Maggie May

[susieq]

Our son in law is in the Navy. He and our daughter have a little room in their house that is decorated in a nautical theme and I had been wanting to do a carving for them and also to do something a little different from the usual Father Christmas figures so I started looking for good images of ships figureheads on line. I found two basic types of mermaid figure. One with her arms up, hands behind her head and one with arms at her sides. I chose the arms at the side position because it was easier and also because there were no images of the back of the one with hands behind the head for me to look at...... I laminated a couple blocks of basswood together (not very well as it turned out) and sketched a pattern....cut it out in the wood and got started. The arms are separate pieces to be carved and added last. I appologize for not taking photos of the blank or early parts of the carving...didn't even think to post this until I was past those points. Here is the pattern and some of the earliest pics of the piece

[susieq]

Re: Maggie May

I forgot to say that she is 17 inches, about 1/8 scale I think. That extra wood on the front of her tail area is the wood I left for the acanthus leaf spray. I roughed in the face and got the body pretty well shaped.

[susieq]

Re: Maggie May

Sorry, I forgot to post the pics in that last window and when I went back into edit, there was no option to add them....
anyhow, here they are.

[susieq]

Re: Maggie May

After refining the over all shape of the torso she looks pretty good from the side profile but her face was still quite flat from the front..... I have worked on her face some more and it's a little better than it was. I don't know how much farther I will try to work on that. I am afraid of making it worse instead of better at this point.

I have carved the acanthus leaf spray on the front of the tail. I had a heck of a time getting a clear image of this feature to print from downloaded images and had to sketch that thing freehand too. It's ok. I wish it were better.

[susieq]

Re: Maggie May

In these pictures, I have drawn in the scales on the tail....3 times before I was happy with it, inked it in with sharpie marker and cut them in with a dental bit known as a "bone cutter" that I ordered through my dentist. Then the scales are roughed in and that is where I left off this afternoon.... Lots more finishing work to do on the tail, then carve the hair details, then, finally, the arms. I said in the first post that I didn't laminate the wood very well. Not sure why but it started to come apart, hence the large seam down the middle of the piece. I drilled the piece through from the side profile, in two places, glued up some dowels and tapped them all the way through the piece and then put clamps on it again to try and close the gap some while the glue/dowels set up. I will fill the seam and sand it before painting the piece but right now that seam is very distracting. Then again, she is supposed to be old and look distressed so I will make some other random crack like marks in her here and there anyhow...ironic that I need to fill this one seam but add others in...LOL.

[Nancy-G]

Re: Maggie May

Amazing work Susie ....... amazing. A FEMALE FACE!!!
IMHO she even beats your Santas and that's a big step.

[susieq]

Re: Maggie May

Nancy, you make me blush....thanks. It's not a great female face but it could be a lot worse. I got lucky.

[feb]

Re: Maggie May

Very nice Susie, i'm sure they'll love it. Yhanks for all the pics.

Feb

[mpounders]

Re: Maggie May

Wow! I looked awhile back for info on mermaids, but the carvings I saw were not in your league. I'll have to save your pics, in case my skills improve enough in 5-10 years, to try something like that. I really like the overall design, style, and execution. Show us more!

[Joy]

Re: Maggie May

Susie she looks terrific. The acanthus leaf is wonderful....it looks like it would be soft to the touch. Can't wait till you "weather her in".

[xsailer]

Re: Maggie May

You're doing a great job I think Susie. Looks like a real challenge for someone that's up to it. Looking forward to seeing it finished. Nice size too.

[Irishman]

Re: Maggie May

Hi Susan,

I like this carving...a lot. Always wanted to try a ship figure head. Nice design on this one. She's turning out really nice....shame you have to deal with the seam from the laminating. The leaf in front is a nice touch...really adds to the look of the carving. Do you plan on adding sea shells or other aquatic accessaries - she's fine as is however? Not an easy task carving that posture. I know the challenge I had with my female form with the head elevated looking up.
If you found the picture online, I would really appreciate knowing the link. You may PM me if you wish.
Look forward to seeing your progress....looking good.
Patrick

[markken5889]

Re: Maggie May

Hi Susie,

What an ambitious project...and a fantastic job with it! I'm duly impressed!!!

Mark

[squbrigg]

Re: Maggie May

Great job Susie, she is coming along wonderfully. She is a classic figurehead and you are making her come alive. Your daughter and son in law will be most proud of you! Thanks for sharing the process with us.

Bob

[susieq]

Re: Maggie May

Thank you. It has been nice to do something a little different...although my first love will always be Santa.

Patrick, the images I found on line by googling "mermaid ships figureheads". All kinds of images come up. I can email you the ones I saved if you like. I also saved one of "Britainica" as she is a very nice female nude and good for reference material too. They now make and sell resin or fiberglass reproduction in full size, of these ships figureheads but even the cast pieces are about $300 and up.

I tried to keep the design authentic and the two types of ornamentation on them were the acanthus leaf or a decorative carved bit that was probably easier to do but I didn't like as well as the acanthus. I won't add anything to the design. Thanks Joy, I guess the leaf does look "soft"...never noticed that.

Thanks for the lovely reception. She was named after a legendary lady of ill reput that used to frequent the docs in England....so a good friend told me, LOL. Still a lot of work to do on her.