2017 #7 'A bit of a brainbox' {by Corrie Herriman}

2017 Topic 7: Found Objects

How adorable is this little chap!? This little guy looks like he's jumped right out of the Robots movie! He looks a bit like a hig may result in a sharp poke (a bit like Edward scissor hands!) But I'd definitely risk it! 

Hi everyone, it's Corrie from MadeByCHook here and I am really happy to share my latest project with you here... 

It is always lovely to be here on the PA blog but today I am extra exited as I really like the subject of 'Found Objects' and what I came up with. It is so satisfying to make something out of nothing I think. 

As soon as I saw what the topic was, the idea of building a robot/art doll came to me and I started collecting bits and pieces straight away. I really enjoyed the process from start to finish and cannot wait to share it with you ! 

Meet 'Brainbox' ! He is made of (mostly) things that were found around the house and my and my husband's hobby rooms. I had a ball making him and learned lots along the way. Sit back with a cup of tea and I will tell you all about it !  

This is how he started out. I usually think about my project and only when I have 'made' it in my head do I actually start making it.  That way I already will have thought about all the possible pitfalls and difficulties. 

I made his 'brain' first. This is just a piece of Balsa wood (stolen from my hubbie's room). He is into model flying so has lots of interesting stuff lying around! I painted it with Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylics (Little Black Dress) and used a gel medium to glue the gears onto the wood. 

This is an ATB (I had it on my desk for months) and I thought it would make the perfect 'body' for Brainbox. It was home made by my husband. First I glued white card stock on it and then I painted it with Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylics Caramel, Yellow Submarine, Snowflake (for the Ochre) and Baltic Blue.

Here is the finished ATB. I added Treasure gold (Indigo) on all the edges because I wanted to make him look old and worn.  For even more interest I added some stamping using Eclectica³ stamps {Seth Apter} ESA01 

...and {Everything Art} EEA04.

A sardine tin made a great head for Brainbox, you can see his brain in a photo further down. I used the same Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylics: Caramel, Yellow Submarine and Snowflake to get this light Ochre colour.

I think he turned out really cute. Amazing what you can do with some nuts, beads and an old zipper. His nose is a part of an old mechanical alarm clock. I used the gears from the same clock for his brain.

Here he is seen from the back. You can see his enormous brain, hence the name Brainbox !

And here is the finished project. All made out of rubbish basically apart from the ATB. The 'wheels' are plastic lids from jars, his hands are small forks. I repeated the stamping on all the parts for a more interesting finish. I used Archival Inks: Jet Black, Saffron and Cobalt.

One last picture of him from the side. I added some bolts and washers in the middle of the wheels to make them look more realistic. 

Thank you so much for stopping by today and I hope you enjoyed following my process as much as I enjoyed making him. I really had a ball. Why not give this a go yourself? It is so much fun to see bits and pieces turn into something nice or cute like this robot/art doll. You could decorate a book cover with found objects or make a doll also. I would love to see what you come up with in the next fortnight ! 

Thank you all again for visiting today!  

Please come over to see me at :

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Corrie x

Wow Corrie, he is so much fun!! I love the colours and all your attention to the small details, the box was grunged perfectly to make him look a bit battered and well-worn like a very happy little robot! Those cogs look amazing too! Such a cool idea, thanks for sharing ~ Leandra
 

We always hope that you  learn something interesting from our blog. Our bloggers deeply appreciate your comments so much, so please take time to let them know you've been inspired! Why not join our challenge by blogging your interpretation of the current topic and link it here?

The current topic link (Found Objects) will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, May 7th 2017, and the winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.

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