Diana's Sprite is finished

My daughter's best friend Diana is a delightful young woman whom I have had the pleasure of knowing since she was... oh... about 6 or 7. She is intelligent, articulate, artistic, and when she and Alice get together I simply can't hear fast enough to keep up with their chatter. I am going to miss that so much when they both go away to college next fall.

This is Diana getting ready for Prom last spring. Their theme was a masquerade ball, but instead of wearing a mask as the other girls did, Diana chose to do hers with her make up and a few embellishments.

I was so delighted by what she did that I was inspired to make a doll. I know posted in-progress pics of this one months ago, but the loss of my sewing machine meant I couldn't finish her wings. It's back now though (woo hoo - my baby is home!)so this weekend I threaded it up with some Sulky Holographic and let loose and finished those wings!

So, without further ado, here she is, wings and all.


I am extra proud of the appearance of her hands. Sherry Goshon gave me a few tips last fall and I can't believe the difference those few tweaks make in getting fabric and wire hands to look natural and "real".


Of course I couldn't stop with just a little sparkly thread, but had to add some microbeads and glitter as well as some interesting fibers. Why stop when you're having so much fun??

The real girl is more delightful by far, but this little creation makes me smile.

Day of the Dead Challenge Doll

Oh, how I struggled with this doll! Perhaps it was a certain internal discomfort with an unfamiliar concept, or perhaps I just didn't have a clue what I was doing, but almost every detail of her creation caused me headaches.

On the other hand, I now have a better handle on working with paper clay, and the basic techniques of tole painting finally "clicked". And I learned that pattern drafting isn't as complicated as I thought -- her whole costume was designed and drawn from scratch. I know, I know... princess seams are easy, but you have to start somewhere!

I really really like her in her "bald" state, but she doesn't look quite Dutch enough to suit me. What do you think?? (As always, please click on the photo itself to view it full size if you want to see more detail.)

She even has the proper footwear.



I looked ALL OVER the internet trying to find a pattern for her hat. I finally designed it myself by looking at photographs. It is made of silk chiffon -- the delft motifs are still clearly visible through the fabric. Those "wings" are starched within an inch of their lives, but are still a little floppy, so I will probably stitch in some fine wire so they are more posable.

She looks "Dutch" enough to me now, but I still really really liked her bald. Hmmmmm...


The buttons I bought for her bodice are gold colored. Once I held them up to get a preview of how they would look I realized that was a mistake; she needs white buttons. Back to the fabric store for me!

I am wrestling with myself over how much embellishment I want to add. On the one hand, the Dutch are a plain people. On the other hand, her costume is NOT authentic and the Day of the Dead is supposed to be over-the-top. Maybe a little embroidery around her bodice? Something in her hands? Definitely a neck ornament of some kind!

Still thinking...

A Beautiful Day

The poet may declare that a day in June is rare, but when it comes to sunshine in November in Oregon, that's about as rare as it gets. I got out my camera today to take photos of my Day of the Dead doll, but it was so beautiful I had to take it outside. What an incredible afternoon I had!

One of the cool things about living on a farm is that we share our little world with a LOT of other life. This hawk was just hanging out in a tree down by our creek. (Click on any photo to see it full size -- these small shots just don't capture the effect.)

He flew off when something caught his attention. I didn't think I would actually be able to catch his photo, but I did.


As I was walking around the barn, a blue heron flew by overhead. They are the most amazing things to watch in the air. There is something very prehistoric looking about them.


This flock of pigeons more or less lives on top of the hay barn. See the round thing casting a shadow in the lower right? That's a rock my father-in-law threw up there years ago trying to scare away the pigeons. That didn't work very well...


The cows don't mind them though.


And then there are the starlings that swarm everywhere. Generally I can't stand the rude, noisy, messy things, but they are so graceful as a flock on the wing... I have to appreciate the beauty they make too. (Starlings... ugh!)


This field across the road has had wheat, grass, corn, and hops growing in it in years past. Two years ago a vinyard was planted. The setting sun on the dying leaves shown like living gold.


I think grape vines have just about the most perfect leaves.


As I was admiring the leaves, this flock of geese flew over. They were having a high old time, honking back and forth to each other and swooping up and down their lines. Aren't they the funniest creatures?


If you turn around and look the other way, across our back field is Mount Angel itself, crowned by a Benedictine abbey. On a still morning we can hear the church bells calling the brothers to prayer. The "mountain" itself is only a couple hundred feet tall, but it stands all by itself in the middle of flat fields so it really dominates the landscape for miles.

The sun sets so fast this time of year. Looking back to the east I was able to catch the last little glimmer of direct sun just kissing the top of Mt. Hood. That's when I was reminded that it really *is* November after all and I wasn't wearing a jacket -- it got cold FAST.


As I turned to walk back to the house, I met Jake on his way in from the barn for the evening. He's pretty nice to come home to.

The Day of the Dead photos can wait until tomorrow. This day was too wonderful not to remember somehow.

Close, but no Cee-Gar

... as my Dad used to say, LOL. My little piece for a Halloween Challenge on one of my favorite groups tied for first place. In a run-off vote, it lost by *1* vote! I confess I would have liked to have won, but I'm pretty pleased with it regardless, and tickled to death that other people like it too.

The challenge was to do something "cute" for Halloween -- not beautiful, and it mustn't scare small children.

Cute.

(Now, if you've been reading this for any length of time, you know by now that I don't do "cute". "Can't" might be the better word, LOL!)





Anyway, this little guy is based on an online class by Marilyn Radzat at That Creative Place for her Leaf Babies, though about the only thing he owes to her instructions by the time I got through with him is his pose. (If I ever get around to it, I will also rebuild his little coffin. I did the best I could, but it's really pretty crude.)

I have another Leaf Baby in progress, but he is currently suffering from a bad rash caused by unpainted texture medium, and is not ready for his close-up yet. Just WAIT until you see the little bed waiting for him!

Quick Update

I had hoped to post photos of my latest works-in-progress yesterday when my challenge was scheduled to be over, but my piece tied for first and is in a runoff voting to determine the winner. From what I hear, the voting is still tied, LOL!

Stay tuned!

Along those same lines, I hope YOU all voted today. No matter who wins, I am still so proud to have had a hand in choosing our next leader.

Words to Live (and Create!) By

This month's newsletter from Dollmaker's Journey included a quote that is too good not to pass on. They posted it as "Anonymous", but a quick googling found an attribution to Elaine Normandy. I have no idea who Elaine Normandy is but I like the way she thinks!

Art is too much fun

to be restricted to those

who are good at it!

Is that great or what?! This is my new motto, LOL.

One more quick thing for today... I joined a new Yahoo! group for polymer clay artists last month and am having so much fun there that I want to include a link to their homesite. Visit The Fairy Studio to find lots of inspirational pictures and some really useful links.

Pictures, as promised

Mondays are my favorite day of the week. I don't have to go to work, Jake is at work, the girls are in school, so if I have my act together I have a whole day in which to make art and play to my hearts content. This morning I got everything done and sat down and finished painting my Tree Spirit Box. Oh, how I love this box!

I chose my paint colors to go along with the colors of the interior, put on some music, and just went at it. When the time came to add the embellishments, I didn't notice that one of my tubes of micromarbles had been corrupted with glitter, so the effect is a little more sparkly than I had intended, but I'm not sorry. A little extra sparkle never hurt anyone. :-)

Here's a full front view...


and the full back.



If you remember the earlier posts regarding this piece, you might recall that I embedded a small face in the trunk. You can't see it by looking directly at it, but if you peek in from the side...


you are able to glimpse her peacefully meditating amongst the branches.



Unfortunately, I broke the clasp on the box from handling it. Does anyone know where I might find a replacement?

Ifinished my Halloween challenge piece as well (completed, photographed, AND entered on time!) but I can't put it up here until after the challenge closes Friday night. Not only that, I have another WIP in full swing, but it's so closely related to my Halloween piece that to be safe I will save that for later as well. Oh, it's going to be a fun week!

Life Happens

Sorry for the long absence. Life at Cascade View Dairy has been a bit topsy-turvy lately, and blogging sort of slipped a little on my list of priorities. Briefly, as everyone who doesn't live under a rock knows, the economic climate in this country is a little scary right now. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but it seems like farmers get hit first and worst every time.

We made the difficult decision last week to lay off one of our workers. This man has worked for us for the last 12 years, but we just can't afford to keep 3 workers full time anymore. I don't know what Jake has inside of him that makes him keep going, but he loves this life and wants to continue, at least until the girls are safely settled in college. And I'm crazy about him, so I guess we're all going to just keep on keeping on.

For as long as we can anyway.

In the meantime, my Art still happens too. I have been working like a fiend on a challenge project that's due today. I've had such fun with it -- I can't wait to share pictures.

My Tree Box is nearly finished, and so is the Tide Pool figure, but I haven't had a chance to set them up for photos yet. Soon, I promise!

And just to show that Life isn't all Doom & Gloom, I am posting some pictures I took last night at halftime of the Silverton High School Homecoming football game. Alice was elected to the Senior Court, and I can't resist the opportunity to show her off a little, especially since I don't have any other photos to share this week, LOL!

Ooooohhh... I love that car!


Her escort is a little grubby because he is the team's quarterback and had just come straight from the field to the car. Alice says he was too nervous about getting dirt on that gorgeous Chevy to relax and enjoy the ride.


Of course we all had to run down to the sidelines with everyone else and give her a hug. It was a gorgeous night for football.


Silverton won by the way, 41-10. It was a good night!

More leaves, branches, twigs... when will it end?

Sorry for deleting the comment button after my last post -- a spammer found me the other day, so I just wanted to make it harder for any more to crash my blog. I put everything back to where it was today, so PLEASE leave me a comment!

(Don't you just wish that the people who work so hard at spamming would use their energy and talents toward something... if not more useful, AT LEAST less annoying!?)

So...

I added leaves to the tree and thought "it is good". At least when viewed from the front. When I turned it to a different angle I realized that my tree looked more like a peacock's tail -- all gorgeous arcs and curves until viewed from the side, when it showed as totally flat.

So... I added some more branches.



(Full disclosure: this photo has been altered to enhance the contrast and show detail.)

Woo Hoo, now it's looking good. I especially like the way the face is somewhat obscured. This afternoon I added some smaller twigs, and I hope to add the last leaves tomorrow when the branches and twigs are stable enough to work on.

Yesterday, I was about to give up. Today... I'm pretty happy!

Fitting it in when I can

I have made more progress on my Treasure Tree Box than what shows in these photos, but if I wait until I can take more photographs, I will never manage to get a post up this week. It has been yet another tempestuous week, but I still found some time to work on my creations. I think I would go insane if I couldn't...

I took a better shot of the finished inside cover to share.

Now that the inside is complete, I can start applying embellishments to the outside. I had an image of a tree in my mind, so I began by applying a web of roots.

Then I drilled some holes, added a little wire for an armature, and began building the tree.


I haven't taken any more photos of later progress, but I'll try to get some up in a day or two.

How's this for an excuse for being distracted though?

My daughter-in-law and granddaughter came for a visit this weekend and it would have been downright inhospitable to disappear into my studio. We both had fun playing with my camera though.


The camera strap was the big attraction for her. Never fear... I'll teach her which end is the fun part when she's older. For now, I just like making her grin.

The First Week of October 2008 - a Rant

Last week was a doozy for sure, and I'm not even talking about the stock market. As I sat down to think about what I wanted to write in this post, I'm a little amazed that I am able to think about it calmly. If I had *known* what the week would bring, I would have stayed in bed.

In spite of the fact that the Oregon Rains came early this year, we got our corn crop safely harvested. It's all cut, siloed, and covered with no delays and no accidents for another year, thank God!

I had a cold and felt like @#$%^&*( all week. Ugh! What made the sinus issues even less fun than usual this time was our neighbor's new "bird cannon" which goes off at irregular intervals every few minutes. It's not that loud, but oh! when you have a headache...!

My sewing machine is STILL in the shop. I drove to the city on Saturday to demand its return, but there it was still in pieces on the work bench. I have no idea what is going on, so I raised the roof a little. I hope I managed to light a fire under SOMEBODY. Time's a-wastin' and I need to get a costume put together for my DOD doll before the challenge deadline.

Fortunately, I still have a healthy supply of Paverpol, Aves Apoxy, glue, and paint. :-) She now has her "wooden" shoes at least.

Our TV died. (At least my little 25 year old b/w portable is still usable for another few months so Jake won't miss his beloved football.) I miss the movies I put on for background noise, but at least I was able to use the time to work on my current rotation of projects.

So, what do I have to share this week? Messes, that's what. I haven't managed to actually FINISH anything, which might be contributing to my crankiness, but Progress Is Being Made, so, oh well...!

Below is my 4th attempt to create a believable illusion of sea foam floating on the wind on my Tide Pool piece. I mentioned the rains came early here this year -- I think the humidity is affecting the Paverpol's ability to harden enough to stay in place without drooping. If this doesn't work, I will put her aside until we have a few drier days. So far, so good though.


Here's another little Mess-In-Progress I've been playing with. I always have little bits of apoxy left when I work with it and I hate to waste it, so I've been adding the little dibs and dabs to the inside cover of this box. This weekend I decided it was pretty much done, so today I am painting it. The colors complement the piece of hand-dyed silk velvet that lines the bottom of the box. Note to Self: Next time, paint the lid THEN add the velvet.


I don't know how well you can see them, but the brownish bits on the tinfoil are little accent pieces I sculpted that will fit inside the bottom of the box. When these all dry, I can varnish them, glue them in, and get everything ready for a sprinkling of micromarbles and glitter. Ah, don't you just love sparkly stuff!!

I've got one more picture for you -- a close-up of the inside cover of the box. Do you think I might have gotten a little carried away? ...hee hee...

Diving in!

I should go without a sewing machine more often -- I have not had such a creative week in years, LOL! (On the other hand, I am becoming VERY annoyed at the delay, and will be picking it up this weekend whether it's ready or not. 5 weeks for a cleaning? Sheesh!)

Does anyone remember this piece? I know I blogged it, but I can't find the original reference. She began as an experiment with Genesis paints on fabric, then morphed into a game to see if I could sculpt a face in profile. I never really did take her very seriously - in fact I almost threw her away in the last purge of my studio because I just didn't know what to do to her. That was BEFORE my experience at the Retreat in Iowa!

This week I sculpted and attached her hands and forearms, draped some hand dyed silk in blue and purple over and around her form, and draped cheesecloth over that. I had another piece of cheesecloth billowing up and off to right, but I had to take it off. I forgot to stir the Paverpol before adding the fabric, so it never did get hard and it drooped rather depressingly. I am going to replace that piece tonight -- it really needs it to balance the extreme curve of her body -- and I WILL remember to stir the Paverpol this time.


The pebbles, shells, and sand are attached to her base and skull with Aves apoxy sculpt. I gathered all of them myself on various trips to the Coast over the years. I think Jake is relieved to see the results of my beachcombing finally being used in something at last.


I know this piece was a favorite of my mother's. I am happy to finally be finishing it -- I just wish I could have done so while she was alive to see it. There isn't much left to do to her, but each layer has to dry before the next is applied, so it is taking time to complete.

To kill time while each layer dries, I started playing with something else. Just for fun you know, and to see if I could pull it off.


Judi Wellnitz makes the most fun artsy pincushions in the shape of severed hands. She issued a challenge over on the Doll Street list for others to try making them too, and *this* is the idea that just popped into my head. It doesn't really conform to the rules of the challenge so I probably won't enter it, but it was SO much fun to make.

The bones are sculpted in polymer clay on a 99 cent Goodwill wine glass. (Would you believe it only took me about an hour to sculpt those bones?) The red is several layers of alcohol ink applied to the inside of the glass, and the pincushion is needle-felted wool. I got a little carried away with the "bubbles" of potion oozing over the edge, (large and small holeless beads and glitter applied with glue) but I still love it. I can't help but smile when I look at it.

Better Photos

I apologize to everyone for the poor quality of yesterday's photos -- I was in a hurry to post pics of my doll and seem to have forgotten everything I ever knew about setting up my camera for proper white balance, ISO, etc. Sorry 'bout that!

Here are some better photos taken with a little more care and forethought, as well as a better background fabric. (Just in case you didn't know, if you click on a photo, you will get a larger view.) Here's a front view...

... and from the side. (Yes, she is supposed to be pregnant.)



The back view doesn't show much more detail except of the curve and sway of her posture. I'm not quite sure how I managed to achieve that, but I really really liked it!

I hope my glue and microbeads come soon. I really am dying to finish her. In the meantime, I am rescuing another piece that I almost threw away, using these techniques taught by the incomparable Jean Bernard. Oh, if only I had whole uninterrupted days in which to work on her!

I really AM grateful for my day job, but...

Home Again

Sigh... The Dollmaker's Retreat, led by Sherry Goshon and Jean Bernard in Marshalltown, Iowa is over for this year and I am safe home again. I had the most wonderful time -- exhilerating, stimulating, exhausting, but completely and totally wonderful. The artists who attended, many of whom I have known for years only through online correspondance all felt like old friends immediately. And the talent! The air in our workroom was crackling with creative energy.

Most of my best photos of the retreat itself are posted on Jean Bernard's blog . The woman holding the camera wearing a blue shirt and a goofy grin is me. :-)

Here is my almost-finished doll.

I want to add a little more embellishment, especially around her headpiece, but I have to wait for my glue to arrive. Jean highly recomments Grrrip glue, and know I know why. The stuff is fantastic. It is not commonly available, but I found a source at Dollmakers Journey.

I am indecently proud of her. She was a delight to create. Every moment spent working on her was pure joy.

By the way, I want to put in a plug for one more online resource for One-of-a-Kind artists. Judy at My Wycked Ways offers a marvelous assortment of beads and baubles, papers, fibers, and films -- enough to keep a person as devoted to the adoration of sparkly things as I am mesmerised for hours! If you visit the site, be sure to click through until you come to the page displaying her wonderful wings. Of course I ordered a pair. (I am still without a sewing machine, and my sprite wants her wings!)

Two last pictures before I close for today... Jeff Kantrowitz, an artist from Reno who does incredible things with eggs and other things, taught a miniclass for us on Friday night. These "Dragon Eggs" were simple and fun to do.









The one on the right is mine, and the one on the left was a gift to me from Jean Bernard. They are going to get some extra bling as well once my glue arrives. I think I may need to make some more. Can't you see a whole bunch of them set out as the most wildly oppulent display of Easter Eggs ever?

I am already plotting how to save up to attend next year's Retreat.

An Interesting Creative Exercise

My sewing machine is still in the shop so I am painting this week.

I was stalling on painting my Day of the Dead skull. To be honest, I was having yet another crisis of confidence. (It's looking doubtful that I will ever outgrow that. Sigh...) Anyway, being without a sewing machine pretty much forced me to pick up some brushes, lay out some paint, and get started. Once I painted in the eye sockets I got on a roll and just kept going!

My idea was to create a doll that celebrates my family's Dutch culture and heritage. Deciding on the idea was the easy part!



The colors in these photos are not true; her base color is a lovely rich white and the dark bits are all the shades of blue you can find on Delft ware.


The designs are traditional Delft motifs as well.


One of the reasons I hesitated to begin painting was because I was never very good at tole painting. Something must have just "clicked" in my brain once upon a time though, because once I got into it, it was pretty easy.



Working on this doll as been an unexpected challenge for me. Making her is definitely plowing up new soil in my brain -- she is bordering on inappropriate both from the viewpoint of my Dutch heritage and my upbringing. Halloween was never much of a big deal for us, and was usually downplayed in preference to remembering Reformation Day. And Death itself is surrounded by a lot of tabboos here in North America. (Would you think I was too weird if I said that the skulls that are so popular even on little kids clothes these days kind of freak me out?)

I guess what I mean to say is that my thoughts have been travelling down some new and interesting paths since I started work on her.

Do you LOVE tomatoes?

I love fresh garden tomatoes more than just about anything else. Hmmm... maybe even more than chocolate, LOL! Unfortunately, the weather patterns in the Pacific Northwest have been much cooler and wetter than normal this year, and my tomatoes, being tropical plants, are NOT happy. Ordinarily my garden would be awash in fresh tomatoes in the first week of September. This year, not only is the crop very small, it's very late. I was beginning to think we would have no fresh tomatoes at all this year, but today we had the first ones.

Now the problem is... how do you divide a measly 3 tomatoes among a family of 4 greedy tomatoes lovers? Why, a BLT of course.

This beautiful sandwich is not just any BLT either. The "Caprese BLT" is a family favorite that I make every year. I found the recipe a few years ago in a magazine where it had won a prize for creative sandwiches. If you love tomatoes as much as I do, you have to try this.


Caprese BLT

2 medium tomatoes, sliced thin
Salt
1 loaf ciabatta bread
1 1/3 cups packed fresh basil, divided
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/8 teaspoon hot sauce
8 slices bacon, cooked until crisp, drained, and crumbled
4 romaine lettuce leaves
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced thin
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Place tomatoes slices on several layers of paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Let sit for 15 minutes, then press with additional paper towels to extract excess moisture.
Slice bread in half horizontally and use your fingers to remove and discard all but about 1/2 inch of interior crumb.
Puree 1 cup of the basil leaves, mayonnaise, lemon juice, garlic, hot sauce, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a blender or food processor until smooth.
To assemble the sandwich, spread basil mayonnaise on both cut sides of the bread. Sprinkle the bacon on the bottom half and cover with the romaine leaves. Spread the tomato slices and cheese slices over the lettuce as evenly as possible -- be sure to use them all!
Mix the oil and vinegar together in a small bowl and drizzle over the tomatoes and cheese. Spread the remaining 1/3 cup of basil leaves over this and replace the top half of the bread.
Cut the sandwich crosswise into 2-inch thick slices and serve. I recommend lots of napkins. :-)

Enjoy -- It truly is as good as it looks! All I ask is, if you MUST use fat-free mayonnaise or turkey bacon, please don't tell me about it.