Pooch Puppet

This is a puppet head. At our last gourd meeting one of the members gave a workshop on "How to make a Puppet." We had a great time. Everyone was given a small gourd and two pieces of gourd that were shaped like ears. We learned how to use Apoxy clay to sculpt the eyes, nose and mouth. I had used paper clay and Sculpey oven bake clay before, but Apoxy clay hardens within a half hour without baking and when it's dry you can sand it and carve it any way you like. It's amazing!
When I was done shaping the dog face and attaching the ears I gave the head a coat of Gesso to give the gourd some texture and cover the differences between the gourd and the clay. Then I painted the face. The eyes were the hardest. I don't draw or paint, so this was a real learning curve for me. I went on-line and looked at dog face drawings and did the best I could. I'm happy with the face..., kind of cartoonish but cute. The paints are all acrylic and I used a natural sponge for the fur.

The hole in the underside is for your fingers. I have material to make a black cover( or outfit ) for the dogs body. Black is good for puppets because, against a black background, you only see the colors that contrast. I think I will give him a brown and blue collar and front paws that are stuffed. We'll see about all this, because I'm not much of a sewing person either.
I think he's cute..., in a surprised, old dog, crooked kind of way. Sort of like he just saw a cat run in front of him but he's just not up to running after it, so he just "woof"s at the cat as it goes by.

This was a really fun project.We are all suppose to bring our finished puppets to the next meeting. I will bring my camera and take some pictures which I will post at a later date. It will be fun to see all the different faces that were just beginning to appear two weeks ago.
I haven't given him a name yet. Anyone have any ideas?