Made by Rex Winn
More penguins. Not sure I needed to post more. I know it says six and there are only five, but one baby departed early. I think I have made over 30 penguins, and I try to get a little better with every batch. If I do more, I think I need to bend a head or two!
When I posted the last bunch, my best friend mentioned she had to get a present for her niece. There were three. A friend from Vietnam found me. We haven’t talked in probably 15 years. He asked what I have been doing, and I sent him photos of my paper mache stuff around the house. He loved the penguins. There were three more.
The lesson I learned with these is don’t put a sculpture in a box when the bottom is not closed. I went to the post office to get boxes to mail them, carrying one to make sure they fit inside. I left the penguin in the box, walked outside. As I opened the door, the penguin fell out the bottom and shattered his foot. Back to the operating table!
Your penguins are perfect. It looks like you have perfected your technique. The forms and colors are beautiful. Great job!
I love your penguins. I’m sure, without a doubt, that all 30 have been named! I was wondering…. do you do anything special when you mail one of them? I imagine that you package them securely so they don’t rattle around in the box (or break a leg or foot as they travel). Do you think that they will sweat or get too warm? Bubble wrap? Just wondering…..
Thanks, Connie. I’m sure Leroy would help me name them, as he has the ones I have! He’s been a little lazy lately in telling me!
I am lucky I have never had one break. I wrap the sculpture in bubble wrap and then put it in a thick plastic bag. I line the box with Styrofoam, at times carving out a section for the tail, head, and in the case of the giraffes I cut out spots in Styrofoam for their feet, head, and tail. I fill the inbetween spaces with those lightweight peanuts. The packing is light-weight, and a 10-inch piece box, packed, weighs about four pounds. Usually it is not the weight that is costly to ship, it is the size of the box. The penguins were in a box about 6″ taller than it needed to be, and it was $56 to ship to Florida. The weight was under ten pounds.
I don’t think they get warm.
Thank you! You gave me a lot of great information! I may have to ship Mrs. Eggstein to Ohio and wasn’t sure about her travel arrangements. Styrofoam is a great idea to use along with the bubble wrap. I hadn’t really thought about the weight versus the size of the box, but it makes sense. Leroy says Hi. Thanks Rex!
By the way, I mailed three boxes today FedEx. The total was $53 for all three. The one box was huge, 2.5′ x 3′, one was smaller, and one medium. I could have fallen over when she gave me a lower price for three boxes than one box of two penguins that didn’t weigh five pounds! So ship UPS or FedEx.
Happy to hear from Leroy. What a hero.
Rex, thanks for the packaging ideas. I just received the bubble wrap that I ordered, and I’ll be using it today to ship my three wise men across the country. I hadn’t thought of using the foam, too – I will definitely try your method. I appreciate the tips!
Those peanuts are great for protection, also. I have a ton of them because the stained glass comes with a box full of them.