Planning the Carousel Base - Part 26 of the Project

 I am publishing the blog a day early due to weather conditions.  A major winter storm is moving through the area, and declarations have gone out stating that people should be prepared for multi-day power outages.  Like many people, I have spent a fair amount of time preparing for the storm. I wanted to get something on the blog early just in case.

The photo shows four animals on one row and two animals in the middle.  The animals are on temporary braces for the picture.  Most of the animals do not have four feet on the ground, and do not stand on their own.  The outer circle is twenty inches in diameter.

I had underestimated just how big the base of the carousel would have to be to accommodate the track system as well as the space needed for each animal.  The animals are an inch or more wide and five inches long.  They needed to be set back further back from the edge of the base than I had thought they would be.  

As I mentioned in the previous post, I was having trouble visualizing how the carousel would look while trying to draft it on graph paper.  I was not able to make sense of what I was seeing on the paper.  Now that I have drawn out some circles on a piece of poster board and placed the animals on it, I realize that my draft was not that far off.  What I had thought would be the base was not nearly large enough.

I had originally envisioned two rows of animals with three in each row.  However, to make the carousel large enough to do that and accommodate all the track, the base was going to be so large that I would not have a place to display the carousel anywhere except right in the middle of the living room rug.  So, time to fall back and punt.  

One of the possible ways I thought of was to reduce the size of the base and have four animals; two horses, the goat, and the tiger on the front row, and the second row containing the cat and rabbit that would chase each other around the inner track.  That could possibly work if I reduced the size of the inner pillar that will support the roof.  It seems that the central pillar would look disproportionate to the roof that way.  Also, the shorter area of track between the animals would lead to smaller distances between the bumps in the base that would make the animals move up and down.  I could probably make that work, but I expect that it would make the animals appear to be jumping up and down frantically because they were so close together.  I would prefer to have a longer space between the animals so that the rise and fall of the animals is a little more sedate.

Another plan that I have considered is to use just four animals and make the other animals into freestanding projects.  This would be quite workable.  There would be enough room between the animals for the bumps to have a gradual lift of the animals.  This is a strong contender for the new plan.  

The third possibility I came up with is to make two more horses.  Then I would have enough animals to make two carousels, one with horses and one with animals.  The horses were the easiest to make of all the animals because they did not have anything added other than their manes and tails.  They did not need the time investment of putting on all the fur.  I had not really considered making two carousels, but that might be the way to go.  (Not that I have any room for displaying two carousels.)  

Anyway, I am still considering my options.  At this moment I am strongly considering making two more horses in the future to have enough for a second carousel.  My main inspiration for starting this project was seeing a hand carved Denzel carousel that had many different animals on it.  So, if I start with the four animals that are already made, I will at least get the first carousel started.  I will at least work out all the logistics of how the animals will go up and down on the first carousel.  If I get everything worked out easily, then a second carousel's animals are already halfway done.  If the project turns into too much of a nightmare, then the horses can be freestanding projects.

I guess this is the lesson everyone should learn about making art.  The artist might start out with a vision but may have to change his or her plan as the creation unfolds.  Artistic ideas have to develop as the circumstances dictate.  Another art lesson is simplification; less is more.  If you try to put too much detail in too small a space, it creates stress and distractions that take away from the piece.  If the concept of the piece is too grand, it is best to let go of part of the vision and go with what works best visually.

There will not be another post this week even if we do not lose power in the storm.  Look for the next post the first Monday or Tuesday in February.

Planning the Carousel Mechanics - Carousel Part 25

 I have completed the first phase of the carousel project by getting all the animals to the point where they are ready for sanding and adding the decorations.  Before I go any further, I want to do some work on how the mechanics are going to work.  (It was cold and we have been having rain and snow, so I was not inclined to go outside to do some sanding.) I have the basic idea but need some insight into just how the animals will be mounted on the poles, how much distance between the animals, how much space I will need for the track they will be running on and how large the base of the carousel needed to be. So, my task this week was to start working on that part of the project.

Long story short, I wasted most of this week trying to draft it out on graph paper.  Let's just say that drafting is not my strong suit.  The difficulty was that I have oblong animal shapes that I was trying to represent going around a circular track.  I worked on the first sheet until I had so many erasures on it that I could not keep track of what I was supposed to be looking at and what was erased.  The same thing happened with the second sheet.  Clearly, I needed a different way to figure this out.  

I decided that it might be easier for me to comprehend it if I was working on a circle that was the anticipated size of the base of the carousel.  To that end, I decided that I would create a paper circle the anticipated the base to be and place the animals on it so I could have a real idea of what I needed.  To that end, I pulled out a tool that I have not used in a long time: a huge compass.

My husband made this compass for me years ago for another project.  I was painting Pennsylvania Dutch Hex Signs.  In case you are not familiar with them, these were large signs generally painted on barns around three hundred years ago.  Most of the signs were for protection and luck.  Other symbols were for health, love, and friendship.  Over time, the signs moved from barns to smaller round designs that were displayed over doorways or in the kitchen.  The signs were also painted on wooden chests that were given for blanket and clothing storage as wedding gifts.

Anyway, as you can see from the photo, there is a large difference in size between the standard size compass and the wooden compass.  The wooden pieces in the center has a nut and bolt.  You loosen the bolt to expand the compass and tighten it to hold it in place.  I think it actually does a better job of keeping its place and not slipping compared to the mechanics of a regular compass.  

This week I will get started on the circle and working on the placement of the animals and the pieces that will make the animals go up and down.

Check back next Monday for Tuesday for the latest update.

Paper Mâché Carousel Animals - Rabbit Completed - Part 24

This week I completed adding the second coat of cotton "fur" to the rabbit.  It may not sound like a lot, but every little set moves the project forward.  This part of the project is rather time consuming.  I think all total it took about four hours of work to completely cover the rabbit twice.  

Just to recap for new readers: The animals were created from cardstock and cardboard then covered with paper mâché.  Some of the animals are covered in fur or shaggy hair.  You can scroll back to see that process or look at it at the blog URL:  folkartbycaroljones.blogspot.com

The rabbit was covered with cotton adhered to the form by using a stiff artist oil paint brush and a fifth-fifty mix of all-purpose glue and water.  Cotton has a grain to it.  Apply the glue in the direction of the grain and the cotton will go on smoothly.  If you try brushing the glue on against the grain the cotton will bunch and lump.

Anyway, I have reached a major milestone.  The first phase of this project has been completed. Each animal was constructed starting from a flat sheet of cardstock and have been turned into a three-dimensional animal.  I have been working on making the animals since March 2025.  

Since this is only a hobby, I can have time to work on it for a couple of hours a week; and only at times when I have a full hour or more to work on it at a time.  Paper mâché has a fair amount of setup and cleanup time as well as direct work time.  I am thinking it has to have a minimum of a hundred hours on this project already.  That estimate is probably low.  I don't keep a log of actual time because there is little point in it.  If I were to charge minimum wage for the hours spent, most people would consider the piece out of their price range.  I just make things because I enjoy doing it.  The projects are for relaxation.  I need some downtime away from the usual chores and responsibilities that take up most of my time.

The next stage of the project requires a trip to craft and hardware stores to get the parts that will be used to make the horses go up and down as well as around the track.  The reason I need to have those parts now is because I will have to drill through the animals I have created to put the posts through them.  I did not want to leave a hole in the animals while making them because it would have made the construction more difficult.  The early stages of the project were not very stable, and I needed to make sure that the pole would stay upright.  If the pole slanted it would have prevented it from moving up and down or could damage the animal from the stress.  Once I get the rods, tubes, and other parts needed, then I can drill the holes for them all at once.  The areas will need to be sealed with more paper mâché before I go any further.  I need to do this now so that the hole for the rods will not be in the way of the decorations for the animals.  

Hopefully I will be able to get out to the stores sometime this week.  Check back next Monday or Tuesday for the next post.

Paper Mâché Carousel Animals - Tiger and Rabbit -Part 23

I have made some slow progress on this project this week.  The holidays have kept me busy, and I only had a small amount of time to work on the animals.  Now that the New Year has arrived, I am looking forward to having a few more hours in the studio (also known as my spare bedroom).  It is not a fancy set up, but it gives me a place that I can work without having to pick up and put away everything at the end of each session.

The tiger finally has his tail attached.  It has an unfortunate bulge in the middle, but it is not enough to want to make me want to rip it out and do it over again.  There is a color difference between the body and the tail, but that will not make any difference once it has layers of gesso and paint on it.  The difference is due to my having tried one cotton clay recipe for the body and another for the tail.  

It is hard to see in this photo, but the tail has some texture on it to try to make it look similar to the body. It is not as bulky as the body fur, but I did not want as much bulk in the tail.  Once it is painted, the tail texture will be more apparent.

I have completed the first coat of cotton fur on the rabbit.  It still needs another coat of the cotton fur.  I just have not had time to sit down and get to it.

I wanted the fur to be smoother on the rabbit than it was on the tiger.  I used a different clay for this animal.  It was much easier to apply than the clay that I used for the tiger.  Basically, the fur is just cotton that is brushed onto the paper mâché with a fifty-fifty mixture of water and Elmer's Multi-Purpose glue.  

I will say that this mixture was much easier to work with than the other clay recipe.  It will give a smoother coat.  The clay recipe I used on the tiger allowed for a heavier, more textured surface.  (Scroll back to previous posts on the tiger for that recipe.  If you cannot reach it from here the blog URL is folkartbycaroljones.blogspot.com).

By the end of the week, I should have reached a milestone on the project; all the animals will have reached the first stage of their creation.  I had hoped to finish it by the end of the year, so I am not so far off the goal, considering that every once in a while, life had decided to give me a good shake and leave me dealing with unexpected situations.  

Check back next week on Monday or Tuesday for the next post.  

Paper Mâché Carousel Animals - Tiger and Rabbit - Part 22

I made some progress this week on my carousel animals.  The tiger has his tail attached to the body, and the rabbit has received additional coats of paper mâché and most of its first coat of cotton fur.

The tiger's tail came out a little larger than I hoped, and it still needs some more texture, to make it look more like its fur, but at least it is on the animal now. I still have to add one more layer of cotton fur to make it a little fluffier.  There is more texture there than this picture shows.  

 It came out a little wider than I had hoped.  I had initially planned to use a wire as the support for the tail, but it proved to be too heavy and the paper mâché took so many layers that it became too large.  

For my second attempt, I used twisted aluminum foil as the substrate for the tail.  That worked better, but I had difficulty getting it to keep its shape while I was adding the layers of paper mâché.  It developed a bit of a kink about mid-center.  If it proves to be too much of a distraction after the next layer of cotton, I will have to add some decorations on the tail to hide it.  I will cross that bridge when the time comes.

Most of the rabbit has received its additional layers of paper mâché and its first coat of the cotton fur.  The top, bottom, and Romance side of the creature are covered.  I had to sit it out to dry in front of a fan for several hours, so the final side is not covered yet.  I will be working on the far side of the rabbit today.  The second coat of cotton fur will get put on later this week.

I also added its cotton tail and a little bump on the face to further develop the nose.  You cannot see it from this angle.  

I first blogged about starting this project on March 10th of this year and I have been working on this project and my pumpkin project ever since.  I completed the pumpkin in October in time for Halloween.  The carousel project will be ongoing into the next year.  I think I at least hit my target of having the animal's forms completed by the end of the year.  (Just barely, but still, it is nice to know that I was able to keep to some sort of timeline.)

My next post will be on Monday or Tuesday in the New Year.  I wish all my readers a Happy New Year.

Paper Mâché Carousel Animals - Rabbit - Part 21

If you think this photo is the same as last week's photo, you would be right.  Due to a very busy week, I was not able to get into the studio for long enough to have time to work on the paper mâché.  

However, I was able to spend some time doing research on how to make the carousel animals go up and down as well as going around.  The good news is that is easier than I thought it was going to be.  Easy might be a relative term here, but it appears that I was overthinking the process.  That had been causing me a bit of anxiety.  I think that I had hit a point that I was slowing down on the project because I was not sure how the next part was going to work.  Now I am much more enthusiastic about getting the last animal finished and moving on to the next segment.

The rabbit needs a few more coats of paper mâché, and then its double coat of fur to be completed.  The tiger still needs its tail.  I have been working applying paper mâché on the tail while working on the rabbit.  Once all of that is complete (hopefully this week) they will join the other animals in the next phase.

Before the animals are sanded, I have to drill holes for the poles to go through the animals.  Before I did that, I needed to know just how the mechanism was going to work so I would know how large the holes had to be, hence my research this week on how the mechanism was going to work.  Once the holes are drilled, the edges of the holes need to be sealed, because paper mâché tends to fray around an area that has been cut.  Then it is on to sanding the pieces that need sanding.  The animals with the cotton fur on them will not need to be sanded.

After sanding, the following phase will be to add decorations, saddles, bridles, and reins to the animals.  These will all be made from clay.  I like to experiment, so I will be trying another clay recipe when I get to that part.  The animals are small, so I don't expect that to take as long as it took to make the animals.  

From there, it will be a matter of making the platform for the animals and attaching it to the mechanism for making it spin and go up and down.  The final step would be to figure out how I am going to cover all of the mechanical workings.  I already have some ideas for that.  What I have not yet figured out is how to do it and have an opening to reach the on/off switch.  If it is remote control, there will need to be able to "see" the beam.  If it a simple on/off switch, it will have to have an opening for access or be wired to the box covering the motor mechanism.  (I have no plans for something that can be turned on using a phone.)  I will work out the details as I get there.  At this point, I don't know exactly what the covering will look like, so I cannot plan for that yet.  

I think a lot of people are wondering at this lack of crucial planning because many people would plan out the whole thing from start to finish before starting the first animal.  I like to experiment, and being able to change my mind on any part of the project is more comfortable in that situation.  For me, being able to take a project in a new direction whenever I choose is more fun and less frustrating.  I think people would be surprised at how often I change my mind about something in my work.  

Anyway, I am out of my doldrums, and once the holidays have passed, I will be entering the months that I have the most time to work on my project.  I look forward to making some quick progress.  

Check back next Monday or Tuesday for the next blog post. 

Paper Mâché Carousel Animals - Rabbit - Part 20

The next layers are at least started.  I covered the rabbi form with tape and added the first layer of paper mâché on the rabbit.  With the busy winter holiday season, I only had time to put on the for one layer of paper.  

The first layer of paper mâché is the hardest one to apply.  It does not want to stick well.  My motto for the first layer is "Just get it on there."  To make it a little easier to stick to the form I generally give the area I am working on a thin coat of the paper mâché paste and let it set up for several seconds.  The tacky bed of paste will help the paper to stay in place.

Each layer after that will be much easier than the first layer.  Newspaper has a grain to it and a slight bit of texture.  The paste will bond with the grain of the previous layer.  

When working on a project the small size of the carousel animals, it is not as important as on larger projects, but I still like to change the orientation of the paper on each layer if possible.  When paper is pasted on opposite directions on each layer it strengthens the piece.  If all the layers go in the same direction, it would be easier to tear.  By going in opposing directions, it does not allow a tear in the paper to follow a grain line very far.  

This is pretty much where things stand on the carousel project right now.  I had to divert some time to making some small paintings to send with holiday cards.  I paint artist trading cards to put into the cards for a few of my friends that collect them and one for my mother, who has been a big supporter of my creativity.  I guess that is the trouble with starting a tradition, people expect you to continue it.  This year I just have not had the time.  I should have had them in the mail already, and I have just started. 

The paintings are not coming out as well as I had hoped this year.  I had trouble coming up with inspiration for the paintings.  Finally, I thought of something I wanted to paint that would be fairly quick.  I remembered the silver foil Christmas trees that were popular in the 1960s.  I decided to paint them, but the silver metallic paint was not shiny enough.  I decided to add iridescent glitter. It helped a little.  As a general rule, I dislike glitter.  It makes a mess.  However, in this case the glitter added some depth and texture to the paint so that is had some dimension to the tree.

The pictures are not finished yet; it is just where I had to leave off to get on with the day.

Anyway, as soon as I get cards in the mail, I will be back to working on the rabbit.  I hope to at least finish the layers of paper mâché this week.  Then it will be on to adding the fur.

Check back next Monday or Tuesday for the next update on this project.