Just Finished the Headless Horseman!

[jillsy]

Hey Everybody!

I'm really excited about a project I just finished - The Headless Horseman! There are 3 pictures in the GALLERY, under "Holiday".

This piece is different than any other I've worked on so far because it combined my love of working with different mediums. I took a leap to try something new and wound up having such a fun time!

The Horseman is needle-felted in 100% pure wool. What that means is he is sculpted from wool. I've been learning how to do this on my own and it's alot of fun. Then I got to sculpt and paint his boots using polymer clay, another fun medium.

I tried to make the horse look mean. I wasn't going for realistic, as you can obviously see, but just wanted to give the feeling of a nasty, powerful horse. I bandsawed him in several pieces, carved him, and attached the legs. He's painted with a crackle finish. Next, I got Ted to help me drill and attach rusted wire for the mane and tail. I wasn't sure at first, if I'd like it, but I wound up loving the way it turned out!

Finally, I stole a vintage building block from my kids to use as a base. On one side I painted a scene of the Horseman chasing Ichabod. On the other side, I quoted Bing Crosby from the Disney's "Legend of Sleepy Hollow." It says, "For when you cross that bridge my friend, the ghost is through, his power ends!"

I can't tell you how utterly satisfying this project was to work on. I just had so much fun applying all the things I love into one piece. I tend to make alot of rules for myself, way too many for the world of art. So, it was fun to break out and try something new. I wish I could have painted a better scene, but painting has never been one of my stronger points. I'm much better with a pencil and eraser!

Some of you have asked me what needle-felting was in previous posts, so I'm glad to be able to demonstrate it within this carving too.

Love ya all!
Jillsy

[Joy]

Oh, Jillsy! That is just fantastic. Way to stretch your wings!!!!!!

[jillsy]

Thanks Joy!

The more I let go of negative thinking, the more the ideas pour in!

Wish I didn't have to post in the Gallery. I enjoy working with my hands, but learning the computer is a whole different story!

[doris]

hi jillsy, that is a truely fun piece :-) i enjoy seeing different techiniques combined... i dont know story of headless horseman, but i suppose, from the look of your artwork, it is a children story ? seems we have quite different stories...anyway, the piece is wonderful, the dynamic and dramatic, excellent :-)

btw, you shrinked your pics only in compression, the size is still 2816 x 2112, that is way too big to post, they need be around 500x375 or a tad bit larger... to make them smaller, open an image editing program, choose "scale image" and then choose desired size. then save under a different name...

[Claude]

Nice work, Jillsy!

Doris: here's the info: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Claude

[Kenny_S]

Yep, Jillsy, Ya done a super job ,Kiddo. Very nice piece and the different techniques. Super!!!!!

[Nancy-G]

Those are such a delight! Jill sent me photos .......
I wonder if there's any chance at all if I could post the photos ..... hmmmmm
I can try.

[MelNM]

This is really great peice Jillsy, you definitely were thinking out of the box.
Mel

[Colin-Partridge]

Talk about out of the box thinking this is all right brain thinking for sure Ichabod Crane move over you have been replaced. Jillsy that is a great carving Sleepy Hollow will never be the same excellent imagination.
Colin

[doris]

hi claude, and colin :-) thanks for the info !