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The Three Wise Men sculptures are finally done.
It was really fun using so many different materials in this project. I also used images and materials from a lot of different cultures:
- The turbans were worn by men in Afghanistan;
- The robes came (sort of) from old drawings of Persian Zoroastrian priests;
- Tthe sandals are Persian, Arabian and North African;
- And I used ribbons from Turkey and Italy.
Whew!
In spite of all the experiments I did in this video series, this project really wasn’t all that complicated.
This is a mixed-media sculpture set, using Super Sculpey for the heads, hands, feet, gifts and turbans; and my Silky-Smooth Air Dry Clay recipe for the clothes.
I managed to get the sculptures finished before Christmas. I wrapped them in lots of bubble wrap and shipped them to my father and his wife. They love them, and the Three Wise Men look really nice on their mantle.
If you missed the other three Wise Men videos, you can find them here:
- Part 1: Creating the wire armature and sculpting the head
- Part 2: Changing the Base and Adding Two More Wise Men
- Part 3: Adding the Air Dry Clay
Some helpful links, if you’re making some figure sculptures for your holiday decor:
- Color Mixing Recipes for Portraits
- Super Sculpey
- Magic Sculpt
- Silky Smooth Air Dry Clay Recipe
- Ribbons for the Wise Men’s Scarves
Note – some of the links are affiliate links. If you click on them, thanks for your support!
And to find patterns for the animals behind me in the video, click here.
Enjoy!
Jonni,
Did you dilute your paperclay first or just wet your sculpting tool to make the clay so soft. It almost looks like just plain joint compound consistency in the part of the video where you are applying it to the cape.
I just left out some of the flour. If you do that it’s faster to apply, but a little more difficult to control. The consistency can be controlled with the amount of flour or corn starch, so you can experiment with it to find the exact formula that you like best.
Thanks Jonni,
I will make some test pieces and play with the formula.
Merry Christmas Jonni. It’s such a long time since I last visited but I think 2021 might be the year I get back into crafting. Hope you are having a lovely festive break. x
I hope we all have a very creative new year. Enjoy! 🙂
Hi Jonni, your videos for wise men are wonderful. Your step by step teaching is a great source of learning. Thank you for sharing small tips and experiences. Marry Christmas and happy new year!?
Have a very Merry Christmas and a delightful New Year!
I have really enjoyed all your creations!
Thanks, Gayle. Merry Christmas to you, too! 🙂
You are a master at this. I can’t even think how you got from the beginning to the end! Eileen has a great idea with doing a whole scene in 3-D, but I think you better start in May! Sandy color is a brilliant idea. That fits everything perfectly.
Love the figures. Great figure sculpting and all that went with it.
Merry Christmas!
Thanks for the kind words, Rex. And Merry Christmas to you, too. 🙂
Jonni they look amazing!!
You’re such a talented lady well done ?
Thanks! Have a great Christmas! ?
Fabulous Jonni, loved your inventiveness with making the gifts, who would have thunk that a pen cap would turn into a wise mans gift?
I think Joseph’s idea about a sandy base is a good one. You can even add sand to your paint to make it gritty.
For next year’s project, are you planning the whole figure or will it be another bas relief? Will the figures be in proportion with these wisemen so you would have a complete Nativity? Then you could do a camel too!(it could be lying down so you don’t have to worry about balancing it on 4 skinny legs) Maybe start in August!
I was thinking of trying to keep them in proportion, although the wise men did get stretched a bit to make them taller. A camel lying down sounds fun – I’ve been wishing for a little extra room so I would have an excuse to make a full-sized baby camel, lying down. I think I should have bought a bigger house. 🙂
And to think you were thinking on going to one of those tiny houses! The camel would take up the whole living space!
Thinking of you….we heard about the blizzard in your area. White Christmas indeed! Merry Christmas anyway and I hope you have power for the day!
We are in the middle of a blizzard and the lights flickered, but they’re staying on. They say we should get 4 inches of snow by tonight, but I think the wind is carrying it to Oklahoma. Did you get hit with the east coast snowstorm last week? It looks like some of our weather may be heading your way tomorrow, too. Stay warm!
We did get snow which made my son who does plowing and my new pup very happy! We only got about 8” but slightly north of us got 40”! We will get some effect of your storm but they are predicting lots of rain, not snow. Can you imagine 2” of rain on top of 40” of snow? I feel bad for those people, the water run-off will be terrible. Where will it all go? I hope they don’t spend their Christmas pumping out their basements!
Yikes! Water run-off and ice mixed in with all of that. Horrible and scary.
Merry Christmas. In the single digits here so Teca will have to wait a bit for her walk! I love when dogs go crazy in that first snow, especially a pup. Best to you.
They look fantastic!!!! I love them so much!! You did a wonderful job, love the videos as well!!! Thanks!!!
Thanks, Sandy! Have a great Christmas. 🙂
You are truly a paper mâché master!??
Gosh – thanks, Linda. 🙂
Amazing job. They are wonderful. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks! 🙂
The wise men turned out beautiful!
Thank you!
I’m glad you like them. 🙂
Fantastic work Jonni when I grow up I want to be like you ?
For the base I would paint sandy like considering they must have crossed a lot of desert to get to Bethlehem.
Nice idea – and the color would work with the robes, too. thanks, Joseph.
Wow! Jonni, the wish men are simply BEAUTIFUL!!! Love them
Thanks, Linda! 🙂