Cthulu Light String Pull

Categories:Crafts
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madnad

Our bathroom is full of cephalopod images. We have an octopus shower curtain, a cuddly octopus and ceramic family on the windowsill, and also an octopus coat hook on the back of the door. To continue this theme, I intend to decorate the mirror with a selection of sea shells and random tentacles, but also to modify the existing light string pull to look like Cthulu, the elder god from the Lovecraft mythos.

Materials You Will Need

Instructions

Place your form on some paper and draw around it. Replicate this at least two more times, and use the shape to roughly sketch and outline your front and profile views. This will aid you in adding mass to the form where you need it, and adding features later on.  Cthulu Light Pull - Pic1
This particular form has a wider hole in the bottom where you feed the string with a knot on the end, and slimmer hole at the top. To keep the holes intact, I put a plastic drinking straw in the bottom, and a wooden kebab in the top hole. If the surface of your form is smooth, rough it up with some sandpaper. This will help the additional mass to adhere to it. Tear off strips of foil and working from the bottom up, glue the end, the wrap the strips of scrunched foil around the form to add the extra mass where you want it. Cthulu Ligha Pull - Pic 2
Cover the entire shape in a layer of clay. Keep your hands moist to prevent drying out the clay. Ensure you don’t cover over the holes you have kept open with the drinking straw and kebab skewer. Once you have the base layer done, ensure that you have it even on all sides, so double check your profiles.  cthulu pic 3
Start to add the details around the head, such as the brows using modelling tools to get detail and texture.  For the tentacles, make a bunch of small balls, then a roll a sausage shape with a tapered end, and using a ball-ended modeling tool, push the balls onto the tentacle, dampening the surface with a paint brush and water. Once you have your position on the body, again brush with water and press gently but firmly. Once all the tentacles are done, snip off any excess drinking straw cthulu pic 4
Using a soft silicone tipped modelling tool, and holding your work by the wooden skewer, smooth any rough areas, define edges and suckers etc. When you are finished, Stick your completed Cthulu into a potato with the bottom sliced off and leave to dry at least overnight. cthulu pic 5
Once completely dry, hold the pull by the skewer, and in a well ventilated space (preferably outside) hold at arms reach and spray with paint in the colour of your choice. I went with graphite. Stick the skewer back in the potato to dry. Once the paint is dry, use a dry paint brush and a little black distress powder in the nooks and crannies. This will give your light pull an older, vintage feel. Hot glue the eyes in, and you are almost done. Finally, give the entire thing a spray of clear gloss sealer to protect the coating from damp and wear cthulu pic 6
The final step is to feed your string through. Push your new string through the form, and tie a largish knot at the bottom end that will be hidden inside the tentacles. Attach the top to your light pull in the ceiling. Please ensure that you turn off the current before removing the cover. cthulu pic 7

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