Rebecca Ruggles

  • Chipboard Web Armature

    Filling out the armature with a cardboard web, then adding a skin of chipboard strips to firm the shape.

  • Building Cardboard Armature for Wish

    Layers of cardboard were added to build depth and shape for the body, limbs, and head. I’m going for rough shape and scale.

  • Wish Cardboard Armature

    I enlarged my sketch to make a cardboard armature. With the side profile as a guide, I can build depth and move from two to three dimensions.

  • Love at First Ish

    Wish is an Ish prancing with a dandelion. Full of love and dreams, his joy is as contagious. Be still my heart.

  • Signature & Feet

    Using my jig has been so very handy. I can flip the piece so quickly and see areas that need attention and detail. Like today, working on the feet…

  • Wing Nuts

    The t-nuts and bolts did a great job of holding the cup and wings to the main body of the bird. Now, I need a way to cover the…

  • T-Nuts

    T-nuts are slowly becoming my favorite type of fastener. I already used these on the rear of my sculpture. The t-nuts allow me to create a threaded hole in…

  • How to paint a giant purple panda head.

    January 2024: Finishing up the giant purple panda sculpture, including a little yellow bird that will perch on the panda’s nose. Also, I started a new wall sculpture of…

  • Handling Problem

    I built a jig to hold my sculpture in every direction to hold my work without having to touch it. I realize I need a way to see the…

  • Clay WIngs

    Adding the free-form air over the EVA foam wings worked; I had to do this in two steps to avoid handling wet clay. I also attempted to add magnets…

  • Adding Clay

    This was the first sculpture in which I used Smooth-on’s Free Form Air Epoxy Clay, and while I found the result to be strong and light, I did struggle…

  • Rhinoplasty

    The poster board left the beak area a little square, so I reshaped the point of the beak to a pleasing cone shape with epoxy clay. I also reinforced…

  • Eyes & Wings

    I drew a circle for the eyes on paper, then transferred the shape to the armature and cut the eye holes with a knife. This made it easy to…

  • Tightbond

    I brushed a layer of Tightbond III over the entire posterboard skin to give it strength and seal the paper from the clay’s moisture. I also built a leg…

  • Early Bird Armature

    I am building an armature for a new wall-hanging sculpture called Early Bird. Starting with a cardboard profile hot glued to two circles that will support the wall-hanging hardware.…