Koala Changes For the Better

I'm always amazed at how my creative process works. (That sounds a bit weird and pretentious, but stay with me.) Over the time I've been making Noah's Arks and the animals, the designs have evolved and changed. Most changes have come when I have a slap your head and wonder why I didn't do this before moment.  I make the smaller animals out of a solid piece of wood but larger ones are made of at least two wood layers so that I get a realistic look. The layered animals take a lot more wood and work so they are priced a bit more.  The relative size of the animal has made the difference in which category or size they fall, but the Koalas have been a three layer animal even though they are smaller. 

You can easily see the three layers above. Standard 1" wood (which is less than 1" thick) seemed a bit thin for a chubby koala so I thought I had to layer them.  BLHubby presented me with some two by fours (romantic, huh) and the "slap your head" moment occurred. I ran a length through the planer and after cutting used my dremel to shape the ears, face and front legs.

I think they are nicer than before. More round and cuddly. And, they take less steps to make so they have been changed from the "Large 3D animal section" to the "small Animal" section and priced less.

I'm in love with them. Change is good. I just wish I could figure out things sooner.

New in the Shop

I have been working, even with colds, visiting kiddlets and life in general.  I've got two more Arks listed.

This green deck house is a new color way.  I made the roof like the "fancy" thatched roofs you see on old English cottages.  It ended up looking tropical.  I like it.  May do it again.

Here's another orange one.  This time with yellow doors and blue gray roof and some fancy waves.  I love this Blue, yellow and orange combo.  Still loving the Tangerine Tango color of the year.

Shop Update

At long last, in spite of all this summer's "stuff", I'm getting the shop replenished.  Two new Noah's Arks done and listed.  Two more waiting for paint.

A pretty red boat house.  It seems that red, yellow and blue are popular colors for an ark.

I love this one with the blue roof.  It seems to me that blue boats look the most sea worthy.  Or they look like vacation photos of the Caribbean or Greece.

Real Live Moose

When I was in my teens my family had a cattle ranch in Montana.  It was high and remote and we saw a lot of wildlife.  Coyotes, porcupine, marmots, golden eagles and deer were commonplace. Sometimes we saw bear and wolves. Each summer we usually saw some moose.  A moose is big. They stand over six feet tall at the shoulder.  Females are as big as the males.  Momma moose with their babies are fiercely protective and will kick, stomp and otherwise take care of any creature that gets too near their baby.   My Noah's Ark Moose are based on the ones I remember.

While in Yellowstone Park and even in Island Park at the cabins and while floating the Henry's Fork we saw lots of moose.  All were mommas with babies. 

Try floating your raft full of kids right by a momma moose and baby without upsetting her. Thankfully they were so busy eating yummy leaves and plants that grew right by the water that they let tolerated us.  I was pleased to see that my Noah's Ark Moose were true to the moose I saw.  Oh, and baby moose are maybe my current favorite animal.

A New Kid in Town - Tuxedo Edition

This addition to the Noah's Ark animals has been living in my sketch book for a while and now it's in the shop.

I have two  categories of animals - Small and Large. The small ones are all cut from one inch soft wood boards.  One inch stock is not really one inch thick but a little thinner. It's cut one inch thick from the log and then sanded or surfaced and as a result it's not quite one inch.

The Large animals are cut from two or more pieces of wood and then glued together.  The pieces are not the same, the animal has a left side and a right so it looks like it's been carved and is "3-D".  

Both are shaped by sanding and with a dremel tool to add more dimensionality.  The painting finishes the realistic effect.  This penguin is a "Small" animal.  I've got a few more small animals living in my sketch book and hopefully will get them made and into the shop soon.

Noah's Ark Picture Book

I've confessed before to being an accidental collector of Noah's Ark themed picture books. They say if you have three items you are a collector.  My Amazon Wish List has had this Noah's Ark version (by Heinz Janisch illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger) it for some time and when thrifting Friday I found a like new copy for less than three dollars.

It was better in person than I could have imagined.  This was a New York Times notable picture book and the reason is the illustrations.  Lisbeth Zwerger is an Austrian and she is revered for her quirky but quiet pen and ink and watercolor illustrations that gentle commentary to the text.

Her people are not dressed any way typical of what weary usually think of as "Biblical". They are almost contemporary but tall mens' hats and lots of long coats tweak the image and make me feel the people are from a timeless place.

I love how she plays with size and perspective.  This is the picture that illustrates the wickedness of the people.

Her finished Ark is a beauty.

I loved the small picture of  people trying to escape the flood (Yes I know it's sad).

This picture shows the rain coming and unicorns being left behind.  I don't think you can see in my scan but a satyr is also being left behind.  

I'm completely smitten by Ms. Zwerger.  She mostly illustrates fairy tales and classic stories.  I want many of her titles but the top of the list is her illustrated version of The Wizard of Oz.  I can't believe what I find at my local Savers!

Noah's Ark Books for Children

I wasn't someone who "collected" Noah's Ark items.  I just loved the old European style carved ark sets and set out to make some of my own. But now that I've become an ark maker I have acquired a few Noah's Ark picture books.  I confess that I'm a book hound.  I may even need therapy. (Doesn't everyone have a 30' long, 8' tall book case?)  The BL Hubby seems to think this vice a minor one and I think it beats psychotherapy.

Most of the books I've acquired lately have come via thrift stores or the bargain bins at Books a Million.  At my favorite thrift stores I think I see a lot of what children don't want in books.  I can always find several copies of at least two different versions of Noah's Ark books that look like they were done for some Sunday School or a church class for kids.  They have badly drawn cartoon illustrations and the text isn't very inspiring either.  No wonder they end up discarded.  (In the central Arkansas area I see tons of religious books for children in the thrift stores.  We must be giving kids a bunch of them.)  Here are three editions that I have that I love.  By no means should these be considered the only or even the best editions but they are three great ones.

NOAH'S ARK by Jerry Pinkney

This won a Caldecott Honor book for 2002.  Jerry Pinkney is so amazing I can't give enough love for his work.  I want ALL his picture books and I'm glad I snagged this one for cheap.  Pinkney works in watercolors, and colored pencils and I think his work has an "old masters" feel.  The story is faithful to the biblical version and starts and ends on the book end papers.  See the front end paper two page spread of  "in the beginning" below.

I always think of his work as full of color but most of this book is in subdued tans.

 If you could only have one Noah's Ark book I would get this one. 

ON NOAH'S ARK by Jan Brett

Jan Brett is another heavyweight in the picture book world.  She's created a grandson for Noah and we see the story through his eyes. I love Brett's animals.  They are illustrative and child friendly but realistically beautiful.  My favorite style of animal.

Brett and her husband went to Botswana where she saw, in their native habitat, many of the animals she drew for the book.  Her style is well known for the book pages having elaborate borders that complement the drawings and the borders here are painted to look like the paper made from papyrus, also influenced by her African trip.

THE ANIMALS CAME TWO BY TWO by Christopher Wormell

This gem I almost missed!  At one of my thrift shopping ventures one of the BL kids brought this to my attention as "I know this isn't your kind of art but it's a Noah's Ark book".  Wormell is a well know English wood block engraver.  This book is done in lino-cut prints.  They are spare and graphic and amazing.

His text lists the animals as opposites.  The small opposite the large, fast opposite slow, etc.  At the back of the book there is information about each pictured animal.  If you know a young animal lover this one would be a treat.

His images are so stunning!  I can see these framed in a modern baby nursery.  The above image I would love framed for my spaces.

Anyone know of any other wonderful illustrated Noah's Ark books?  I've still got shelf space.