kitten update

So my boyfriend's little adoptee went from this:

 To this!

So big and handsome! And energetic!

He's added on a few more ounces since rehoming, weighing at just under 3 lbs as of his vet visit last week. He seems to have grown so much, he's like a long wiggly noodle now. His new mom (my studio partner's cousin) has given him a wonderful new home. We miss him like crazy, but I'm happy to see him so content.

According to the latest tests, he's Feline Leukemia & Feline HIV negative. Which, while we hoped for the best, surprised everyone. Yay!

Sadly, the Vet suspects he might have FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis) which is fatal and almost completely untreatable. It's going to be a tough few months... The Vet has warned us all that FIP strikes fast, though if he survives past ~6 months the prognosis might be more positive. Apparently feral kittens who inherit/are born with FIP don't usually survive kitten hood, though if they do they can fall victim to it suddenly and swiftly. They just get sluggish and tired and then... 

So, we're hoping he's somehow avoided that guillotine. Unfortunately there is no definitive test for whether a cat is positive or negative for FIP, so we won't know for sure.

He's catching up on all his vaccinations, which have been spaced out and given individually instead of by booster because the vet thinks he's still quite frail and weak. He still may have Feline Herpes, since he's got an infrequent sneeze, which means more lifelong meds. We've been advised to take him for a consultation at a veterinary ophthalmologist as soon as we can all afford it... His 'good' eye may be something an operation can improve (removing the film of scar tissue), and his 'bad' eye may still have to be removed. So far 2 different vets have given two different opinions on removing the eye... 

Of course I'd love for him to not have to go through that trauma, but if it would make him more comfortable, or decrease likelihood of future injuries or infections, I'll gladly pay that bill. We've been very lucky, in that the Kitten's new Mom is helping us with his bills. I just hope that sooner rather than later we can catsit and be 'auntie and uncle' to a healthy & happy cat.

Oh, and he's got a name! Meet Stevie!

kitten rescue

Not a lot of new adventures to blog about/report, as my partner has gotten a new roommate! Things have gotten quite busy as a result!

This lucky kitten was rescued from an appliance store Sept 7th, where the employees had found him under a car and were going to leave him in a box to be 'picked up later' by the SPCA. On a day of +100F heat. Of course we couldn't leave him.
His eyes were so swollen and incrusted with pus and infection, he was so emaciated his bones were sharp through his skin and he was crawling with fleas.

We immediately rushed him to the closest Vet, where his eyes were drained (which was so horrible), he was given subcutaneous fluids for the extreme dehydration, and we got an expensive bag full of goodies to try and nurse him back to health.

The last week has been full of anxiety and short on sleep. His eyes need to be swabbed and cleaned every few hours, with medicated drops instilled. He's on oral antibiotics, which apparently taste awful because he sure does fight against every mouthful. He's (thankfully!) quite litter-trained, so while it's a bit of a fight to get him to eat enough, his body is starting to work like it should.

rescue kitten, a set on Flickr.

A few days ago we took him for a 2nd checkup after his eyes appeared to be getting worse. It wasn't all bad news, though... He had gained weight, going from 0.6lbs to 1.2lbs, we had gotten rid of the fleas without any medications that would hurt his little body, and the ulcers from malnourishment on his tongue had healed.
His eyes, however, are still infected. The antibiotics have cleared up the initial infection... but now it seems he's got either the herpes virus or Calici's virus which is causing ocular trauma and inflammation.

It's been a tough journey for this little fellow. Even with a week of meds, he's still almost completely blind.

There's a chance he might be able to see again, someday, but we're not there yet. Despite everything, he is, without a doubt, the most sweetly affectionate little kitten. He's trusting and sweet, calling out in his squeaky little mew if he's left alone too long. All he wants is to be close to a heartbeat and cuddle up to a warm body. And chow down on mushy gushy kitten food.

The biggest battle left to fight is to find him a loving permanent home. We can't keep him, though I've fallen utterly in love with his tender little personality. Finding a forever home for a potentially handicapped kitten, even one as cute as he is, isn't proving an easy task.

as seen on TV!

Another episode, another costume! See Season 5 Episode 6, Revolving Doors on MSN & on The Guild website. 

Tink and Codex, a photo by watchtheguild on Flickr.

I was asked to build a giant plush doll version of one of The Guild's main characters. My first human costume, a little out of my comfort zone but I hope it played well on camera! I had a lot of fun making her shoes, with big puffy bows on them.
It's so fun watching other people wear my costumes!

There's a really awesome cameo in the episode, but my favorite is still coming up... Can't wait to see!

the virtues of varnish

Just a little product review tonight, to go along with the progress of one relaxa-project:

 

 Piece mid-varnishing. The painters tape is to prevent any drips.

Ultra-glo is a really wonderful varnish/protective coating. Previously, on my sculpted pins I used standard issue epoxy gels. Usually 5 or 30 minute cure kits, with high tensile strength. You know the kinds: little 5mL tubes of resin and hardener with the twist tops that never keep the goopy stuff contained between uses. Or even worse, the little push-syringes that leak like yuck.
But I need a clear varnish that will keep my sculpts from shattering into a billion pieces when knocked about or dropped, so I used it.

The downside of these epoxies is that they usually yellow over time or even yellow as they cure (ugh!) and they're difficult to get accurately 1:1 ratios... which can lead to tacky gluey pieces that take ages to properly harden. They're more expensive per ounce, in the long run. The quick curing epoxies need to be mixed in multiple batches over the course of a paint-job so I tend to waste more as it sets up on me, and it's just generally a pain. But they're easy to buy (Home Depot, Canadian Tire, along with just about any small hardware shop). So I tolerated them.

 Some pre-epoxy sculpted Critter Pins.

Last January I had the chance to visit a TAP Plastic shop. While there, I picked up some pints of Ultra-Glo polymer coating (and of course glow-in-the-dark powder to add to it for extra fun). 

This stuff is great. I'll never resort to any two-part epoxy gel again.

First off, it's CRYSTAL clear. No more weeping as my lovely snow white painted pieces gradually go nicotine yellow again. If this was the only perk I would absolutely still recommend it against anything I've used before. But there's more! 

It's also wonderfully shiney, looking like fresh wet paint that's been polished with diamonds. From my experience, it fills in any small rivulets from brush strokes in paint and seems to 'smooth' itself, and makes any paint job look absolutely smooth and seamless. No more sanding paint smooth before varnish. It's definitely made my finished pieces look better, more like ceramic or resin casts... Considering all my sculpts are one-ofs in soft sculpting clays, and I'm not using any ceramic casting, I'm liking the effect. 

It's also fantastically strong! I used it to coat a set of claws used on the gloves and feet of a costume, and they feel silky like polished ceramic dish plates & have yet to show any sign of scuff or scratch. Despite opening doors, grabbing items, stomping around for miles and just generally being used...  I haven't tried to smash them with a hammer/gouge them with keys (at least not directly), but I have a feeling they would stand up admirably to even that level of abuse.

It's also, dare I say, easier to mix. Ultra-Glo is much more liquid than anything I've worked with before (aside from polyurethane varnishes, ick), so it's easy to mix up in graduated measuring cups. It's physically easy to mix (same 1:1 ratios, then stir-stir-stir) and easy to paint on because it's so fluid and watery. I used acid brushes trimmed to fine points to get into all the nooks and crannies.

This is probably the only complaint I have of it; is the viscosity. Being accustomed to gloopy gels, I'm used to loading it onto my pieces to get a nice thick coating. But too much Ultra-Glo will just drip right off if it's applied too thickly. But it doesn't NEED to be applied so thick, so I think I'm just going to have to get used to the medium and adapt!

 Another perk is the initial cure time is between 2-8 hours depending on ambient temperature, humidity (and sea level, I imagine). I find it tends to start to set-up in about 30-45 minutes in my studio atmosphere, but is malleable for a while, so lots of time to mix one batch and work. If you find it's creating a 'drip' along some point, it's a simple matter of taking a sharp point (a pin, or tip of a brush) to sweep away the excess Ultra-Glo and it's all fixed up and smooths itself out. No more drippy gobs connecting delicate little sculpted bits to one another and requiring a dremel to sand them off once cured.

It's just great! It pays to investigate new chemicals and tools to optimized and really highlight your projects. With Ultra-Glo's almost archival qualities, I know my pieces will look tip-top for a long while, too!

sculpted dragon

I've taken a short (but much-needed) break from the series of sewn dolls I'm currently working on. A holiday just isn't a holiday without some kind of artistic outlet!
But it's been frustrating. Between difficulty in casting resin parts for one, and difficulty working with the vinyl of another, I'm frustrated! So... to keep from hacking things apart with the pinking shears, I'm doing some therapeutic sculpting.

I haven't sculpted anything in months; most of my focus has been on BIG things. Or cuddly things. Not delicate little itty-bitty things. I forgot how pleasant it is!

I used some of my doll armature wire to build the skeleton for the dragon, and the horns & ears were sculpted onto some of my 3" quilting pins I sacrificed for the occasion. Can you believe I sculpted most of this with a darning needle? I find conventional sculpting tools too big and unwieldy for itty-bitty things.

Once the paint is dry and fixed with some marine epoxy, I'm going to play with the needle felting kit to build her a nice zebra-dragon body. Can you spot her little wing thumbs in the pictures? This one's going to be cute!

behind the scenes

Furry in Season 5 of The Guild, a photo by watchtheguild on Flickr.

In case you were wondering (which I'm sure you were!) the Boba Tea was made up of food coloring, milk, and blueberries. Amazing art / prop department magic! Listen to the Knights of the Guild Podcast for more behind-the-scenes secrets. Greg Aronowitz (the genius model maker in everything from Tomb Raider to Batman Forever to Jurassic Park etc etc...) is a master of make-believe.

Working on some new sculpted projects at the moment, promise to have some fresh content up soon!

Appearance on THE GUILD

It's been a while since we had any news in the studio; instead we've been having a relaxing summer holiday. Lots of time spent in the garden, at the beach, and devouring copious amounts of deliciousmess at the family BBQ.

But now there IS some excitement to report! The Guild has started airing episodes from season 5 (as of July 28), and with episode 3 has introduced one of our costumes!

Most of the pictures we have from the behind-the-scenes contain spoilers, so you'll just have to take my word for it 

that that puppy got into some serious mischief! Here he is with Script Supervisor Stephanie R. & Sound Editor 

Oakley, probably comparing top scores from Angry Birds on their iPads...

Episodes can be viewed every Tuesday on XBOX / Zune, and every Thursday on their website.

We also recorded some interviews about the making-of with the Knights of Good podcasters & the Bui Brother's upcoming documentary... can't wait to see how those turn out!