Rebecca Ruggles is a sculptor who paints.

Follow along as I bring whimsical and charming creatures to life. This website documents the process, thoughts, and challenges along the way.

What's on my Bench

Paper Cement Clay Test on Half Sphere Forms

Concrete Paper Clay with Forms

I mixed up another batch of the Concrete Paper Clay recipe I learned about on Ultimate Paper Mache to experiment

31
May

Paper Cement Clay Test Wet on Giant Skull

Concrete Paper Clay

Testing out another of Jonni’s recipes, which uses Portland cement. The result was even better than the Silky SMooth Paper

29
May

Silky Smooth Paper Clay on Giant Panda Test

DIY Silky Smooth Paper Clay

After applying Magic Sculpt and Apoxie Sculpt clays to my large, I realized this medium would not work for large

27
May

Seeker wall sculpture dry brush paint stage

Seeker Wall Sculpture: Dry Brush & Washes

I am adding acrylic paint over the bunt umber base coat with a dry brush technique. Dry brushing shades of

25
May

Seeker wall sculpture progress photo - first coat of acrylic paint.

Seeker Wall Sculpture: Base Color Paint

Using the same concept of colored ground for canvas printing, I painted my entire Seeker sculpture with Burnt Umber. Pushing

23
May

Seeker wall sculpture progress photo - adding fur and arm.

Seeker Wall Sculpture: Fur and Arm

I use ‘Bake & Bond’ between baked and raw clay; it acts like glue and fuses in the oven. In

21
May

Seeker wall sculpture progress photo - first bake with cloak and face.

Seeker Wall Sculpture: Cloak & Boots

I sculpted the first layer of skin, face, eyes, ears, cloak, and boots. The cloak was so delicate I decided

19
May

Seeker wall sculpture progress photo - baking armature.

Seeker Wall Sculpture: Armature

I cut a silhouette of the seeker from my drawing on cardboard for the flat back, then added aluminum foil

17
May

Sketchbook doodles Summer Sniffles by Rebecca Ruggles

Summer Sniffs

On my walks, I can’t help but take a moment to close my eyes and smell the blooms. The roses

15
May

Sketchbook

Between projects and learning new software, I have been turning to my sketchbook as an outlet for doodling ideas and

13
May

My first MDF cuts on the ShopBot, new materials, new things to learn.

New Materials MDF

I wanted to explore some thicker materials to use in my next-layer scene diorama. With a thicker edge, I could

11
May

Rabbit Augmentation

I found this rabbit resin statue in the Easter decor section at Michaels and was charmed by its little expression

09
May

Final photo of Satchel & Penny vs. Sea Monster

Satchel & Penny vs. the Sea Monster

“Satchel & Penny vs. Sea Monster” Acrylic paint on engraved Palboard diorama by Rebecca Ruggles. 24x24x5 inches, May 2023 Reflections and

07
May

Diorama in the chair of honor at Wednesday Artsy Ladies Group

The Value of Cohorts

I want to express my gratitude to the cohorts at the art group that have made my art possible with

05
May

first look at the art diorama of Satchel & Penny

First Look: Satchel & Penny Art Diorama

For the first time, I can see my art diorama fully realized. I still have some touch-ups on the edges

03
May

Assembling the Diorama

With each layer and the floating bits painted, it was time for the final assembly. Sliding each layer onto the

01
May

Floating Layers

Figuring out a hardware solution to mount the floating layers of the diorama was tricky. I did not want to

29
Apr

First Roses of 2023

I always stop when the first roses emerge from their buds in spring. This year the spectacle began the last

27
Apr

Organize & Clean Studio

It started with the garage purge and clean last weekend, and now my studio space is screaming for a clean-up

25
Apr

Diorama Hardware

Moment of truth… will the holes in each layer line up and work with the hardware plan? The only way

23
Apr

Painting Sea Monster Tentacles

I love the colors of these scary sea monster tentacles and how the burnt umber underneath affects the paint’s tone.

21
Apr

Watercolor and pen doodle of an idea for a new diorama project.

Water Color Diorama

At the art group in Nipomo, I decided to take a break from acrylic and do a little watercolor scene

19
Apr

Preview Diorama Layers

With a few layers painted, I did a test stack of the background, frame, and teacup. I’m delighted with how

17
Apr

Painting Background

After toning the background with a burnt umber glaze, I painted the scene. I wanted a bright, epic sunset with

15
Apr

Fabricating art on my desktop max ShopBot

Background Fabrication

The process I’m using to convert my drawings into toolpaths for the ShopBot are as follows:

13
Apr

Ode to Spring

The ranch received 30 inches of much-needed rain. After years of drought, the hills have been transformed, and the result

11
Apr

Patches Doodle

It’s wonderful to be a part of a group of ladies that meets and does art together twice a month.

09
Apr

Testing frame colors and look on a cutting scrap

Color Tests

Since I wasted several sheets of material perfecting the engraving with the CNC on this piece, I had the perfect

07
Apr

Second time painting Nibbles, this time without heavy illustration lines

Nibbles Take Two

Not satisfied with the first painting of Nibbles, I took a second attempt, this time looking to eliminate the thick

05
Apr

Cutting Trials & Errors

Realizing I wanted a thinner engraved line on my diorama, I took about a week to figure out the combination

03
Apr

Painting Nibbles

Trying some new things while painting Nibbles. I wanted to try toning the canvas blue, so I painted my whiteboard

01
Apr

Nibble Cutting Result

This is how the final cut turned out. I decided to try just lightly engraving my lines so that the

30
Mar

Nibbles Tool Paths

After drawing Nibbles on my iPad with Procreate, I exported the line drawing as a PNG. This PNG file is

28
Mar

Sketchbook to Vector of Nibbles by Rebecca Ruggles

Sketch to Vector

One of the daily drawings in my sketchbook stood out to me to have a name. I started with Crumb,

26
Mar

Symmetry Tool

I’m always learning about new features in Procreate from artist friends and the web. The other day I heard about

24
Mar

Book Mouse

Quick drawing of a bibliophile mouse. Using Procreate, I imported a photo of a felted mouse and traced its basic

22
Mar

Daily Drawing Practice

Morning Pages have worked out so well for me that I’ve also decided to add daily drawing. To essentially warm

20
Mar

Calling Nimbus Drawing by Rebecca Ruggles

Seeking Nimbus

Nimbus, the Wind Whale, can not resist the joy of lifting a kite. He pushes a gentle wind for the

18
Mar

The Wind Whale

Nimbus, the Wind Whale, soars thru the sky, forming new clouds with each exhale of his giant lungs. His body

16
Mar

The Mushroom Topper

The Mushroom Topper climbs down from the tree with a basket full of germinated spores ready to be sewn into

14
Mar

Stardust Dipper

I’ve been dreaming of these layered drawings that create depth and tell a story about my character’s life. A diorama

12
Mar

Color Mixing

Started an online course on Color Mixing with Will Kemp’s Art School. I’ve has never taken the time to stop

10
Mar

Third of the way with the epoxy clay coat

Clay Shell

Working in sections, I’m adding the epoxy clay shell over the paper armature. This creates a very hard rigid base

08
Mar

Shaping in the eyes on the panda with epoxy clay

Shape in Eyes

The first layer of epoxy clay over the eye armature builds the basic shape of the eyelids. This area will

06
Mar

Adding epoxy clay to by panda and getting way too lost in the details.

Adding Clay

Today I began adding magic sculpt epoxy clay to my panda and immediately fell into techniques I used on my

03
Mar

Drawin on my adrmature facial features of my panda.

Making a Study

I approached this panda with a very loose plan at the start. I wanted it to be big and round.

01
Mar

Building the shape of the panda ears with cardboard, tape, and hot glue.

Building Ears

With the ear, placement marked, it was time to bulk out the basic shape of the ear. Using crumpled paper,

27
Feb

Front view of the panda with foam eyes and ruff ear cutouts.

Foam Ball Eyes

Using 3″ styrofoam balls cut in half, I placed the eyes in a line extending from the nostril to the

24
Feb

Murder Muffin drawing in procreate by Rebecca Ruggles

Murder Muffins

The drawing was inspired by a phrase I heard today when a woman described her cat killing a bird as

22
Feb

Applying Paper Mache with paper bags to the Panda Sculpture

Panda Paper Mache

Now for the second panda skin, brown paper bag paper mache. I discovered this technique from Joni at Ultimate Paper

20
Feb

Applying the masking tape over the cardboard armature

Panda Masking Tape

This entire project is full of unknowns. I’m using techniques I learned from James Lake and Joni at Ultimate Paper

16
Feb

Panda Cardboard Armature

I completed the cardboard portion of the Panda head. It took about five boxes worth to get to this point.

13
Feb

Applying and sculpting Apoxie Sculpt to the bunny statue at art group

Spring Bunny Statue

I bought this adorable bunny statue at Michael’s and planned to augment it into a new composition using Apoxie Sculpt

10
Feb

Artist Date

Took the cargo van out as a makeshift mobile studio to do watercolor by the sea.

08
Feb

Cardboard Panda

This is the sculpture work I’ve desired to do but have been too scared to try. Large form wall hanging

05
Feb

Painting Owen

Owen was a really chatty cathy when I was painting him, talking to me the whole time about how he

29
Jan

Owen the Turtle

Owen the Turtle started as a wooden ball armature. Using CosClay, a flexible oven bake polymer clay, I added the

27
Jan

Midnight Garden

Second painting on the 8″ round circles started with a watercolor pencil sketch then outlined with POSCA paint pens. This

22
Jan

Blue Racoon

I have a pack of these 8″ wooden circles I intended for a different project, but then I decided to

19
Jan

Timelapse of making the Quirky Bird paper sculpture

Quirky Bird Timelapse

Timelapse video of Rebecca Ruggles working on the Quirky Bird paper sculpture. Shows how handpainted papers were cut into individual

17
Jan

Chocolate Doughnut Dingo

Quick little critter drawing of a rare dingo. In Procreate on the iPad, I like to start with some shapes

15
Jan

Eyes Have It

Added more feathers and details to the eyes. All paper is painted before being placed onto the sculpture.

13
Jan

Venti Vulpe Critter Drawing

You see these critters everywhere, intensely studying their phones and throwing back three shots of espresso. It takes a lot

11
Jan

Feathers and Beak

I brushed mixed media paper with streaky blues on one side and yellow on the back. Then this painted paper

09
Jan

Teacup Pop-Up

Completed the Teacup Pop-Up design, and the printable template is available for download on Popupity.

05
Jan

Little Bug Painting

I bought a pack of these little 6×6 canvas boards on my art supply birthday shopping spree and decided to

03
Jan

Quirky Bird Paper Sculpture

Mimicking James Lake’s cardboard sculptures and wanting to explore using paper as a sculpting medium, I cut strips of cardstock

31
Dec

Hummingbird Sculpt

At art group this Wednesday, I worked on sculpting a hummingbird. Adding each teardrop in a shingle pattern to the

28
Dec

Pop-Up Scene Doodle

Been enjoying doodling with layers. Imagining a scene with a background, midground, and foreground. This one was inspired by the

26
Dec

Sculpting Buttons – Part 3

CosClay can be painted directly with acrylic paint, and the coverage is very satisfying. For the first coat of paint,

24
Dec

Sculpting Buttons – Part 2

The round plaque was made with a piece of cardboard cut in a circle and covered with rolled sheets of

23
Dec

Sculpting Buttons the Dog – Part 1

I’m sculpting my new 4-month-old Jack Russel Terrier puppy Buttons as a Christmas gift for my beloved Mr. H. I

22
Dec

Printable Teacup Pop-Up Card

I’ve turned by teacup pop-up card into a printable DIY project anyone can make with basic paper, scissors, and glue.

20
Dec

Tea Cup Bouquet pop-up card in progress- first attempt full color build

Tea Cup Pop-Up: Full-Color Draft

After drawing and coloring all the parts in procreate, today was the first time printing and assembling the parts to

16
Dec

Tea Cup Details

With the paper mechanics worked out today I refined the tea cup design in Procreate. Dainty tea cup with a

15
Dec

Mock-Up for Teat Cup Pop-Up Card by Rebecca Ruggles

Tea Cup Pop-Up : Paper Engineering

Started designing a tea-cup pop-up card for Popupity. In the early stages, it’s helpful to work out the folds and

14
Dec

Blairsville Courthouse

Final version of the courthouse illustration.

06
Dec

Tucker the Duck

Progress on painting Tucker. Painted dark base color then dry brushed lighter shade next. Colors mimic a mallard duck but

05
Dec

Cosclay sculpture of a bird with tulips by Rebecca Ruggles

Tulip the Duck

Sculpted with oven baked CosClay over a wooden peg. Tulip loves waddling thru the tulip fields. Now that it’s backed,

04
Dec

Drawing of Blairsville, GA courthouse by Rebecca Ruggles

Blairsville Courthouse Drawing

Using a photo from my phone imported into Procreate and traced with black pen I was able to quickly capture

03
Dec

Bird with Flying Friend drawing by Rebecca Ruggles

Flying Friends

Procreate sketch of bird walking with his flying friend the butterfly. Working on bent legs in motion and adding shadow.

02
Dec

Stubby hands opossum doodle by Rebecca Ruggles

Stubby Opossum

Drawing in Procreate of a opossum with stubby arms and a round belly. Tried different fur texture and eye colors.

01
Dec

Satchel and the Sea Monster

Satchel is a tea cup bobber of legend. Holding his spoon tight as he crosses the deep sea with giant

25
Nov

Peaches the Fruit Bat

I sculpted Peaches out of polymer clay over a wooden doll peg and then baked in the oven. I then

24
Nov

Giant Giraffe Paper Sculpture

Giant giraffe paper sculpture in progress. Using Joni’s Ultimate Paper Mache Pattern blown up to 36″ and printed by PDF

23
Nov

Procreate with Illustrator

Just took a quick online course with Lisa Glanz ‘Using Procreate with Illustrator to Enhance Your Vector Drawings‘. In the

22
Nov

Making Comics Exercise: … and then what?

Draw one scene and then draw the next as your answer to what happens next. It’s like drawing improv. Reflecting

21
Nov

Sketch: Far Out Roll

Working on characters holding things. Adding the thumb helped in this case.

20
Nov

Sketch: Seasons Changed

Fall came on in a snap, time to wear my favorite knitted hat with the ear flaps and pom-pom. Bunny

19
Nov

Rebecca Ruggles Drawing 'Early Birds Totem'

Sketch: Early Birds Totem

This is an idea for a totem pole of pigeons drinking their first cup of coffee. I see this developing

18
Nov

Sketch: Queen Flamingo

Working on sketches of birds and character side profiles. This flamingo is inspired by a Ukrainian artist Marli Toys (Etsy

17
Nov

Sketch: Slouchy Bird

Working on side profiles in this sketch.

16
Nov

Painted art chair project by artist Rebecca Ruggles

Childhood Art Chair Restored

Restored and hand painted my childhood art chair with acrylic paint and POSCA pens.

15
Nov

Rebecca Ruggles Drawing Noodle Pot Kitty

Sketch: Noodle Pot Kitty

Always comforted by a hot steamy bowl of ramen. Working on drawing my critters holding things to help express their

04
Nov

Transfer Paper

Discovered that graphic paper comes in different colors! Using white transfer paper, I could apply my paper drawing to the

28
Jul

Bliss Station

Hung my daily doodles up on the wall so I could catch any patterns or ideas, plus I feel like

27
Jul

Chair Template

Made a paper template to work out the design for the art chair. Was much easier to think things out

26
Jul

Fresh Air

The magic of a road trip adventure; the wind in your fur and all the new aromas.

25
Jul

Sausage & Banana Slug

Weekend getaway to Trinidad, CA to take in the forest and cool ocean air. Saw my first bright yellow slug

24
Jul

Purple Cow

Making woodblock texture using paint pens and watercolor paper. So bright and opaque. U can layer over colors and block

23
Jul