Maggie May

[Rooster]

Re: Maggie May

Hi susieq, ah ya can't beat an auld bit o' Jameson.

Wow, what an amazing piece. I was surprised that I hadn't seen this post til now, only to realise that I have actually seen some of the earlier photos. I must have been just glancing through photos at the time. My apologies for not paying attention

I was a bit surprised to see such a leap from your Santas. I was half expecting to see Maggie May wearing a Santa hat and beard.

Very Impressive. That's way beyond me right now. Something to aim towards I guess. I hope we'll see more of the same in the future. Maybe in a year or two - LOL.

Rooster.

Hmm. I should get going with my own Santas actually.

[susieq]

Re: Maggie May

"Hi susieq, ah ya can't beat an auld bit o' Jameson."

Cheers Rooster, my fellow Jameson's fan......a good way to sit back and reflect on the day...

Thank you for your kind words about Maggie May. We just got back home from a road trip and after I get settled back in, I should be able to start painting the figurehead. The grandchildren and our daughter will be arriving next weekend so I need to get busy or it will be yet another week or so before I can get anything done.
Thanks again

[Blake Lunsford]

Re: Maggie May

Outstanding work Susie! That would make a wonderful gift for anyone! Your work is excellent! I'm still a big fan!

Blake

[susieq]

Re: Maggie May...the finale

So much for thinking I would get to paint the old girl in two weeks....we had the kids and grandkids visiting plus a bunch of other interuptions. I just finished painting her a few days ago and then had to paint a couple of santa pieces too so I could antique them all at once. It took me over an hour to antique Maggie and I actually prayed while I was working on those fragile fingers....what WAS I thinking when I carved them that tiny???? Anyhow, here she is, finished, signed and inscribed to our son in law... I might add that she wasn't that easy to photograph either....in some of the pics, she is propped up in a chair with a green sheet thrown over it for a decent back ground...in some of the others, I had my husband help me because she is just too large and awkward to hold AND photogragh.... been working on her so long that I almost hate her and am so glad she is finished.

[bethc]

Re: Maggie May

Wonderful job of carving and painting.! Your son-in-law should be very pleased with her.

Beth

[rjmann]

Re: Maggie May

Susie, she looks fantastic! Thanks for sharing....

[Nancy-G]

Re: Maggie May

Susie -- you know how I respect your Santas. Well, I think Maggie is a step ahead. She is one impressive lady.

[Dan Wegiel]

Re: Maggie May

Susie, you did an excellent job on her and I know exactly what you mean about "taking so long I almost hate her". LOL Sometimes we kick ourselves for even starting with a project that consumes our lives for so long, but the end result is worth the amount of effort you put into it, great looking piece.

Dan

[aulddiy]

Re: Maggie May

I've followed your carving of Maggie May and can add nothing to whats been said. 10/10 you've done well..
"They were tattered they were torn
..................
That auld grey flannel drawers that Maggie wore."

[dmatias]

Re: Maggie May

All I can say is WOW!!!!!! You did an amazing job and I am positive your son-in-law and daughter will cherish it forever and their kids as well.
Congratulations on finishing her and doing such a wonderful job.

[feb]

Re: Maggie May

You may hate her, but I think anyone that sees her will love her great job carving and painting.
Feb

[Phyllis Singer]

Re: Maggie May

Hey Susie, I think she and you are fantastic!! Great work.
Phyllis

[Merle Rice]

Re: Maggie May

Hi Suzie, what a wonderful job you have done on a very hard subject. She is beautiful and the painting brings her to life. Just an all round great job. Merle

[Lynn O. Doughty]

Re: Maggie May

Really a neat project. Although you've already finished attaching the arms here's a trick I use.....once you have both mating sides flat and matching, slightly dish out one side and fill that one with the glue to where it squeezes out when clamped or doweled. ALso apply a thin coat of glue to the opposite side. When clamping this will prevent a dry joint and give you a really strong join.

Looking forward to seeing it completed.

[susieq]

Re: Maggie May

Thank you all for your comments! There are several features on this that I feel like I didn't do as well as I should have..... joining the arms to the body, not gluing up but just making them fit and look natural. They are awkward looking no matter how you view them.... I blame myself for being so fed up with working on her that I hurried through that part instead of putting her aside to think on it for a while. If she had not been a gift that I was trying to finish so it could be given, I probably would have set her aside for a few weeks or so to come back with a fresh view.

Her face turned out better than I had hoped for when I started....doing a female face that's supposed to be pretty, scared the crap out of me! But now that it's done, I see that her face is still a bit square.

If she were going to a non artistic person, I wouldn't fuss at myself so much but our son in law is an artist too.... He WILL see these things, but he is a sweet heart so he won't say anything about them.

Lynn, I will have to try that technique for joining limbs to the body, next time I need to do that. I did use a 2 part epoxy that carves well, to join the arms...they were also pegged with dowels as you can see in some of the earlier pics.

She is actually doweled in 3 places because the main glue joint for the 2 blocks of wood I put together for her torso, began to separate. Never had that happen before. I threw her on the drill press, drilled 2 holes from side to side, one through her head and one through her waist area, slathered up a couple of dowels with wood glue and hammered them through the holes, re clamped the blank to close up the separation as much as I could and let it set over night. Came out in the morning and cut the protruding ends of the dowels off.

I had also pre drilled the hole from side to side, in the shoulder area and corrisponding holes in the shoulders of her arms. When I finally was ready to attach the arms, I put wood glue on the dowel (one dowel runs all the way through to attach both arms) and lots of the epoxy on the flat surfaces to be joined. I wanted it to gush out when I pushed them together so that I could use the excess in the armpit area to blend into the torso better and make up for the fact that I didn't have enough wood there... it has been a learning experience, to say the least. But the dowel ends are visible and that was planned. I figure the old figureheads were joined by dowel too and that, along with the antiquing, adds to the character.

Thanks again for all the comments.