Moon Baby's Creation

(See Art Unraveled post for intro to Moon Baby)

After my Ex Votos class I went up stairs and wanted to just crash. Okay...I did crash for awhile. I looked at the clock and calculated how much time I had before the banquet...about 2 hours. The altered hot wheels race to be held at the banquet sounded like so much fun and I wanted to 'play'! A friend in the Ex Votos class let me have one of her spare Hot Wheels but I wasn't sure I had the time or stamina to make an altered hot wheel. (all participants were required to have 'altered' their hot wheel) It had been a full day and I had a back ache...but my desire to compete (create?) was strong. :-)

I got all my components and the E6000 glue. I glued my chess piece (purchased for a dime the day before for this very purpose) to the top of the car, the long screw to the trunk of the car. The clip earring to the top of the screw, with the clip part looking surprisingly like a wind foil (?). The entire thing needed to be painted, aged, antiqued and given some character. I applied a quick coat of gesso first. Between each coat of paint and glaze, I'd go sit it/her outside on the table on the balcony to dry in the 108 degree heat while I crashed on my bed and rested.

After a very rough paint job, I added a polymer clay icon I'd done at home to the top of the clip earring/wind foil. I dug through my bag and found my round clay moon face. It was solid black with a glaze. I glued the moon face onto the front of the chess piece. Okay...here is where my hot wheel transcended to another level. I saw that she could be gorgeous with a bit of dry-brushed color. I did the moon's make over and then gave her a vintage clip earring for a hat. I came back and tied the piece together with white dots. See Photos.

Well, I can't remember when anything was so much fun. There were 8 cars competing...okay...maybe it was only 6. There was a 12 foot long plastic track and we raced two vehicles at a time, 3 heats. The winner moved on. Since these cars were wild...some wilder than others...we knew crashes would occur. So the host of the race decided that the one who won, flat out down the track OR the one that crashed farthest from the track would be considered the winner. After 6 races and about half that many crashes, Moon Baby came in 2nd place! And she didn't lose a single part during the crashes. I made her in only 2 hours. Wow. First through third place got to choose one of Michael Demeng's altered cars - Holy Rollers - which he sells for 60-70.00, as their award. They are like tiny shrines and are intended to be hung on a wall and displayed. I'm pondering...may treasure my MD Holy Roller for awhile and send it on to EJ in Austin. She is the friend who I competed against and who gave me the little hot wheel so that I could create Moon
Baby.

My good friend, Angelica, in California now calls me Moon Baby and I call her Sparkle. Our car names. Well, I don't see Moon Baby catching on as a nickname for me...geez...I'm almost 55. But Sparkle fits Angelica to a T.

I'm contemplating doing a local workshop and having a race, awards, the whole 9 yards. I'm not sure there are many local ladies who would be as turned on as I was about this wacky art project and competition.