Making Powertex Figurines

I described in an earlier post the workshop I had attended to learn how to make Powertex figurines.  I had been very keen to make a pair of African-style figurines after having been inspired by the tall elegant figures I had seen at a craft show, but there wasn’t time to make two at the workshop so I purchased the materials to make another one at home.

With a long weekend at hand, it was a perfect time to give it a go before I forgot what we had done at the workshop.  I had made a graceful African woman previously and wanted to make a male figure to go with her.  I decided that it would be a young warrior so wanted it to be slightly shorter than the woman.

I wanted to make him a similar figure but not ‘matching’.  It was interesting this time to try to get a much more masculine result – still getting the interest of the drapes and folds of fabric but using different textures and finishes.

Then came time to decorate him.  As I mentioned in my earlier post, paints are made from special pigments mixed with varnish.  The pigments are quite expensive (but you only use a small amount so they will last a long time) so I only bought a limited colour range.  I wanted to make him complementary colours to the woman.  As I was painting him, I realised that I really liked the rich colours from the pigment and decided to touch up some of the colours on the woman to make them more intense.

I was very pleased with the finished result and they now have pride of place in a corner in the lounge.