Hecter loves Henrietta.  That is plain to see.  Here are just a few shots that they took just before the left for Kentucky this morning.

Ann wrote: "I'll have to read the blog, but an initial look and I can tell Henrietta is from New Jersey ... I mean look at that chin! It's a dead give away! When Henrietta lost her husband Louie, she decided to sell everything for the promises of moving and living in a Trailer Park in South Florida. This is where she no doubt met and was instantly attracted to Hector as he ever so cleverly scratching his balls ... kinda reminded her of her lost love, not so many moons ago ... yet t'is obvious to me, Henrietta has plans a cleaning ole Hector up a bit ... you know to bring him up to her standards."

So Hecter is finished and ready for his trip to Kentucky where he will live with cousin Terry Lee.  Terry Lee is not really his cousin.  I will tell you more about that later.  He has been waiting for Henrietta to get out of the beauty shop.  She swears that she is a natural red hear.  He is not so sure of that.  But he loves her anyway.  After all, red haired women make Hecter walk into walls.

 Hecter's beginning into this life is both sad and strange.  He was abandoned at just about 3 days old.  Stuffed in a old Pennzoil cardboard box and left beside the road.  I will tell you more about that later.

Henrietta has always been a hard worker.  Her first job was cleaning motel rooms at the Park Motel in Artesia, NM for her Aunt Mary and Uncle Poppy.  She was just 11 years old.  They offered the room in the basement under the office.  She would have to clean it first.  The floor was dirt.  It had been used as storage until the flood. But Henriett had no other place to go.  So she packed everything she owned into the small blue suitcase and moved in.

Tech note: The skin texture is lots and lots of tiny little lines. I used a knitting needle, a needle tool, a ball stylist, a wooden cuticle stick.... then burnished with my finger. The skin texture is not added until the figure is very leather hard.

Tech note: I formed the head around an easter egg then cut it in two halves, removed the egg and put it back together then sculpted the face. I threw an small jug on the wheel then when it became leather hard I shaped it into the body. I sculpted the legs from the sole of the shoe up then attached them to the body. I attached the head to the body, sculpted the and refined the shape, defined the clothing, then sculpted the ears . Sculpted the hands and arms, made the arm joints, posed the arms and hands. I then cut the body at the top of the shorts so the it opens, hollowed out the bottom where the butt and legs attached, built a flange onto the inside of the top, flattened the area where I will attach the the hinge. Set it aside to dry. I will bisque fire, attach the hinge then paint with acrylic paint, antique then I will apply hair and cloth the figure.

Tech note: From time to time I will interject a technical note that is not related to the lives of the Parkers. I will alway start it with Tech note:

This is stone ware. Because it is stoneware clay and will be fired in a kiln, I do not use an armature. It is just a matter of sculpting the legs to the thrown vase and letting them get leather hard by propping them in place. I store my WIP in plastic sacks that I get from Walmart. This allows me to work on them for weeks as long as I continue to spritz them. Then It is a matter of making sure they balance when they stand.

Welcome to the Shady Lane Trailer Park. As the days come and go, you will be introduced the the folks that live in this quaint little trailer park.

I am a sculpter. I will create a sculpt of each of the residents and some of their friends and relatives. Each will come with a story. Most likely they will not only a checked past, but most like and even more colorful future. I will include my WIP (work in process) photos.

From time to time, should you pass by such a trailer park and happen to see a mighty fine looking couch in the yard, a lawn mower without an engine, an abundance of trash piled so very artistically just outside the door or an outdoor tub, please snap a photo and email it to me at lrc@gpcom.net. I am hoping to be able to use some of these photos as backdrops for the folks of Shady Lane Trailer Park.

Just for your information, these folks like to refer to themselves as "Parkers". But there is another trailer park just down the road. It is the Heavenly Hills Trailer Park. Those folks have felt a sense of superiority to the Parkers and have called them the "Shadies". The Parkers get furious when they are called the Shadies.

Well, I am getting ahead of myself. I hope you enjoy the journey as you get to know some wonderful folks. And maybe some not so wonderful folks.