Folk Art Foam Cat

Materials:

plastic foam:
- 1" plastic foam, 12" x 12"
- 1⁄2" plastic foam, 5" x 5"
paints:
- DecoArt Americana Acrylic Paints
- Burnt Umber
- Lamp Black
- Light Buttermilk
- Medium Flesh
- Raw Sienna
- Rookwood Red
- Tangerine
- Yellow Ochre
DecoArt Heavenly Hues Paints
- Earth Brown
- Soft Black
Brushes:
- 1/2" and 1" flats
- #1 liner
- #6 round
tracing paper and transfer paper
Liquitex Modeling Paste
Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
Rigid Wrap Plaster Cloth
soft cloth
gold foil--adhesive and sealer by Delta Renaissance Foil Easy Gold Leafing System
16-gauge black wire, 24"
pushpin
wire cutter
tacky glue
multi-purpose sealer

Constructing

1. Trace the entire folk art cat pattern onto tracing paper with a permanent pen (figure A), including painting details and dotted lines. Transfer the cat shape, including dotted lines, onto 1-inch plastic foam by punching holes with a pencil about 1/8 inch apart along the traced lines (figure B). Score along the transferred solid lines by dragging the pencil and connecting the holes. Transfer the head, including dotted lines, collar and bell shapes onto 1/2-inch plastic foam.

3. Using your fingers, compress the bell into a ball shape, flattened on the back.

5. Attach the cat’s head, collar, and bell to the body (see pattern for placement) with modeling paste (figure E). Model the shapes using your fingers to compress the edges. Flatten and round the collar and reshape the bell, if necessary. Compress the edges of the head to round off. Score the dotted lines between the legs about 1/8 inch deep to separate the legs. Deepen further between the back legs for more separation. Compress and round off.

6. Score the lines for the mouth about 1/8 inch deep and compress with your fingertips to make a depression.