Three Wee Sheep (b.5 December 2009)

When I was at the Bruntcliffe School Christmas Fayre on 22 November 2009, I received a commission for a family of three grey sheep. And here they are!

Measuring from left to right 3cm, 2.5cm and 2cm wide, this family have dark grey faces, and mottled grey wool. I made up the wool by mixing together a couple of shades of grey and some white, and then extruded the mix into strands.

More Wee Sheep and Wee Highland Cows (b.27 September 2009)

Finally got back to crafting after nearly a 2 week break - although Toronto was incredible, it was good to get back in the saddle again!

So I decided to spend a day with extruded clay and ended up with more Wee Beasties - Wee Highland Cows and Wee Sheep to be precise. These will be added to the inventory of stock for the upcoming craft fairs I'm going to.

I am very fond of the Wee Highland Cows - they are very simply made, although there are a bit time-consuming. Both Highland Cows and Sheep are made by the same method.  I roll out a small ball of terracotta polymer clay (or white for the sheep), and then attach a flattened piece of clay for the head. The horns and ears are attached at this stage. Then, I extrude lengths of terracotta or white clay, and attach each strand individually, leaving the strands for the face until last. The strands are usually at least two deep to make sure there are no gaps showing. The nostrils complete the look, and I create these using a large gauge knitting needle.

In between making these Wee Beasties, I experimented with a prototype Wee Owl - I'll be posting more about this soon.

Wee Sheep (b.13 August 2009)

I made this Wee Sheep using the same technique as the Wee Highland Cow, and I'm pleased with the result. Attaching the head and ears to the body before applying the clay strands helps to incorporate the shape much better.

Having a full fringe of hair is a new departure for me, and I'd like to try making other breeds of sheep now, to see how easy it is to make the distinction.

Wee Sheep is now on sale at my Folksy.com shop - click here for more info.

Sheep and Highland Cow (b. 23 July 2009)

These are old favourites. The Highland Cow was one of my first ever crafting efforts way back in the late 1990s. Back then, I used air drying clay and I painted the cow with poster paints. Ah, those were the days.

The sheep has remained pretty much unchanged from the early days - using extruded clay as wool, I can create a rather fun, wool-like effect, and the strands of wool on the forehead make it look a bit Wallace and Gromit-esque. Again, the black bead eyes have been a firm favourite with me since the beginning.

When revisiting both these models, I thought I would try them without legs - this is primarily so they are in keeping with the round style I'm aiming for. Ideally, I'd also like the sheep's face to be incorporated in with the body, but this could be a challenge. Good to be back in the saddle, however.