Student Level: All
Type of Workshop: Project and Process
Prerequisite: None

Recently I was doing a bit of research on the origins of the Tin Man of Oz. I was astounded to find such an intriguing back-story. The basic story goes something like this: Nick Chopper was a woodsman whose axe was cursed by the Wicked Witch of the East due to his love interest with her ward Nimmie Aimee. The axe would chop off the limbs of Nick. Each time a local tinsmith would replace the limb with a metallic version...like an early 6 Million Dollar Man. Eventually his head was chopped off and nothing was left of the original Nick Chopper...just the Tin Man. The story really takes a sad twist when the Tin Man goes to find his lost love...who had since married...only to find that she married to a man who was constructed of some of his original self. It wasn't meant to be...and thus he lost his heart.

So in this class we are going to play the role of Dr. Frankenstein and transform Nick Chopper into our own Tin Man using various bits of metal, rusty bits, and other sorts of debris. In fact we can modify him in all sorts of glorious ways. Perhaps a Swiss Army arm...or pocket watch monocle. Let your imagination run wild. Don't worry we can rebuild him...better, stronger, faster.

Student should bring:

• Aves Apoxie Clay 1/4 lbs or more (contact avesstudio.com if you have any problem locating this product. They sell direct or will tell you about local suppliers)
• Variety of other found objects that might be interesting. They don't all have to be metal. Plastic can me transformed too. Items like watch parts, gears, typewriter parts...just about anything, really. Look for things that are interesting shapes or designs.
• Old figurines or doll parts- if you're creating characters like Medusa etc, you may want to use old figurines or dolls as the base for you to alter.
• Paint Brushes (a couple small detail brushes, and some cheap brushes (1/2 inch to 1 inch in size)
• Wire - a couple of different gauges
• Paints: Acrylic (Golden brand -preferably fluids - the tubes and jars will work too, the colors are the key)
• Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold
• Titanium White
• Carbon or Mars Black
• Van Dyke Brown
• Pthalo Blue
• Quinacridone Crimson
• Iridescent Silver
• Optional Paints
• Any other colors you would like!

Optional:

• Heat gun
• Dremel with cut off wheel and engraving bit