Things To Make And Do

Portrait: No. 3

2011-08-01T13:48:00.002+01:00

Portrait: No. 2

2011-07-31T03:45:00.002+01:00

Portrait

2011-07-30T03:46:00.002+01:00

Rainbow Spiral

2010-11-12T20:43:00.002Z

Oil On Water

2010-07-02T14:29:00.000+01:00

Ray Of Light

2010-06-23T02:57:00.002+01:00

Blue Squares

2010-06-03T22:56:00.002+01:00

Faces: No.3

2010-03-15T18:35:00.000Z

Made using the Mr. Picassohead webtool

Whorls

2009-11-18T12:01:00.000Z

Fizz

2009-09-30T17:00:00.001+01:00

Sack Of Spuds

2009-08-10T23:25:00.001+01:00

This year I trialled a new way of growing potatoes, by growing them in bags. In previous years I have grown them in the ground or in large containers.

The advantage of growing in a bag is that it is easier to "earth up" the plant as it grows (you just roll up the sides of the bag and add more soil, covering the stem but leaving the topmost part of the plant uncovered). This encourages the potato plant to produce roots from the buried stem, and is supposed to increase the amount of new potato tubers produced.

The potato was first chitted. This is done by leaving the seed potato on a sunny windowsill until the eyes form into hard, green nodules. The reason this is done is to give the potato a head start into growing when placed in the ground.

The chitted seed potato was planted in an empty compost bag. The sides of the bag were rolled down and 10cm of soil placed in the bottom before the seed potato was planted. Then more soil was used to cover the potato. As the plant grew, more soil was added when needed. Drainage holes were made in the sides if the bag.

In the last week the plant began to die back, approximately 4 months since planting. I suspect it was in part due to the wet weather we have had of late (the compost bag retained a lot of moisture despite having drainage holes). It was time to see how many new potatoes were produced. The bag was cut open to reveal 7 sizable new potatoes (each the size of my fist) and several small ones.

However only the bottom half of the soil contained any potatoes. I think the initial amount of soil I used was too shallow. Next time I will put in twice the amount at the bottom of the bag before planting the seed potato. I also found out that when growing potatoes, size matters. Trials done by the RHS have shown that the larger the seed potato, the bigger the crop of new potatoes. This is probably due to the fact that larger potatoes have a greater store of starch, which the developing plant can utilize as a food source while growing and producing new tubers.

So next year I will repeat the experiment, but using the largest seed potato I can find, and having twice the depth of soil under the developing tuber. I may ditch reusing a empty compost bag in favour of one made out of hessian.

As for the new potatoes I harvested, they were turned into delicious curried potatoes.

Faces: No. 2

2009-07-25T13:39:00.000+01:00

Faces: No.1

2009-07-10T23:56:00.000+01:00

Discs

2009-06-29T15:57:00.001+01:00

Charcoal Butterflies

2009-06-05T19:59:00.000+01:00

Raspberry Swirl

2009-05-23T13:23:00.001+01:00

Mania

2009-05-21T00:45:00.001+01:00

Solarnova

2009-05-15T01:44:00.001+01:00

The Scientist Made Loops With My DNA

2009-05-12T02:12:00.000+01:00

Twists And Turns

2009-01-15T17:19:00.000Z

Above are examples of artwork I created using the web tool Bonomo, It is very simple to use, and the creation of such art is the work of mere moments.

Creature Feature

2008-09-13T03:25:00.001+01:00

Here are a few of the creatures I have made using the trial version of the Spore Creature Creator:

My favourite is the one pictured above, which I have called the Brain Leech.

You can even make baby versions of the creatures you design.

The interface is easy to use and quite intuitive, and allows you to create a myriad of zoological specimens in no time at all.

Resistance Is Futile

2008-06-28T02:13:00.000+01:00

"We are the Borg. Lower your shields and surrender your ships. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile."

Another Star Trek inspired paper toy. After his capture by the Borg, our poor Capt. Paper Toy has been transformed into a drone. The level of detail is greater than any of my other paper toys created so far.

If you wish to make the Borg drone, click on the animation above, which takes you to the Paper Critters website, then click "Print" at the bottom of the page.

To Boldly Go Where No Paper Toy Has Gone Before

2008-06-28T02:00:00.001+01:00

This is Capt. Paper Toy, a Star Trek inspired paper toy. The uniform is non-cannon, and was the result of me playing around with the shape tools.

If you wish to make Capt. Paper Toy, either click on the animation or the link above, which takes you to the Paper Critters website, then click "Print" at the bottom of the page.

Swirl

2008-06-28T01:51:00.000+01:00

Another paper toy, simply named Swirl.

Swirl is another basic design. I used the spiral stencil in various sizes to create the pattern, which I think turned out surprisingly well.

If you wish to make Swirl, either click on the animation or the link above, which takes you to the Paper Critters website, then click "Print" at the bottom of the page.

Inky Joe

2008-06-28T01:40:00.000+01:00

Inky Joe has been very naughty, running around the paint pots on my art table, spilling ink all over the place. Still, it is hard to be mad at him because he is so cute!

Inky Joe is the first paper toy I made using the Paper Critters webtool, as well as being my first paper toy design ever.

If you wish to make Inky Joe, either click on the animation or the link above, which takes you to the Paper Critters website, then click "Print" at the bottom of the page.

Hello

2008-06-28T01:25:00.000+01:00

Hello.

Welcome to Paper Dolls. This is a site where I will post my designs for paper toys, as well as any other artwork I create. I will also post pictures of any paper toys I construct created by other artists, with the links to where the templates can be downloaded.

This site will be a work in progress, the layout and style may change, and some time may pass between posts, but I hope it will be a fun journey.

Thanks for taking the time to read this,

Species 125.