“Browsing The Archives?”
A fellow graduate classmate posted that “browsing the archives” of a blog is like “walking down memory lane”, she wondered if that would become a new saying. As I “brows the archives” of my life, I realize I don’t write just because I love to write, I write because I have a terrible memory. Documenting helps me to recall. In light of that, here are some of my blogs and recollections.
Creative Endeavors Blog—Began posting May 2005— 6 years of blogging
This blog documents my creative process in many different areas—sculpting, 3D, writing, teaching and marketing in the arts.
I love reading about all of my projects, and I especially love that this blog documents our creation of the new studio space. A hug change from my old place
going back to school – finishing my
undergraduate at Vermont College and my
terminal degree at Goddard.
Perpetual Learner Blog – Began posting in March 2005-6 years of blogging
I began this blog when I decided to go back to undergraduate school as a nontraditional student. Nontraditional basically means—your old. The blog started in March of 2005 and documents the entire process of undergraduate school at Vermont College, and then graduate school at Goddard. I will finish graduate school in January of 2012. I have no idea where this blog will go from there. I am, however, a perpetual learner, so I doubt it will stop.
Richard Hathaway Blog– Began in March of 2006
This blog documents the sculptural process of creating a life-size bronze of Professor Richard Hathaway for the T.W. Wood Gallery in Vermont . The sculpture was installed in Vermont a few years back. I visit the bronze often and people send pictures and memories, which I continue to post.
The Newsboy PRE BLOG- If only I had known about blogs then, started 2004- 8 months. In 2020 these html blog pages where merged into this blog. Just follow the category Newsboy.
This is a documentation of the creating of a life-size newsboy sculpture for the Texas Press Association. The edition is an edition of 10, so when one is sold I document where the additional pieces in the sculpture has gone. If only there were blogs back then or I would have known about them. It was murder trying to create html pages for each of these posts, with links that worked to the next post.
newsboy sculpture was
documented on my website
prior to blogging. I love
the educational element that
I added. Materials for teachers
and students to use. I would
love to do more blogging
that can be used in education
either with art or travel.
What is next?
Blogging gives me the opportunity to invite individuals from all over the world to view my work in my studio. When a project comes up, I’m always thinking about blogging. Perhaps it is a personal commissions and the family that is around the world can watch it being created. I’d love to do something for a school or program that would incorporate my blogging and sculpting as an education for young people, especially if I could have the interaction of the students. Now that would be the icing on the cake. If you have a project and want to get lots of people involved in the creating of it, give me a call, we can create a blog especially for your project documenting the entire thing.
I’m not sure who reads the blogs. I try to have helpful information in them. Will there be more blogs? Yes, actually I just purchased another domain. I’m going to start a blog for just my writing projects. Thanks for sharing in my own walk in life. It is my goal to help and encourage as many people as I can along the way.
The act of putting pen to paper encourages pause for thought,
this in turn makes us think more deeply about life,
which helps us regain our equilibrium. ~Norbet Platt
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Sculptor, Writer and Speaker
Bridgette Mongeon is a sculptor, writer, illustrator and educator as well as a public speaker.
Her blog can be found at https://creativesculpture.com.
She is also the owner and creator of the God’s Word Collectible Sculpture series
Follow the artists on twitter twitter.com/Sculptorwriter twitter.com/creategodsword
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/bridgette.mongeon
Listen to The Creative Christian Podcast or the Inspiration/Generation Podcast Click on Podcast Host Bios for a list of all podcasts.
Listen to the Art and Technology Podcast
I Need 4 People In The Houston Area With A Novel To Edit
just need four people with a
novel written in the Houston area.
Any takers?
I hear this book Novel Metamorphosis by Darcy Pattison is incredible for revision. Already I think I like it because it is more of a visual revision. I know that sounds strange for a writer. I am presently searching for others who would like to go through this book with me on their own novel. The stipulation is you must have a novel that is complete.
I would like to find four people in the Houston area that would like to go through this process. It is kind of a critique group as well as we will each read each other’s novel. I would like to begin ASAP. If you are interested please contact me through my website at https://creativesculpture.com
Darcy suggests that a small group of four is good. Or course each needs the book. We all read each others novel as well. So, I’m putting it out there, anyone else ready? I am. We can do this in perhaps a Saturday all day thing, and then intensively until we get through the book once a week. I’m committed. Anyone else? Let’s get this process of revision underway.
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Sculptor, Writer and Speaker
Bridgette Mongeon is a sculptor, writer, illustrator and educator as well as a public speaker.
Her blog can be found at https://creativesculpture.com.
She is also the owner and creator of the God’s Word Collectible Sculpture series
Follow the artists on twitter twitter.com/Sculptorwriter twitter.com/creategodsword
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/bridgette.mongeon
Listen to The Creative Christian Podcast or the Inspiration/Generation Podcast Click on Podcast Host Bios for a list of all podcasts.
Listen to the Art and Technology Podcast
Introduction To- Creative Angst
Creative angst comes in all forms.
Throughout my career as an artist, writer and speaker people have come to me and said, “I need a change. I have stifled my creative self too long.” Maybe they made a decision to go corporate years ago instead of doing what they love, writing, sculpting, painting, dancing, music (fill in the blank.) Now they feel it is time to change, to feed that creative side, but they ask, how do I make this change, what do I do? How do I become more creative? How do I change my life? I had always thought and hoped I would be creative, but it is slipping away.
Perhaps they made a decision years ago that they would make a good living and there would be no financial worries. They were convinced that they could do their creative projects on the side, but somehow they got lost, and now they feel… stuck.
How do I begin? How do I get out of this rut?
Perhaps something drastic has happened, a family death, an illness or God forbid a natural disaster. They say,
“My life must change, it is too short. I have lost time. HELP!”
Well here is the thing. You have just made that change by reading this blog. You have asked the question, “how do I begin.” You have allowed your stifled creative self to have a voice. You are listening to the hunger pains of your soul. You are changing!
I hear the chatter,
I’M OVERWHELMED!
Where do I start?
There is so much I can do to be creative;, there is so much I want to do. It is so easy to get lost in this thread of creativity.
Don’t I need some direction?
Without knowing what direction to go, again I feel stuck.
Can I make money with my creativity?
Can I make money doing what I want to do?
How do I change my life to fit this process?
And there are others who may need some guidance some hand holding. They think, “If I had someone to be accountable to, some place I could go to get help or encouragement. Someone to give me a step by step procedure.” I could do this. Now hand holding is not for everyone, but it is the best way for some.
Over the years, so many people have come to me and asked one or more of these questions, Let’s go, here is my hand, Here are the steps. I will blog regularly about this subject. The title along with the sub title Creative Angst will designate this thread of posts in the blog. Just follow along, or if you are coming in the middle of this writing then do a search on the blog to see all of the previous posts.
I CAN’T DO THIS ALONE
Do you need a little hand holding, somewhere to be accountable? There are two suggestions
1. Comment on the blog posts,
2 post on the forum. By joining the forum, you may meet other people that will be trying to do just what you are trying to do and you can encourage each other. (As of June 2002, whenever you take any of my free marketing workshops you will be invited to the Marketing in the Arts and Small Business Facebook Group. How do you find out about the workshops? Follow me on Facebook, or Instagram. I’m always posting about them. During Covid we made them available. Hopefully we can still do that.
WHEN WILL YOU BE BACK?
How will I know when there are more posts? There are several ways-
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Bridgette Mongeon is a sculptor, writer, illustrator and educator as well as a public speaker.
Her blog can be found at https://creativesculpture.com.
She is also the owner and creator of the God’s Word Collectible Sculpture series
Follow the artists on twitter twitter.com/Sculptorwriter twitter.com/creategodsword
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/bridgette.mongeon
Listen to The Creative Christian Podcast or the Inspiration/Generation Podcast Click on Podcast Host Bios for a list of all podcasts.
Listen to the Art and Technology Podcast
Let’s Give Our Youth Some Honesty When It Comes To Literature And Faith
There are times when I happen upon a book in my reading that leads me into an entire adventure of exploration. Thus was the case with a small little book called Feathers, by Jacqueline Woodson. Of course, my personal journey of exploration is already in full swing, questions are being asked, prompts are in my head, before I jump on the wagon for a journey that a book may take me upon.
My personal journey is surrounding a young adult novel that I am writing. Perhaps I should say that this is my first novel. Though I am a published nonfiction writer, writing a novel is an entirely different process. Instead of recording facts or processes, I am imagining, delving into my own psyche and also pulling from the experiences as well as the loved ones around me. So it would make perfect sense that my novel would entail some sort of exploration of faith. I have the bare bones of the novel written and I am in the revision stage of things when it strikes me that Caroline, the main character in my novel is pondering her own faith.
In a 1996 journal article titled Spiritual Themes in Young Adult Books by KL Mendt, Mendt talks about the “Psychosocial crisis of identity” that all young adults go through. We might describe this as the pulling away from their parents to figure out who the heck they are. I had been thinking about a simple expression of this as I was growing up. When I was a child I loved the color blue. I am not sure what day it was in my young life that I figured out that I might not like the color blue at all, but that because my mother loved the color blue I had taken that love on as my own. I know it sounds quite simple but, it was a struggle to figure out what color I really loved. Not only that, but I felt a great betrayal to my mother for choosing another color. How much more complicated it is when a young adult realizes that they now must choose their faith. That what they grew up with, in my case, the “Now I lay me,” and the “Our Father,” and communion and all of that, is now challenged as they mature. I was nine when I had my first communion. I wanted to know God, I mean really know God. I thought that would happen when I received my first communion. I was devastated when nothing happened. After communion I was the same as before. Even when I convinced myself that perhaps it was because I must digest Jesus before I would notice anything. Perhaps I am still looking, resolving, searching for my place in my own spiritual life. Aren’t we all?
In my journey of writing and reading, such authors as Anne Lamotte and Donald Miller have presently surprised me. Dubbed as ‘Christian’ authors their ability to give us real life struggles of belief, and in Anne’s case, even with a cuss word or two, has been refreshing. I was tired of reading books with a ton of scripture that seemed preachy, or like Sunday school. Or worse yet, a horrific testimony’s that lead to a cushy life in the lap of the Holy Spirit and God.
Can we expect any less for young adults? Wouldn’t it be better to broach these topics honestly in literature? I’m talking about difficult topics such as atheism and Christianity, the truth about the church history or being gay and desiring to be loved and accepted by our family and our God. How about broaching the difficulty of accepting others, the desire for sex, or the intrigue with the occult? Isn’t it better to confront the loneliness of this passage in time from childhood to adulthood, and discuss these difficult areas honestly?
I feel I am doing this in this novel.
Yet, when I was in my writers group I asked if I should look for a Christian agent or go elsewhere for this book? The novel definitely has a strong element of faith and belief in God, and might even talk about salvation, but it also talks about many other different controversial topics. No one likes editing, but it is an essential part of creating a book. I suppose my fear is having the publisher use editing as censorship. Several individuals at my writers group said, “if someone is saved or if it has that three letter word, G-O- D in your novel you may have to go to a Christian publisher.” However, I fear no Christian publisher would be caught dead actually talking about these things that I propose.
My main character has a strong faith, but, God forbid, she also has doubts. In some ways, she is like me, but this is more than choosing your favorite color. She is scared to death of the things she is feeling. Won’t someone let me publish that?
K. Mendt also states that the benefits of these type of novels “provide young adults with a point of contact between religion and history.” There is no doubt that this is of importance in history. After all, how many wars are created because of religion? Mendt also points out that many young adult book characters are “in search of good and evil, of the self, and the meaning and mysteries of life.” My 15-year-old character in my book is doing just that, so is the 50-year-old author.
Mendt concludes, “Many young adults are truly in crisis during the passage into adulthood for a variety of reasons, In addition many young adults are dealing with new understandings of concepts such as death, their own mortality, spiritual transcendence, and they should. Young adulthood can be a time of loneliness, emotional turmoil and confusions. However, it can also be a time of spiritual growth introspection, and values, clarification specially when young adults can exercise their capability for formal operational thought through spiritual themes in young adult literature.”
I should point out that Feathers, by Jacqueline Woodson, the book that caused me to think in more detail about this is not a young adult novel, but instead is middle grade. This concept intrigues me even more. I asked my husband, “Why are we so guarded against other options with our children?” His viewpoint, “indoctrination.” It reminds me of the day we came home from our Episcopal church, I think my daughter was about 9. She said, “I don’t think I agree with what the minister said in the sermon.” I swirled around and wagged my finger at her. “Wonderful! I said, “question it all, bring it inside yourself and think about it, pray about what you hear, investigate other ideas, and then come to your own opinions.” It was so important for me to say. I would rather encourage my children and introduce them to all sorts of information, even faiths, and have them decide on their own, instead of indoctrinating them or coercing them into my belief system.
A parent might think they are protecting their child, but really aren’t they limiting them? Though in the Judy Blume middle grade book, Hello God it is Margaret. Are You There? Margaret is given a choice, and she finds the choice is too hard to make, she wishes she had not had the choice, and that she grew up with a faith. Still, I’m a proponent of exploration and acceptance. I’d like to see that in young adult literature. Even my character in this novel, in the end of the book says that she has learned more from those who are different from her than she has from those who are the same. She is presently seeking out others that she can friend and converse with that can challenge her intellect and her spiritual muscles, while teaching her tolerance of others.
And by the way, at this moment, I’m not really sure what my favorite color is. For a time it was black, which as I understand it is a noncolor. For a time it was cranberry. I was in a purple stage for a while and I really love teal, which is almost blue, just like mom.
In light of this parttern of thought, and as suggested by the mentioned journal article, I have been reading.
Paterson, Katherine. Jacob Have I Loved. Harper Trophy, 1980.
Potok, Chaim. The Chosen. Simon and Schuster, 1967.
Rylant, Cynthia. Missing May. Dell Yearling
Anaya, Rudolfo. Bless Me, Ultima. Berkeley: TQS, 1972.
Mendt, KL. “Spiritual Themes in Young Adult Books.” Alan Review 23.3 (1996): n. pag. Web. 24 Feb 2011. <http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/ALAN/spring96/mendt.html>.
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Sculptor, Writer and Speaker
Bridgette Mongeon is a sculptor, writer, illustrator and educator as well as a public speaker.
Her blog can be found at https://creativesculpture.com.
She is also the owner and creator of the God’s Word Collectible Sculpture series
Follow the artists on twitter twitter.com/Sculptorwriter twitter.com/creategodsword
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/bridgette.mongeon
Listen to The Creative Christian Podcast or the Inspiration/Generation Podcast Click on Podcast Host Bios for a list of all podcasts.
Listen to the Art and Technology Podcast
Creating An Author’s Page At Amazon For The Mudbox Book
For those of you who don’t know, I coauthored a book with my husband called Digital Sculpting in Mudbox: Essential Tools and Techniques. Most software books can become dated, but this book talks about things that others do not. Let me tell you about the two chapters that I am proud of. I should be proud, I wrote them and labored over them. One chapter brings a person through the entire process of sculpting a portrait digitally. Yes, I have taken my traditional process and expressed it digitally. So this book will help with that. You can use it if you are using Mudbox or the competition Zbrush. It will also help if you are a traditional sculptor. The other chapter talks about digital printing, milling and scanning. This is huge and I would love to do an entire book on this subject, just in case there should be a publisher that is interested. For those of you who don’t know, you can now print things in 3d. Yes, you can create objects in the computer and print them. Kind of like the Star trek replicator. The difficulty is, that not many artist know the processes that are available for this sort of thing. That is what this chapter is about. Breaking it down into bite sized pieces and also offering the reader a list of resources. In my opinion, this information is worth purchasing the book. You just can’t find it compiled anywhere else.
If you want to see my authors page just click on this Amazon link to the book and then on my name.
We have also put together a website and forums for this book. It is located at digitalsculpting.net Be sure to also check out the podcasts on art and technology at the website.
More Notes From The SCBWI Regional Conference
I attended the Society for Children Book Writers and Illustrators regional conference last Saturday. I’m almost a week away from that conference and am beginning to go through my notes and order the suggested books from the library. I have already posted about Ruth McNally Barshaw’s presentation and about one of her influences David Small’s book Stitches.
The conference was inspirational. It was my first time attending.
This is a list of our presenters and presentations—
Ruth McNally Barshaw- Author-Illustrator
Drawing on the writer’s inner life.
I wrote about this in another post, but an element I wanted to remember was to sing to worms. Her book suggestions are also listed in that post. there is also a separate post on one of her suggestions the book Stitches.
Lea Hultenschmidt- Senior Editor Sourcebooks
- Hook-what is new what is different?
- Description, pretend your writing the back cover.
- Wants to know marketing pros cons’
- What are the digital opportunities?
- RESEARCH! Give them marketing strategies.
- YA 60-90,000 words
- Unforgettable characters
- Credible world building
- Romantic element
Author info they would like
- Awards wins
- Endorsements from published authors
- Industry contacts and affiliations
- Online presence
- Previous book and sales history
- Where do you live?
BOOKS Mentioned or suggested
Silverlicious
Isabella
Dream big little pig
I drakula (Story told through messaging)
Laurent Linn-Art Director Simon & Schuster
Creating Real Worlds with Art & Words
- Unfiltered story telling- filtered through reading
- Emotional connection- what is the emotion on each page
- Scenic EVERYTHIGN IS A CHARACTER! Everything in the environment can tell you about the character
- Always be creative never generic. Tree as a character ( BRIDGETTE TAKE NOTE pine cone on tree when you were litte.)
- Create an environment in the shadows.
BOOKS Mentioned or suggested
Name of the Rose
Christian, the Hugging Lion
Bait
Sara Megibow-Nelson Literary Agency
Creating a Wow Inspiring Beginning to Your Novel
She is looking for a unique concept with superior writing.
Says she received 36,000 queries a year (Did I write that down correctly?)
Two different speakers talked about Miranda Kenneally’s book Score
- Show vs telling
- Incite incident—the moment which propels the novel forward
- Compelling characterization
- Mastering mechanics
She suggested to give a friend a red pen and ask them to put a red dot on the first few pages of the novel every time they go “ooooh” . More dots, better it is.
Brenda Murray – Senior Editor (Scholastic)
10 Hot Tips for Nonfiction Writing
My absolute favorite book that she showed was the Zombies Guide to the Human Body. So cleaver. Other cleaver examples Xtreme X-ray- everything is X-rayed.
1. Know your audience
2. Research the competition
Things they always can use are books on dogs, sharks, dinosaurs, and how stuff works.
3. Make it interactive
4. Keep it brief
5. Speak their language
6. Consider a narrative – Suggested reading Ghosts in the fog about Japan attacking Alaska
7. Tell them something new – interesting little known facts
The boys book how to be the best at everything
8. Grab their attention – emotional element, gross, shock, funny
9. Don’t assume previous knowledge
10. Bonus material, maps illustrations articles, interviews
Kate Fletcher -Editor Candelwick Press
A Day in The Life of a Candlewick Editor
Anna Webman- Curtis Brown
Crafting an Inspired Author Agent Relationship
- Questions to ask a potential agent
- How do you balance my project with others?
- How do you work editorially?
- Do you take on digital rights?
- ? The next question— I cannot read my own writing. I swear it says “different tie on girdles,” but I know that is not correct.
- What is your submission process?
Abby Ranger – Editor at Disney Hyperion
What Movies Taught Her About Craft and Fiction
My favorite line from Abbey’s speech was as she was telling about her husband being from Texas and how they now live in Canada- You should never use aye and ya’ll in the same sentence.
BOOKS Mentioned or suggested
Don’t let the pigeon drive the bus Moe Willems
Save the cat
The Talented Clementine Sarah Pennypaker
Graceling http://www.amazon.com/Graceling-Kristin-Cashore/dp/015206396X
Hugo Cabaret Brian Selznik Amazon book
Video about Hugo Cabaret
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Bridgette Mongeon is a sculptor, writer, illustrator and educator as well as a public speaker.
Her blog can be found at https://creativesculpture.com.
She is also the owner and creator of the God’s Word Collectible Sculpture series
Follow the artists on twitter twitter.com/Sculptorwriter twitter.com/creategodsword
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/bridgette.mongeon
Listen to The Creative Christian Podcast or the Inspiration/Generation Podcast Click on Podcast Host Bios for a list of all podcasts.
Listen to the Art and Technology Podcast
Some Thoughts on SCBWI Speaker Ruth McNally Barshaw
Yes, this is also the way I kept notes in school.
Now these scribbles are translated below.
I just returned from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Houston 2011 Conference. The next few posts will be a bit about my experiences.
With seven different presenters for the regional conference there was a continuous flow of information and inspiration. My notes look a little creative, as did my notes when I was in high school. Pages are filled with doodles and thoughts that are not always written in horizontal lines, even if there are horizontal lines as guides page. I’d like to share some of my thoughts and notes as I see them from the SCBWI conference.
Illustrator of the Ellie McDoodle books Ruth McNally Barshaw was the first presenter. Quotes and notes from this lecture are scribbled amidst my own doodles.
• She had a quiet little funeral for the characters that her editor had slashed.
• Pay attention to the annoying part of the you that never grew up
• (On success) Do every part of the job and you will find it.
• I finally got to the point I could dream in Spanish
• First book about camping ( PERSONAL NOTE: Bridgette take note of what this brings up visually in your mind.)
• “I grew up in the most dysfunctional pirate family” (She did say pirate and not private?)
• Don’t let the perfect page get to you. Make a mark on it so it is not clean.
• (Comment after she met Richard Peck in 1993 and he gave her his editors card and she did not follow up. Then she met him again.) “You act on things when you are ready. It is o.k.”
• My process changes with each work. Get an idea and then draw 50 thumbnails.
• Pick a scenario and figure out how your character would react. ( PERSONAL NOTE: Bridgette how would the Caroline in your novel pick apples?)
• (Concerning her first time at the publishers after her first book was published) “It’s like being in love.”
• Family was not supportive “how dare you pursue your dreams?” “I pretended they were all dead.”
• After getting published, the quiet desperation does not end, nor do the rejections.
• Winners are ordinary people who keep trying.
PERSONAL NOTE: Bridgette books, authors and illustrators to look at:
Stitches by David Small
On quick glance this appears to be a very intriguing story with wonderful illustrations. Must look deeper into this one. The website for this book is fascinating. Once there I had to write a specific blog post about it. Reader see previous blog post on this.
Newberry award winning books by Richard Peck
A year down Yonder and A long way from Chicago
Tomie DePaola
1976 Caldecott Honor Award for STREGA NONA
2000 Newbery Honor Award for 26 FAIRMOUNT AVENUE
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Sculptor, Writer and Speaker
Bridgette Mongeon is a sculptor, writer, illustrator and educator as well as a public speaker.
Her blog can be found at https://creativesculpture.com.
She is also the owner and creator of the God’s Word Collectible Sculpture series
Follow the artists on twitter twitter.com/Sculptorwriter twitter.com/creategodsword
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/bridgette.mongeon
Listen to The Creative Christian Podcast or the Inspiration/Generation Podcast Click on Podcast Host Bios for a list of all podcasts.
Listen to the Art and Technology Podcast
An Incredible Graphic Memoir
Illustrator/authorRuth McNally Barshaw introduced me to the work of David Small at the Society of Children’s book Writers and Illustrators regional conference 2011. David Small’s story Stitches is about a 14 year old boy who goes to the hospital for a “harmless operation. ” He awakes with a long scar on his neck created from the removal of his vocal cord. After snooping around, he later finds out, it is because he had cancer and that he was not expected to live.
Later, he discovers it is his father that has given him the cancer. His father was a radiologist and thought that massive doses of radiology would help with a sinus infection.
This horrific tale is not a story; it is a graphic memoir of the author David Small. I have not read the book yet; it is, however, ordered. Small’s graphic black and white scenes strike me. the story telling from a man who, later in life, finds healing through the telling of his story.
Anyone who has had childhood difficulties, trauma, etc should watch these videos and put the book on their reading list. It is important to note that healing from these things, can often be extremely hard, and as you go through it, you feel restimulated. Small talks about drawing his mother,
“I think the worst thing, the worst part was when I started drawing things out, they really got worse for me… when I began to draw, especially my mother, when I saw her face on the page…. It was if she was with me again… I began to get very, very anxious. When I brought her back to life….”
I’m astounded with the emotion found in the story and the drawings. I’m drawn to it as I work on my own novel. I am trying desperately to think and feel as a 15 year old boy who feels he is betrayed. Small says, “teenagers are feeling like they are not being told everything about the adult world, that there is a deep hypocrisy, that they are desperate to know about.“
Here are a few videos–the last being an interview with the author/illustrator. I’m thankful to be introduced to the young adult literature and images of David Small. I wonder how it will help form my own character in my novel, and I’m interested in hearing other’s thoughts on the book Stitches and the author.
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Sculptor, Writer and Speaker
Bridgette Mongeon is a sculptor, writer, illustrator and educator as well as a public speaker.
Her blog can be found at https://creativesculpture.com.
She is also the owner and creator of the God’s Word Collectible Sculpture series
Follow the artists on twitter twitter.com/Sculptorwriter twitter.com/creategodsword
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/bridgette.mongeon
Listen to The Creative Christian Podcast or the Inspiration/Generation Podcast Click on Podcast Host Bios for a list of all podcasts.
Listen to the Art and Technology Podcast
Sculpting Tiny Hands
hand with Classic clay.
When creating a figurine, as I am now, I usually sculpt the head and hands separately. The difficult here is making sure your head, and hands match the size of your sculpted figure.
Because this is a commission piece, I have a full figure photograph of my subject. I can measure how many heads high my subject is and then I can be sure that my head is in correct portion to the body. Believe me there is nothing worse than working on a head for a week and then discovering it does not match the proportion of your sculpture. At this small size a sixteenth of an inch can make a huge difference.
the hand in comparison to the face.
Once I have this done, I can move on to the hands. If you take your hand and put the wrist area at your chin. This is the portion that has the creases in your wrist, and then roll your hand up your face, you will find that your middle finger will come to your hair line. Unless of course you are a middle age man and losing your hair.
To create the hand, I start by making a wire armature. You will see that these fingers in the armature actually have two pieces of wire. I have narrowed the fingers to just one piece of wire later in the process.
Fingers are actually much easier to make when they are not on the hand. Roll small tubes of clay, being sure that you make some smaller or larger (thumb and pinky) than others. Also being sure that right hand and left hand are mirrored and similar in size and shape.
Once I have all of these sausage shapes I’ll roll the side of the sausage in two spots, just above the middle knuckle, and just below. I usually do this on a round tool.
I can then add some more clay for the knuckles and underneath the finger carve out the areas below the knuckle where the finger will bend. A simple angular cut with a knife will do fine. I did that with this tiny finger and then stuck it on the wire. Pushing the tip of the finger up , at the bottom, makes it look much more natural.
FINGERNAILS
Fingernails are really quite easy. With just two strokes of a sharp object I have the basic nail. In this case it is an X-acto knife. Place it on the side, and scrape it over the nail in an arch pattern. Then place it at the other side of the finger nail and bring it to the middle again. A third stroke to separate the nail from the finger at the top is the last portion of sculpting the nail. Push the sharp object in and pull down over the finger tip.
Though I have a good start on this hand, there is one more area that I would like to point out. Note that when your hand is flat the skin flap where your finger meets your knuckle. The pinky and ring finger have a crease that goes to the ouside of the hand and between the middle finger and the index finger the crease is to the thumb.
The two on the right point to the right, the one between the middle finger
and index finger point to the thumb.
MORE SHAPING
The placement of the thumb is also an area that new students will have difficulty with. The thumb is not placed on the same plane as the figners but instead points down to the ground when the fingers are straight up. Also note that the top of the hand is curved and not flat. Because this is a very expressive sculpture, I will be counting on capturing that expression within the hands as well. More on that later. This short little tutorial will get anyone started on a good sculpted hand.
Unfortunately there are two figures in this sculpture and four hands as well as 20 fingers. I can expect to spend a good full day on or a day an a half on hands. I am just thankful thee are no bare feet in the sculpture.
I’ll post some more photographs as I continue.
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Bridgette Mongeon is a sculptor, writer, illustrator and educator as well as a public speaker.
Her blog can be found at https://creativesculpture.com.
She is also the owner and creator of the God’s Word Collectible Sculpture series
Follow the artists on twitter twitter.com/Sculptorwriter twitter.com/creategodsword
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/bridgette.mongeon
Listen to The Creative Christian Podcast or the Inspiration/Generation Podcast Click on Podcast Host Bios for a list of all podcasts.
Listen to the Art and Technology Podcast
How to Create an Ebook.
At every writers conference, the topic will eventually turn to self publishing and e-books. You can bet you will see a lot more posts on this blog about just how to do that. I am learning quite a bit about e-publishing. There are e-publishers out there who will take your manuscript and publish it for you as an e-book. Are there ways you can do this yourself? That is what I will be looking at on this blog.
Be warned, if you plan on creating an e-book and self publishing everyone says the same thing. Be prepared to do a lot of work on marketing that e-book. Traditional publishers expect their authors to market themselves as well. A page on Simon & Schuster talks about just that.
Here is another warning. Be sure your book is good and is proofed. Everyone has been paying attention to Amanda Hocking and her success in e-publishing. I have read a few of her things online and one thing keeps coming up EDIT! As I am working through the edits on my first novel I realize that this cannot be stated enough, edit, and then edit again. Here a quote from Amanda’s blog
“My biggest word of advice to any new/future writers thinking about diving into Kindle: Edit. I don’t care what you think, you didn’t edit enough. Some people won’t care that there’s errors, it’s true, but enough of them will. And they paid for it, so they have a right to. So edit more. And then again. Really. “
My first focus on creating an e-book is what software do I need? I was ever so surprised to find out that my investment into Srivener, the software that I purchased to do my first novel and to write my college thesis, can actually prepare your e-book in several different formats. Here are some videos on using Scrivener to prepare your e-book for publishing one by Avery Breyers.
I’m thrilled about this, now to get that novel finished, and edited a few hundred times. I’ll be posting more on self publishing e-books so do check back. It is a very exciting time to be a writer.
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Sculptor, Writer and Speaker
Bridgette Mongeon is a sculptor, writer, illustrator and educator as well as a public speaker.
Her blog can be found at https://creativesculpture.com.
She is also the owner and creator of the God’s Word Collectible Sculpture series
Follow the artists on twitter twitter.com/Sculptorwriter twitter.com/creategodsword
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/bridgette.mongeon
Listen to The Creative Christian Podcast or the Inspiration/Generation Podcast Click on Podcast Host Bios for a list of all podcasts.
Listen to the Art and Technology Podcast