't tend to define the legs to any great extent). I so enjoyed getting to know this particular dog, and next on the agenda is to make a miniature version of Jack, my old dog. Watch this space!

Wee Mavis (b.23 March 2010)

This is Wee Mavis, the miniature form of Mavis, who is owned, loved and who slobbers over my friend Becky of Bright Paws. Mavis is a Dogue de Bordeaux, a wonderful breed with a big heart :)

Wee Ernie (b.23 March 2010)

Meet Wee Ernie. Ernie is a rather old, creaky golden retriever, and I was introduced to him (well, a couple of photos of him) by my good friend, Becky. Becky is the powerhouse behind Bright Paws, a wonderful holistic canine therapy business based in the north east.

As you can probably tell by the nature of her business (which she is completely devoted to), Becky is completely in love with all things dog-related, and in particular, the three dogs she owns. She commissioned me to make a Wee Mavis (a Dogue de Bordeaux), as well as a Wee Ernie for her friend, and I'll be writing about Wee Mavis in a couple of days. That's a tale worth telling :)

Ernie belongs to Becky's friend, and she wanted to surprise her with a miniature version of him. I have to say that Wee Ernie is one of my favourite commissions - I love retrievers at the best of time, but there's something very endearing about an old, faithful dog who's going a bit white round the muzzle.

I modelled the body shape first of all out of a pale golden/tan clay I'd mixed up. Then, to get the right effect for Wee Ernie's muzzle, I made up a Skinner blend of white and the golden tan I used for the rest of the fur. After blending the two colours together, I rolled the sheet out as thinly as possible, and then began the tricky task of applying a 2 dimensional sheet to a 3 dimensional shape.

Once his 'face mask' was applied, I tore the clay carefully rather than cutting it, as this makes it easier to blend in without leaving lines. Once the Skinner blend sheet was positioned and blended in, I was able to finish him off.

Whenever I see a dog these days when I'm out and about, I immediately go straight to sculpting it in my mind. It's great to really look at a dog and see it for what it is, rather than just let your mind label it 'dog' and move on. They are lovely animals, each with their own quirks and personalities, and I always love being asked to make up a new wee dog. I'm hoping to make up most of the dog breeds out there, and with time, I believe I will :)

Wee Lily (b.18 March 2010)

On 10 March, I got a message through Folksy from Lucy Westwood of The Sleep Valley Co, where she sells her own handmade gorgeous soaps and bath bombs. The message title was most intriguing - "Can you quernus my beagle??" I'd never seen Quernus used as a verb before, and I loved it!

And when Lucy sent through pictures of her gorgeous beagle, Lily, I loved her too - she's the gorgeously doe-eyed pup ever, and I'm sure she knows it!

I made up a special fur cane for the patches on Lily's back mixed up with nearly black and a darkish brown, and also blended a lighter tan colour for the markings on her face and her ears. I drew sketches of where the markings should go, and for the darker patches, I cut thin slices from the cane, laid them out into a sheet, and then cut the markings in one go, to help keep the fur looking smooth. As usual, I made the tail with a short wire armature for extra strength.

For the head, I repeated the process with the tan clay, and then added those wonderful long floppy ears. However, there is a sad tale to tell about these ears. As explained in her blog post, Lucy tells how when she was

photographing Wee Lily beside Big Lily (and the photos are just gorgeous), Wee Lily became quite attached to Lucy's elbow and sadly ended up on the floor. As a result, Wee Lily's left ear became less attached to her head. However, an express trip back to Leeds resulted in some remedial surgery, and Wee Lily's temporary deafness was swiftly reversed.

It's well worth checking out Lucy's wonderful Folksy shop - she very kindly sent me some lavender soap as a thank you for fixing Wee Lily's ear, and it's just lovely stuff! And all entirely handmade with only natural ingredients. Mmmmmm!

Wee Eva (b.10 February 2010)

Wee Eva was actually the first Wee Dog I made, way back in February at the request of Carey, that lovely lady from Harrogate, who had commissioned a whole menagerie from me. Wee Eva was destined as a birthday present in April, and so this is the main reason I've waited until now before writing about her.

The real Eva is a Hungarian Visler, a gorgeous dog who is apparently very hyperactive but very sweet with it! My main challenge was getting Eva's character while retaining the Quernus look, and I have to say that it took several attempts before I reached a design I was happy with.

The thing about dogs is that they are far more diverse than cats, and therefore it's really not possible to do a generic dog design, in the same way as I can with, say, the Rainbow Cats. So I focused on what Eva's primary characteristics were (her gorgeous ears, smiley mouth and long tongue) and brought them out in Wee Eva. I used Super Sculpey for her tongue (which is what I use for cats' noses and mole paws, and I finished off the look with a lovely black colour, complete with dog tag. Wee Eva's tail has been strengthed with a wire armature.

Thanks once again to Carey for setting me on the wee canine path - I have to say that I just love making up Wee Dogs now!

Wee Ella (b. 6 March 2010)

I'd like to introduce you to a very special wee dog. This is Ella, who belongs to a good friend, Susie of Lynwood Jewellery. Susie is totally devoted to Ella, who by all accounts has a huge personality completely out of proportion to her diminutive size.

To make the miniature version of Ella, I used a new tool which I recently bought from Craftwise in Leeds (this is a wonderful, rambling craft shop with all manner of things - well worth exploring). This was a stiff-bristled spiral brush which is primarily designed as a ceramics tool. However, it works perfectly well on polymer clay.

I have done quite a few experiments to create a fur effect, most recently with Wee Dog using a scalpel. With this marvellous tool, I was able to try something else, which worked perfectly for Ella's curly fur.

After creating the basic body shape, which included adding extra 'bits' for the ears and creating the mouth, I rolled the bristles over the body pressing pretty hard because the Sculpey Premo white clay can be quite hard to work.

Once I had covered the body with curly 'fur', I added the eyes and tongue, which is one of the cutest things about Ella!

And I have to say a few words about Susie here. Susie is one of the most amazing people I have met - not only is she a very bright individual with tonnes of business savvy, she is also incredibly talented and makes bold and beautiful jewellery which really enhances the precious metal and stones she works with. And if that wasn't enough, she is also so generous with her time and support of other artists and crafters - she's an inspiration! I have the privilege of working with her as part of the UK Handmade team, and have been blown away by her energy, organisational skills and her ability to get things done. It's definitely worth reading her blog - click here to visit. (Susie also wrote a lovely post about Wee Ella here.)

So I will finish this post with a picture of one of my favourite pieces from Susie called "I am finding myself becoming more and more abstracted" - visit Susie's website here and feast your eyes on some more beautiful jewellery.

Wee Sam (b.4 March 2010)

Gemma (she who commissioned the Wizard of Oz Cats and Liverpool FC Scarf Cat) also wanted a gift for her other boss. Her boss is an optician and has a black labrador. So what better gift that a wee black labrador with glasses?!

Wee Sam was fun to make - labradors always seem such happy animals, and Wee Sam looks as though he's about to wag his tail (which he does A LOT, apparently) and jump up on you to give you a lovely slobbery kiss!

Wee Sam has front paws, so is a bit similar to my wee cat designs. Again, I used a short length of wire to strength his tail, and I added a collar using a thin strip of red clay. I'm getting quicker at making glasses and these perch quite happily on his nose!

Wee Dog (b.1 March 2010)

After thoroughly enjoying making Wee Niko (and another wee dog I can't mention yet - Wee Eva, a Hungarian Visler, is for a birthday present!), I wanted to try out some more wee dogs. So with a lump of scrap brown clay in hand, I decided to make up a wee Scottie dog.

Wee Dog is a bit smaller than my usual creations (I didn't start out with enough scrap clay!), and he only stands about 4cm tall. Once the basic shape was modelled, I gently pinched the side of the nose to create the beard. I also added a few tiny logs of clay above the eyes to create the eyebrows. Once all the extra bits of clay were blended in, I added his eyes and shaped the ears. I shaped the tail around some strong wire for an armature. I then took a scalpel to him (sorry - it really didn't hurt him, honest!)

I created the fur texture by making tiny shallow cuts with scalpel. This was quite time-consuming. It was also important to keep the strokes going in the right direction to give a more realistic result. For example, I created a parting over his nose, and did upstrokes for the eyebrows and ears.

I have to say that the end result made all the effort worthwhile - I love the way his wee head is slightly tilted to one side, with an ear slightly cocked. I haven't got a name for him yet, so if you've got any suggestions, I'd love to hear them! I now just need to find a way of creating the same effect in a less laborious way...

Wee Niko (b.14 February 2010)

Wee Dogs have now arrived at Quernus Crafts! For several months, I've been asked whether I do dogs as well as cats and horses. I have been playing around with designs for them for a while, and at last I have found my canine voice (as 'twer).

Wee Niko came into existence at the request of Laura, who was the recipient of Wee Harvey, a gift from her friend Kathy. Laura was thrilled with Wee Harvey, and wanted to know if I could make up a dog as well. (She also wanted to know if I could make up a guineapig, but more on that story later.)

The photos Laura sent through to me were just so cute, that I really had no excuse to just get on and make a Wee Niko. After experimenting with different shapes, I found that the dog shape wanted to be more like a right-angled triangle shape than my standard cat shape. In other words, my dogs needed a backside!

Wee Niko is made from one piece of clay, with only the ears, paws and tail added separately. I did experiment with shaping the head separately and attaching it to the body, but it just didn't look right. If the clay is well-conditioned, it's relatively easy to shape it into a dog nose and forehead, but it's easy to pinch too much and lose the definition needed for the muzzle.

Wee Niko has relatively few markings - I tore out a patch of thinly rolled black clay for his eye, and a patch for his backside. His ears are black with white tips, so I first of all cut out two black ears from a sheet of clay slightly thicker sheet than normal, and then two smaller white triangles for the tips. I cut the tips off the black ears and replaced them with the white tips, and then rolled them through the next setting on the pasta machine to bind the pieces together. This was particularly important for Wee Niko because his ears flop over in a very fetching manner.

For Wee Niko's tail, I cut a short length of thick copper wire and used this as an armature to strengthen the join between the tail and the body.

Wee Niko stands 4cm tall. I'm really pleased with my first foragings into Wee Dogland - watch this space for many more!

Shaggy Dog and Wee Shaggy Dog (b.13 August 2009)

These dogs are based on a design I first made back in 2001. I made the small dog first, based on the round shapes I'm making for the Wee Beastie range.

I extruded three different colours of clay - white, dolphin gray and a darker gray - and then applied each strand to a white clay base. Quite time consuming. Next time, I will experiment with creating more of a distinct fringe for the eyes and the muzzle, which should help define the face more.

With some scrap clay, I made the body for the larger dog and repeated the process as I had lots of clay strands left. The small dog is 2.5cm tall, and the large dog is 5cm tall. I'm keen to try more breeds of dog, and will work on a labrador next. A dalmation would also be quite distinctive, and I just have to try a Schnauzer!

Wee Dog (b.29 July 2009)

So the puppy was born a few days after its mum. I love making these smaller versions, and I think the ears are a little better behaved this time around! The markings will take a bit more work - because I'm working on such small scale, it's hard to roll out the pieces thin enough so that they can be placed on the body without difficulty.

So I'm thinking about incorporating the markings before I make the flat bottom - placing the darker clay on the body, and then rolling it between hands so they become fully incorporated. The eye patch on the puppy is a bit on the large side and I also got

a bit sloppy with the eye placement - I've ordered 3mm black onyx and 4mm black obsidian round beads to use for the eyes, and I'm looking forward very much to using these. With plastic beads, you get occasional tag ends of plastic sticking out from the bead holes, which gets caught up in the clay.

The tails are so important - they really help ground the sculpture and make it clear that this is the entire animal, not just the head!

Spotty Dog (b.27 July 2009)

I'm chuffed with this puppy! The ears are a little wired, but incorporating a patch around the eye worked very well.

I'll have a think about doing other breeds of dogs - could be interesting to convey a particular look whilst still doing spherical shapes!