The three dozen Citizens of Gigglesville are completed and ready for migration. All they need now is just their passports which I am working on in between preparing for my design presentation. One has to multi-task when the situation calls for it.
I am so proud of this time-based effort. Mission will be accomplished once I meet up with my friend to hand over the Citizens who will go out there to spread their love and giggles.
Last week, I bought a new green color to add to my acrylic color palette for the Citizens of Gigglesville. I must say I have several shades of green, accumulated throughout the years and more added in recent months.
However, lately I felt the choices that I have are a wee bit too dull and predictable. And some of colors are even too old to be used. The Liquitex brand is most obvious having lost its strength (for lack of a better word) because it does not stick well or smoothly upon application. Then again, even the new Neon Green from Apple Barrel does not do too well on wood and I am not sure why. In essence then, only four shades are used on a rotational basis.
I like the new Martha Stewart Crafts’ Granny Smith green choice for a brighter and more refreshing look to add some zest to the Citizens of Giggglesville. Looking forward to using it soon!
Seeing green!
The carving is at a bullet train pace. The month of June is not even up yet and like a person possessed, I have carved up 26 new Citizens plus a Gnome and a Baby Whale for the township!
There is a reason behind this sudden burst…
A girlfriend was very impressed with my efforts and have ordered some from me. I was reluctant to sell them initially because I felt the storyline for Gigglesville is not perfected yet. I believe there’s still some nitty gritty that I have to iron out.
But she managed to convince me and after much thought to iron out certain details, I agreed. Hence the sudden burst to carve three dozen for delivery! I should remind myself from the perspective that my three dozen Citizens of Gigglesville are mass migrating like the rest who have left and as always spreading their love and giggles, much needed in this sometimes troubled world.
They can’t fit the tray!
From a different perspective
Carving was in full swing two weeks ago. I created a record of sorts when on that Saturday, I carved up seven Citizens of Gigglesville in one seating. Yes, seven! Quite a feat I must say.
And when the tail end of the foot long balsa has an odd height to be a Citizen, it didn’t go to waste because a Gnome was carved out of it.
So after a couple of giant Gnomes, Gnome 13 stands the shortest among the lot. A cute little chappy.
I have forgotten what it is like to carve balsa having worked on Meranti so much last month. Last night I pushed myself to go back to my Citizens on balsa instead of Meranti Gnomes. And my goodness! It’s so effortless.
So much so, the sudden burst resulted in four new Citizens – one in the morning before going to work and three in the evening after dinner. Yay. Maybe I should stop the Gnomes series for the time being and just focus on Citizens of Gigglesville. After all, their population count remained stagnant at 132 since Apr 24th.
Honestly, working with Meranti wood has aggravated the tennis elbow again. Not a good sign especially if I want to go back to playing golf. I shouldn’t allow this to flare up and if I want to also continue carving I should stick to balsa, a much softer wood. This may be the best balance to have the best of both activities.
Unfinished and ugly for now but that’s the process
Now that my Gandalf-looking Gnome is painted up, I feel it has an identity crisis! When it was all white with the gesso base, it looked like Gandalf. Now with the lavender shade, it’s looking more like a Wizard.
I was at a crossroad on the color choice. Believe me, it wasn’t easy and I even debated with M2 and hubby on the matter. In the end, I picked lavender.
While it’s a gnome and lives in Gnomie-wood, I felt it shouldn’t don the red cap and blue outfit because it’s of a different shape from the rest. And if it’s all red, it may end up looking like Santa. God forbid if it’s all green, it will look like a leprechaun!
The signature feature of my gnome series with the cone cap covering the face and eyes, and just the nose sticking out maintains the gnome allure despite the color difference.
I guess a variation is good for the gnomes of Gnomie-wood, just like the Citizens of Gigglesville with the many different species either still living in Gigglesville or have migrated to spread love and giggles.
Appalled at the realization that the month of May yielded so little carvings, I stayed away from reading the news and carved up a storm two nights before the weekend came about. And thank goodness for the light breeze of both evenings, it was the perfect setting to start on a new piece. I worked on it like a person possessed.
Within two nights, Gnome #12 came around. This time, this fella is really different from the rest. Extremely different in fact. By the end of the weekend, my new carving looks more like a Gandalf than a Gnome of Gnomie-wood! Hahaha… what have I created?
Big debate on what color should this fella be. Any suggestions?
Gnome #11 of Gnomie-wood took almost two weeks to complete. Firstly, it’s a big fella, secondly all that time when I should be working on it was diverted to reading the news instead. Oh well, better to move slowly than not at all.
At seven and three quarters inch, Gnome #11 is by far the tallest now, surpassing Gnome #9 by 3/4 of an inch.
I hope to complete Gnome #11 by the weekend (adding the gloss varnish) and most likely push myself to start on another piece.
The process of carving a Gnome
With a gloss still to add on, Gnome #11 is almost done!
Lately the carving stalled because I got side-tracked keeping up with the news on the elections every single night. Citizens of Gigglesville is stagnant at a population count of 132 as of April 24th and the last three citizens, born in April were not even painted up. And since then, there’s no new Citizen. Zilch. Nada.
Sure there were some whales, Apeach, Giant Gnomes and Monuments but that’s about it. Not a single new Citizen this whole month of May. Sigh…
The carving seems to have taken a toll on me. Lately with all these bigger pieces that I am working on with Meranti wood which is harder than balsa, I could feel a slight pain especially on the right elbow when I exert some strength. The tennis elbow problem! And this is evident when I try to play golf. Sigh…
When an injury hits, one never truly recovers. The body is weakened, the game suffers and the confidence drops, a vicious cycle. Add in the lack of playing because of my other problems (the Infectious Colitis and the laparoscopic surgery recently), I simply have not had much opportunity to go onto the fairways.
I need to find the right balance to carve and play golf without one activity suffering at the expense of the other.
Angieneering 
Remarks