Granny Mizzle

 This Mizzle reminded me of my grandmother the moment I made her.  She is a wise, gentle soul.  Along with Buh-gee, she is one of the oldest Mizzles.  She is responsible for all of the Mizzles and spends her time guiding and protecting them through life.  She listens carefully and often shares her wisdom with the young ones, but she only offers a limited amount of advice or knowledge because she believes it is important for others to experience life on their own.

Bobo

I had so much fun with this Mizzle.  He is my only two-headed Mizzle.  I even had the chance to tie my first bow tie.  My favorite thing about him is the lips on both of the heads. I gave him to my mom.  She fell in love him at first sight.  I've been meaning to make another one like him.  My mom came up with the name Bobo, but as I begin to think about the possibilities of using him in my stories I have come to realize that even though they are one Mizzle, each head should have their own personality.  Maybe Bobo is their common name and they have nicknames for one another.

Until I figure that out... Bobo is the artist.  He writes, paints, plays music, and creates.  He is an inspiration to the other Mizzles.  He is not very reliable to help out with the usual chores, but you can always find him communing with his muse.

Meet Buh-gee

 

Buh-gee was fun to make.  I allowed my curiosity to take over and play with the shape of his head.  I even gave him wings.  I gave him to my younger sister since she named him.  I can't take credit for his fun name.  She has just as big of an imagination as I do.  But I have had Buh-gee in my possession for a few years.  I had lots of photos of him, but I felt I my drawings would be much stronger if I used Buh-gee as an actual model.  I think it is safe to say that it is time to give him back to her.  

Buh-gee is one of the oldest Mizzles.  He is the historian and storyteller of the group.  Everyone loves to hear him tell his stories of the ancient Mizzles.  

He helps Granny guide and protect the younger Mizzles.

Input Please

I have been in the process of creating some quick drawings for some bookmarks.   I have become really fond of watercolor pencils. I am still getting used to how much color to lay down first before washing it over with a wet brush. But this medium allows me to produce simple drawings much faster than I would with colored pencils.

 Here is an image of what the bookmarks will most likely look like.  I am still playing around with font and placement.  Any suggestions or thoughts?

Molly Mizzle

Molly is unique from the others because of the socks I used to create her.  Up until Molly, I had used only cotton, tight weave socks.  For Molly's body and legs, I used those really soft cushy socks, sometimes referred to as spa socks.  This type of sock makes for a really nice plush doll, but it was not very hand sewing friendly. Because of its stretchy nature, the weave of the sock is not as tight as a normal cotton sock.  The hand stitching had to be smaller.  When making her, I decided to try something different with the mouth.  I kind of gave her a pouty lip instead of a whole mouth.

Molly is gentle, kind, and nurturing.  She takes care of everyone around her.  She is the one everyone can always count on no matter what.  She is the most dependable Mizzle of the group.  Sometimes she is seen as naive, but she simply wants to see only the best of everyone.

Meet Goober Mizzle

Goober is one of my favorites.  I began playing with toe socks.  He is also the first to have an outfit.  I used a sock to create his shirt. I love that he kind of reminds me of a crazy creature you'd find the ocean.

Goober is a forgetful Mizzle.  He loves being helpful, but his forgetfulness makes him unreliable. His condition causes him great frustration, so he angers easily.  He tries to compensate by making lots of lists so he can always remember things that are important to him.  He lacks confidence in himself because he doesn't have legs like the others.  But he has a secret list of all the things he wishes he could do.  

Playing with art materials

A rainy day in California means a day to play with art.  A fun filled day of experimenting, but this time instead of creating a variety of pieces I played with one.  I like the was it turned out.  It reminds me of Rockwell's painting "Connoisseur."

Stage 1: I took a few watercolor pencils and coated the board with a variety of shades of blues, pinks, and yellows.

Stage 2: I used a palette knife and spread yellow gouache around the board and allowed it to dry.

 Stage 3: Coated the entire board with blue ink.  When it was dried I used a sponge and wiped it away under running water.







Stage 4: I created random patterns with rubber cement; allowed it to dry; and then coated the board with ink wash. When it was dry I removed the rubber cement.






Stage 5: Added a new layer of rubber cement; allowed it to dry; and coated the board with red-violet ink.  When it was dry I removed the rubber cement, except the board wasn't as dry as I had thought and a part of the surface was ripped.






Stage 6: I wanted to use this as a background for one of my characters. I drew a light outline with a soft charcoal pencil and filled in the outline with gesso.

Stage 7:  I used watercolor pencils to color in Stargazer.  The background competed too much with her, so I used a blue-violet ink wash to mute it.