|
Materials:
Prepare Fence
 Bake
unfinished wooden fence at 275ºF for at least one hour to drive any
water
out. Let fence cool slowly. Paint fence with 2-3 coats of light ivory
acrylic paint, allowing paint to dry to dry between coats. Bake painted
fence another 30 minutes at 275ºF and allow to cool slowly.
Mix Colors
Tip: Use a square
or circle cutter to create your equal amounts of colored clay from
flat sheets of clay.
- Fall Yellow
= 1 part Cad.Yellow
+ 1 part Ecru
- Fall Orange
=10 parts Orange + 1 part Raw Sienna
- Burgundy =
10 parts Aliz. Crimson + 1 part White
- Denim = 4 parts
Blue Granitex + 1 part Ultramarine Blue
- Light Gray
= 1 part Black + 8 parts White
- Tan = 1 part
Raw Sienna + 2 parts White
- Green
= 6 parts Green + 1 part White
Mold Objects
Mold fall objects
in the indicated quantities using the following colors and order:
 Sunflower
(3)
- Burnt Umber
for the flower center
- Fall Yellow
for the flower
- Remove from
mold and set aside.
 Corn
(2)
- Green for the
leaves
- Fall Yellow
for the corn
- Remove from
mold and set aside.
 Crow
(2)
- Fall yellow
for the beak and feet
- Black for the
body
- Remove from
mold and press in black beads for eyes and add eye creases with
needle tool.
 Pumpkins
(2 each size)
- Green for the
leaves
- Raw Sienna
for the stem
- Fall Orange
for the pumpkin
- Remove from
mold and set aside.
 Hay
Bale (1)
- Light Gray
for the wire
- Fall Yellow
for the hay
- Remove from
mold and set aside.
Turkey (1)
- Fall Yellow
for the beak
- Raw Sienna
for the body
- Fall Orange
for the inside feathers
- Fall Yellow
for the outside feathers
- Remove from
mold and press in black beads for eyes and add eye creases with
needle tool.
 Scarecrow
(1)
- Fall Orange
for the nose
- Fall Yellow
for the straw
- Raw Sienna
for the sticks
- Burgundy for
the patch and hatband
- Denim for the
overalls
- Light Ochre
for the hat
- Beige for the
face
- Tan for the
collar
 Burgundy
for the shirt - Remove from
mold and press in black beads for eyes, add eye creases with needle
tool and apply tiny burgundy balls for buttons on overalls.
- Make a hole
in the center between legs with a needle tool and enlarge hole with
cuticle stick. Work dowel coated with TLS between legs and into
body as far as the waist. Approximately 2" of dowel should extend
out past scarecrow's feet.
Shoes (2)
- Raw Sienna
for both shoes.
- Attach shoes
to scarecrow on either side of dowel using a ¾" piece of wire coated
with TLS.
 Gloves
(2)
- Ecru for both
gloves
- Attach right
glove (your left) to scarecrow's right arm using a ¾" piece of wire
coated with TLS. Set other glove aside.
Leaves
- Mix browns,
yellow, orange, burgundy until marbled.
- Mold several
of each leaf type.
- Remove from
mold and set aside.
Bake all molded
objects except for free glove and all leaves on index cards or on
a ceramic tile or other smooth, flat surface for 30 minutes at 275
º F. (Check your oven's accuracy with an external thermometer.) Allow
to cool completely.
Construct Base
Fold an ~18" long
sheet of aluminum foil into thirds creating a long sheet, 3 layers
thick and ~ 5-6" wide. Beginning in the middle, crumple up foil, bringing
the longs ends progressively toward the middle to make an irregular
shaped log about 5-6" long and 1 to1-1/2" wide that is flat on the
bottom and rounded on the top. Coat foil log with Sobo vinyl glue
and dry until tacky.
Cover aluminum
base with a thick (#1 setting on Atlas pasta machine) sheet of Raw
Sienna. Smooth seams.
Add a lump of
Raw Sienna clay to each end of the covered foil base. Make sure that
the ends extend at least 1 to 1-1/2" on either side of fence. Smooth
seams between lumps and covered foil base.
Apply a thick
log of Raw Sienna to the groove between original base and newly added
ends. Smooth seams.
Arrange base around
bottom of fence. Press base firmly against fence and around corners
slightly.
Check that candle
placement will not interfere with fence. Cut a circle out of each
side of base using a circle cutter or the brass candle cup itself.
Insert candle cup into clay.
Carefully place
base and fence onto a #1 sheet of Raw Sienna clay and cut around base
and fence. Smooth the edges of the sheet to the base. Again press
base firmly to fence. Fill in any holes, such as those between fence
pickets, with more Raw Sienna and smooth edges.
Texture the base
to give the appearance of dirt using an old toothbrush or coarse sandpaper.
Assemble Centerpiece
Press the baked
scarecrow's dowel into the center of the base at a slight angle so
that the scarecrow isn't standing up perfectly straight. Remove. Apply
super glue gel or two-part epoxy to the back of the scarecrow and
the bottom of the dowel. Place the dowel back into the hole and press
scarecrow against fence until dry. Glue crow to fence above scarecrow's
arm.
Begin pressing
baked pieces into base and up against fence. When satisfied with the
placement glue molded objects into place.
Glue sunflowers
into place on fence. Roll green clay into thin ropes and glue unbaked
ropes to fence leading from the flowers to the ground. Mold a few
straight leaves using green clay. Glue these unbaked to stems and
fence.
Mix several brown
clays together until marbled. Roll out thin logs and attach together
to form branches. Smooth seams. Carefully glue unbaked branches to
upper portion of fence. Draw bark lines through the branches with
a needle.Glue
a few unbaked fall leaves into place around branches.
Apply uncured
glove and several fall leaves to the front of the base.
Press taper candles
into candle cups, twist and push in candles until well seated into
cups. Remove candles.
Poke a few holes
into the base through to the aluminum foil with a needle (this will
allow trapped air to escape). Holes can be hidden behind or at the
edges of molded objects.
Bake entire centerpiece
for 45 minutes at 275ºF. (Check your oven's accuracy with an external
thermometer.) Support the fence from behind during baking using a
tall bake-proof object such as a straight-sided glass, vase or ceramic
piece.
Finishing
When centerpiece
is completely cool, check to see that all pieces are securely attached.
If any are loose, carefully pop them off and reattach using super
glue gel or two-part epoxy.
Apply blush or
chalk to scarecrow's cheeks.
Add candles, light,
and enjoy!
|
