Maggie May

[wisardd1]

Re: Maggie May

No wonder Rod S had such a hard time with her. Of course, Susan V. would never be anyone's Maggie May! Very cool Susie.

[susieq]

Re: Maggie May

I had taken a break from Miss Maggie to do a Santa but my son in law was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to finish this project so I started in on her again this past Monday. I have put two days in on the arms and very nearly forgot to take pictures as I went....

The first pic is of the arms after I had begun carving but didn't get too far before remembering to go get the camera and keep it handy. I have shaped the planes of the knuckles and marked out the fingers in black marker. I carved the thumbs in to keep straight which was right and which was left..LOL.

[susieq]

Re: Maggie May

Here is some progression of the hands, marking out the ends of the fingers. The notorious "bird" finger is the longest so I mark that one and go from there. Carved in the separation between the fingers and started shaping the hands.

[susieq]

Re: Maggie May

Here I have also started shaping the arms. I must say that I thought this part would be a piece of cake and it wasn't......trying to keep them graceful and feminine was a lot harder than I thought. fitting them to the torso was also tricky and I am still not happy with the results. I even considered leaving her armless like the Venus De Milo (sp?) I will try to bring them in a little closer to the body.....not shown yet is the current state of the carving where I did take those manly shoulders down A LOT. I will post those pics later, but she looks a lot less like a football player now than she did in these pics.......

[santagibbs]

Re: Maggie May

Wow, Susie, I just saw this thread.. Good work.. As far as the jaw line goes, just take some from the part closest to the hair and slope it to the chin.. I know it will be cherished. Can't wait to see it finished.. Knowing you, it will be perfect when you finish. Charlotte

[susieq]

Re: Maggie May

Thank you Charlotte,
You are always too kind. I hope my son in law likes her. He's waited long enough for her....I think I started her last fall. I am ready for her to be done, I know that. Thanks dear.

[aulddiy]

Re: Maggie May

Great stuff Sussie, she looks as though she could "walk down Lime Street". Ok swim down Lime Street!

[chuckt]

Re: Maggie May

Hey Susie - I too missed this thread until now. She's spectacular! I am certain your son will LOVE this piece. Thanks for sharing the progress pics. You're doing a wonderful job.

ChuckT

[Pete Rieger]

Re: Maggie May

Very nice job.You've captured the traditional style with her anatomy. I've been researching historical cigar store figures and am interested in figureheads as well. Soon I will attempt something full size. I look forward to seeing this piece completed.Where did you find your references?

[susieq]

Re: Maggie May

Thank you John, Chuck,.... with those shoulder's she could be a line backer for the Chicago Bears....LOL....if the field was under water. But as I said in the last post, I have reduced her shoulders to a more feminine look.

Hi Pete,
I got my reference material from the internet. I just googled "mermaid ship's figureheads" Also, my old carving teacher had a couple of books on carved ships details and a book on figureheads. There were no mermaid figures in the book but it was very helpful about showing how to make the pattern for the ships figurehead. When you do your full sized cigar indian and your ships figurehead, I hope you will share it with us. I would love to see it. Love the avitar, by the way.

[Dan Wegiel]

Re: Maggie May

I'm jumping on the band wagon, this is the first I've seen of this thread too. Great work!!! Can's wait to see her finished.

Dan

[TreeWizard]

Re: Maggie May

I think the old nautical saying is a woman on a ship is bad luck, but a naked woman on a ship is good luck therefor most figureheads were unclothed. The figurehead looks great, it will fit in the room well.

[susieq]

Re: Maggie May

Thank you for your comments Dan, Tree Wizard,
I can see it would be easy to get addicted to carving ship art....especially figureheads..... I am dying to get back in the shop and work on her some more, but we have had two of our grandchildren here for a long weekend and I am playing on the WII instead. LOL. Bowling, golf, etc.... I think Tuesday will be the soonest that I can get back into my studio and I really REALLY want to finish this carving.

[urbansheepdog]

Re: Maggie May

I've just spotted this Susie! What a fantastic piece! Fabulous!
Go easy on the WII tennis......... I got whacked in the head with my opponents controller! LOL!

[susieq]

Re: Maggie May

Hi Simon,
Yes, you can get carried away with the Wii games! I actually do get very sore from the bowling game......
Cheers.