Hi everyone, The NYC inspirations campaign which I wrote about a month and some change ago has failed miserably. I don’t know if I just need to grow up and smell the coffee beans or keep my silly willy optimism and try and believe human beings really are not just selfish, material beings. I began this campaign with the intent of finding something I thought existed in NYC, I am very sad to say that I have failed and a little bruised at what occurred to me during this attempt. I was often spat in the face for what I was trying to do, and I didn’t find any artists creating art for the sake of art. True, the campaign may have been flawed due to its induction in the cold weather, but even after the spring arrived and the artists came out, they were mostly there for the MONEY, one artist did even outright rejected the butterfly person, she said that it was faceless and she didn’t want to carry it, she wanted money, I understand that, I also comprehend the fact that I am one little person in a big city and just most probably did not run into these souls which surely exist right? Nevertheless, after giving three of my inspirations to three musicians, and having one thrown back in my face, I decided to let someone who was deserving actually have the next three… I left them outside. Leaving the butterfly people outside in NYC usually means they disappear quickly, and I may never know who owns them, but surely fate is more capable of deciding who would be appreciative than I could ever be.
I still have one because I am still hopeful, and my next pursuit of inspiration shall not be foiled!
Friday, April 25, 2008
Some things are begun with the best intentions…
Spring Street Fairs
Hello, I can confirm today that I will be a vendor at the Gramercy Park Neighborhood Festival which takes place Saturday May 10th 2008 from 11am to 6pm. The festival is to celebrate the park and neighborhood obviously :-p
The Festival is going to be from 17th to 23rd street on Park Avenue South.
Im also going to be at the Amsterday Avenue Fair the following day, Sunday May 11th, 2008 from 11am-6pm. This one is going to be on Amsterday Avenue from 96th to 106th street, I used to live around there!
The Festival is going to be from 17th to 23rd street on Park Avenue South.
Im also going to be at the Amsterday Avenue Fair the following day, Sunday May 11th, 2008 from 11am-6pm. This one is going to be on Amsterday Avenue from 96th to 106th street, I used to live around there!
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Custom Marie Laveau
Hello world.
Im getting a little better at working on my procrastination, I just finished a custom order that was supposed to be done on the first of this month, twenty-two days later she has arrived, I knew it was time, my hands were dying to make something and she came out very well.
She is a custom order for a customer from etsy.com, she wanted me to make the qyueen of voodoo magic Marie Laveau. She can be seen below, I was informed to make her wearing white with a head wrap, and that she often wore red sashes.
The hardest thing to make was that wrap on her head, I had to try and make it look like cloth with wrinkles and such.
On a side note, my Wednesday at Union Square has been cancelled for tomorrow because of the incident involving the Green Markets occupation of the South end of the park, pushing all street vendors out. I suppose I could set up on Thursdays but I’m actually going to start doing street fairs, more info on that later!
Im getting a little better at working on my procrastination, I just finished a custom order that was supposed to be done on the first of this month, twenty-two days later she has arrived, I knew it was time, my hands were dying to make something and she came out very well.
She is a custom order for a customer from etsy.com, she wanted me to make the qyueen of voodoo magic Marie Laveau. She can be seen below, I was informed to make her wearing white with a head wrap, and that she often wore red sashes.
The hardest thing to make was that wrap on her head, I had to try and make it look like cloth with wrinkles and such.
On a side note, my Wednesday at Union Square has been cancelled for tomorrow because of the incident involving the Green Markets occupation of the South end of the park, pushing all street vendors out. I suppose I could set up on Thursdays but I’m actually going to start doing street fairs, more info on that later!
Monday, April 21, 2008
Summer Ceramics
This summer will not only be filled with the butterfly people and Union Square park (or another park if the Green market takes up too much space, but more on that later!), I will also keep brushing up on my throwing skills by taking a porcelain class at the 92nd street YMCA.
http://www.92y.org/shop/class_detail.asp?category=Interests+%2D+Art888Art888Ceramics888&productid=AA3CC02
check it out
http://www.92y.org/shop/class_detail.asp?category=Interests+%2D+Art888Art888Ceramics888&productid=AA3CC02
check it out
Clay Fairies with real butterfly wings
Ive been making some real butterfly people lately, little unpainted sculptures with real butterfly wings, kneeling and with an arched back, arms extended to their sides.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
How to make a polymer clay flower (lily)
How to make a flower from polymer clay is the topic of today!
Yes, its time to reveal the technique of how to make beautiful Easter lillies (Lilium longiflorum) which are one of my favorite flowers to make in polymer clay. I have composed step by step instructions below and also step by step pictures, so get some clay, all you need is a minute amount, a needle tool, some paints, a wire (optional) and start sculpting!
You need to begin with a piece of clay about the size of a large marble, there will be lots of excess left over, but you want enough to draw your petals on.
I usually choose white clay for lillies, but this clay is a beige or off white color.
Next, roll out your clay with a roller or pasta machine until it is about as thin as three or four sheets of paper, the thinner the better, but not so thin that it breaks when shaping.
I take my needle tool and etch in the shape that the petals will be, for lillies you will need to make six petals, I make three slightly bigger and three slightly smaller since the last three will be behind the first three.
Next cut out your petals, you can just cut them out with the needle, I use scissors.
Your petals may not look all that great, but keep faith that the finished product will be a work of art! Be sure to keep a little base to each petal since lillies are trumpet-shaped.
Next step, etch lines into the petals, this makes them more detailed and like the real thing, skipping this step does make interesting deco-flowers.
Your petal may be starting to look like a leaf, but dont despair, continue to the next step.
Real lillies dont really have this, but I find that it makes the flower more realistic and weathered looking to actually create irregularities in the petal edges.
Repeat this procedure until all six petals have lines and "rough" edges.
Lillies have a yellowish interior to their flowers so take some water based paint (yellow) and water it down and just wash the bottom of three petals (the smaller inner ones) as shown in the following pictures.
Using the same three petals (these are the inner ones remember), get some brown paint and paint speckles on the petals, a couple of big ones and smaller ones will do, remember less is more.
Now it is time to work on the inner part of the flower, the stalk in the middle which I'm not sure is called a style or a pistil, so I will call it the stigma (since I know its capped by this) and the filaments, creating anthers is a bit overboard if you ask me, so my filaments remain without them.
Cut the Stigma out of some of the leftover clay you have, make it shaped like a golf club.
The filaments are created the same way, but cut them out in thinner, shorter strips of clay, you want to have five or six of them.
The stigma:
And the filaments added around it.
Take the brown paint you used on the petals and paint the tip of the stigma with it, don't worry if real Lillies have white stigmas :)
Hopefully this entire time you have been making the parts to the flower you have been thinking about your finished product, if not, now is the time!
Take the three inner petals and wrap their ends around your needle tool to round them.
Recap, you should have what I have here, six petals scored with lines and edges roughed up, three of these are painted and have their bases rounded. Also included here is the optional wire, I used a paper clip since its inexpensive and easy to obtain.
This is optional!
Insert the inner flower part onto the wire for support.
Now the real fun begins, begin attaching the flower petals onto the flower. Use your best petal first as it will always be able to be seen when people are looking at your flower, the other two petals may be partially behind the first one so keep that in mind.
Once the first three painted petals are on, begin to place the other three backing petals onto the flower, they go in between the first three as pictured.
Yay, you made something beautiful, admire it!
You can also curl the edges of the petals to make it look like an older flower, or pull the petals forward and make a more trumpet shape for a younger flower look.
And that's all folks, after you bake your polymer clay flower the shininess will disappear and you will never stop being asked, "did you really make that?"
Good luck!
-Pedro Ramirez Jr
Yes, its time to reveal the technique of how to make beautiful Easter lillies (Lilium longiflorum) which are one of my favorite flowers to make in polymer clay. I have composed step by step instructions below and also step by step pictures, so get some clay, all you need is a minute amount, a needle tool, some paints, a wire (optional) and start sculpting!
You need to begin with a piece of clay about the size of a large marble, there will be lots of excess left over, but you want enough to draw your petals on.
I usually choose white clay for lillies, but this clay is a beige or off white color.
Next, roll out your clay with a roller or pasta machine until it is about as thin as three or four sheets of paper, the thinner the better, but not so thin that it breaks when shaping.
I take my needle tool and etch in the shape that the petals will be, for lillies you will need to make six petals, I make three slightly bigger and three slightly smaller since the last three will be behind the first three.
Next cut out your petals, you can just cut them out with the needle, I use scissors.
Your petals may not look all that great, but keep faith that the finished product will be a work of art! Be sure to keep a little base to each petal since lillies are trumpet-shaped.
Next step, etch lines into the petals, this makes them more detailed and like the real thing, skipping this step does make interesting deco-flowers.
Your petal may be starting to look like a leaf, but dont despair, continue to the next step.
Real lillies dont really have this, but I find that it makes the flower more realistic and weathered looking to actually create irregularities in the petal edges.
Repeat this procedure until all six petals have lines and "rough" edges.
Lillies have a yellowish interior to their flowers so take some water based paint (yellow) and water it down and just wash the bottom of three petals (the smaller inner ones) as shown in the following pictures.
Using the same three petals (these are the inner ones remember), get some brown paint and paint speckles on the petals, a couple of big ones and smaller ones will do, remember less is more.
Now it is time to work on the inner part of the flower, the stalk in the middle which I'm not sure is called a style or a pistil, so I will call it the stigma (since I know its capped by this) and the filaments, creating anthers is a bit overboard if you ask me, so my filaments remain without them.
Cut the Stigma out of some of the leftover clay you have, make it shaped like a golf club.
The filaments are created the same way, but cut them out in thinner, shorter strips of clay, you want to have five or six of them.
The stigma:
And the filaments added around it.
Take the brown paint you used on the petals and paint the tip of the stigma with it, don't worry if real Lillies have white stigmas :)
Hopefully this entire time you have been making the parts to the flower you have been thinking about your finished product, if not, now is the time!
Take the three inner petals and wrap their ends around your needle tool to round them.
Recap, you should have what I have here, six petals scored with lines and edges roughed up, three of these are painted and have their bases rounded. Also included here is the optional wire, I used a paper clip since its inexpensive and easy to obtain.
This is optional!
Insert the inner flower part onto the wire for support.
Now the real fun begins, begin attaching the flower petals onto the flower. Use your best petal first as it will always be able to be seen when people are looking at your flower, the other two petals may be partially behind the first one so keep that in mind.
Once the first three painted petals are on, begin to place the other three backing petals onto the flower, they go in between the first three as pictured.
Yay, you made something beautiful, admire it!
You can also curl the edges of the petals to make it look like an older flower, or pull the petals forward and make a more trumpet shape for a younger flower look.
And that's all folks, after you bake your polymer clay flower the shininess will disappear and you will never stop being asked, "did you really make that?"
Good luck!
-Pedro Ramirez Jr
Saturday, April 19, 2008
The Butterfly People return to their roots!
Roots being REAL butterfly wings and encased. :-D
Check out my latest Mayan girls
Miniature corn, polymer clay woven baskets, braided hair, shell earrings and beaded necklaces, now this is what I call American Craft! These girls are tiny, about an inch and a half tall.
Check out my latest Mayan girls
Miniature corn, polymer clay woven baskets, braided hair, shell earrings and beaded necklaces, now this is what I call American Craft! These girls are tiny, about an inch and a half tall.
Friday, April 18, 2008
UNION SQUARE PARK TONIGHT!
Tonight at Union Square Park was like old times, the drum circle was there, LOTS of people were dancing and of course, a brand new butterfly person was strutting her stuff at the park, nearly getting stepped on in the street, and being completely ignored on a trashcan. Later she took a ride on the subway and in the pictures you can see life through her perspective, everything is really towering!
Enjoy
Union Sq Park kids wondering "What the hell is he doing?"
Elegance on a trashcan with peeling paint
Within Ghandi
I cant express how much I love this picture, expect to see it again!
No sitting zone
???
Youre gonna have to see through my perspective
I present, a NYC subway car!
Enjoy
Union Sq Park kids wondering "What the hell is he doing?"
Elegance on a trashcan with peeling paint
Within Ghandi
I cant express how much I love this picture, expect to see it again!
No sitting zone
???
Youre gonna have to see through my perspective
I present, a NYC subway car!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Spring!
SPRING is here, nobody loves spring more than The Butterfly People
flowers are literally everywhere and for a limited time too.
flowers are literally everywhere and for a limited time too.
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