Potpouri

I haven't posted anything for quite awhile on my blog. I have excuses of course, but the bottom line is I have been flitting from one project to another.

So here are some examples of some of the silliness I habe been working on. The first two doll pictures are of Esther, a painted polymer clay doll I sculpted last year, but got discouraged when I painted her. I had a bad cold one day in February and sewed a body for her and put her together. I then decided she might not be so bad if I dressed her, so I made her a gown this past week. Now I think she looks OK, and didn't deserve the poor treatment she got this past year.

The third picture is a 'Fairy Bower' I made during a Marilyn Radzat online class through the 'Gourd College' These projects are magical and I am learning alot about how to do mosaic work, etc. I am really enjoying stretching my skills with this one.

The last two pictures are a Mermaid Boat I am working on , sculpted over a Swan Gourd. This crazy idea came to me while working on another one of Maryln's projects, the Sphinx and is inspired by a conch shell my daughter recieved in the mail from my sister-in-law. She is in a rough state right now, and needs lots of refining and sanding, but I think I have an idea of how to paint and finish her.

Ta ta for now and I hope to do better with this blog!

Hatching an Idea

While vacationing in Ireland this summer, I found a lovely reproduction Tucks Paperdoll. I thought , wouldn't this be a great doll . I wonder if I could do a painted cloth doll to look like her ? As I mentioned in my last post, I have been working on painted cloth dolls done in a trompe d'oil style . Susan Fosnot, Hellen Pringle, and others have developed this style to a high art form. I am just trying to learn the basics. However I like this little dolly here, inspired by the paper doll. I decided I wanted a younger girl, still with a little chubbiness. I designed the doll head/body myself, since I wanted some room to paint hair. I may soften the edge a little of the basic shape, since this version of the design has a quite a ledge for her hairline, and if you are not careful with the sewing and stuffing, it can distort like the unpainted stuffed doll ( or I guess I could paint her turning her head!),

Anyway I had a terrible time trying to paint her, and repainted her at least 4 times . At the suggestion of someone in my doll club, I tried painting the basic face in acrylics. At that stage the face was almost cartoon like - just the basic eyes mouth and hair. Then I added shading in oils to get the trompe d'oil 3D look and some of the fine details. I think she looks pretty nice. So I will move forward and work on arms/legs and clothes and finish the design. I admit I have ambitions of creating a pattern here, but first thing first.

Cloth Oil Painted dolls

I have a fascination of Early American portraiture and also love antique oil painted cloth dolls. Many many doll artists explore this style, and I am am just a beginner in my exploration this style. Nevertheless, I am pleased with how this doll came out and figured she deserved an entry in my blog as I consider what type of dress to sew for her.

This doll was sewn in cotton sateen from a pattern by Susan Fosnot and I stuffed her with wool roving- my favorite stuffing material. I drew and painted my own face instead of using Susan Fosnot's template, and I think its a younger face - perhaps of a young girl. Its more stylized face rather than realistic , but I like the doll and am proud of how she turned out. I am definitely having trouble painting curls, but I can always hide them under a bonnet! She was painted in oils, and although I love working with them, I had a terrible time getting the right color for her skin, and not getting everything muddy. I am working on a few other cloth dolls like this one and perhaps will bring on this blog once they are done

As you can see, I have made her under-ware following the style the mid 1850 or so. There is a chemise, drawers and two petticoats on this gal. I am pondering what color her gown should be and am drawn to blue - Its my favorite color! So if you have an opinion let me know at bonameechi@yahoo.com.

Tiny Doll Accessories

I have been working on tiny accessories, OK toys, for my dolls. These are all kits from Gail Wilson ( http://www.gailwilsondesigns.com/) . I confess I am a real addict for her doll kits, and these are just a few in my large collection that I have yet to finish . Ultimately these will go into the dollhouse I am still working on- The doll in the upper right picture is Gail's version of the famous Hitty doll. Hitty is playing with her new Noah's ark set, peg wooden doll, pouting chair and doll bed. To give you an idea of scale, Hitty is about 6 inches, and the peg wooden doll is less than two inches tall . The adorable Noah's ark set is so tiny and precious . The animals are all less than a half inch tall and the ark is about 2 inches long. Notice the gorgeous wooden doll lying on the rope bed. This is a 3 inch wooden miniature Joel Ellis doll that Gail Wilson made - she is just perfect! These lucky dolls have some very nice new toys to play with...