In Which There is Polymer Clay and a Lot of Free Time

So on Wednesday I made this:


Meet Esilana DeVries--opera singer, spy, revolutionary.  Also: less than two inches tall.

A quick rundown on how the tiny diva came to be.  She's made of polymer clay, a marvelous product that comes in many colors and hardens in the oven.  My current favorite is Sculpey Premo; it combines the malleability of Sculpey III with the firmness of Fimo.  (Kneading Classic Fimo is like trying to fold a brick.)

Other than my fingers, the only tools I used were an exacto knife and a bead hole maker, pictured here:


The knife I use for evenly dividing small amounts of clay--making a pair of eyes the same size, for instance.  The bead holer is good for small details, like shaping the ruffles on her dress.  I used to also have a straight pin, for texturing hair and the like, but sadly it was long ago lost to the wilds of my room.  I miss it very much.  The tip of an exacto blade just can't get the same fluidity of lines. 


The hardest part about making her--other than coming up with a ball gown that wasn't boring or hideous; I have zero background in designing clothes so it was all trial and error--was keeping her skin and hair from turning red.  For some reason, whatever Sculpey uses to give its clay a crimson hue has a tendency to stain the fingers, and then whatever else the fingers touch, including any paler clay.  If I was working on her dress, I couldn't touch her skin, and if I was working on her skin, I had to steer clear of the dress.  Does that sound hard?  It was really, really hard.

I think I did pretty well at keeping the colors separate, and I'm proud that the straps on her dress hide how awkwardly her arms are attached to her body.  I'm also pleased that the bustle turned out so well--it's a shape I'd never tried before, and I like the silhouette it creates.  Construction initially posed a challenge: that much solid clay would've been heavy, difficult to bake evenly, and a waste of materials.  Most polymer clay veterans would recommend molding the skirt over a wadded up ball of aluminum foil, but I've had bad luck with foil armatures in the past.  By the time I'm done trying to shape and smooth out the clay, there are always a few telltale silvery spots where the foil peeks through.

Instead, I just made the whole piece hollow:

She can now double as a finger puppet.  This wasn't my initial goal, but hey, finger puppets!

On the other hand, her hair isn't textured as well as I'd like, and it hangs toward her neck in a way that defies gravity.  Also, the back of her head is asymmetric, and from some angles, it looks like the whole thing is on crooked.



Seriously, what is that hair doing?

I am going to cut myself some slack, however, because I'm out of practice making figurines.


Also, did I mention she's less than two inches tall?