Gessoed and ready for texture

Doesn't she look better all one color? What a relief!

It's a good thing she's going to be coated with texture medium. I had no idea she was so rough.

I am continually amazed by how much detail these photos pick up that I just *don't see* when the piece is right there in front of me.


Her "inny" belly button turned into an "outy" due to an air bubble that didn't show itself to me until she was baked. Grrrrr.....


And, I still love her little bottom. This photo also clearly shows the break where the torso joins the candlestick. Can you see the line at the base of the ribs?

Whew! It's a GOOD thing she will be clothed!

A Magical Sculpt

Yes, Magical I say. This body practically sculpted itself.

This photo was taken outside in later afternoon sunshine. I thought I would get truer color this way, but it didn't work out that way. The clay did darken a bit in baking, but not nearly this much!

I had a little trouble with the candlestick base. It was too wide for the torso so I had to sand it down with the Dremel. You can still see a hint of an outline of the top of the candlestick under the clay, but it's all going to be covered with other things so I won't worry about it too much. I would have peeled off the clay and resculpted if I had intended to leave her nude.

I really need to get a photo reference of anatomy. There is still something not quite exactly right with her neck tendons.

This is the back view. She actually has a much cuter little bottom than this photo shows. It will be a little bit of a shame to cover it up.

True confessions time... I find I enjoy sculpting little butts.

I have to gather my courage and get working on a full body sculpt soon.

Anyway, she's cool enough now for a layer of gesso. Off to find the paintbrush!

Stealing Time

I should be at the gym -- pilates class is half over as I type. But today I rebel as I simply *must* make something with my hands besides dinner.

This little head is the beginning of a bust sculpture I am making in Jean Bernard's class at Class Heaven.

I tried very hard not to take this class, but I caved in when I saw what Judi W was doing with her class piece on her Art Doll blog . She is also the one who has been enticing me into the world of paper art. If you check out her blog, you will see why. She is a very talented lady whom I would LOVE to know personally.


Anyway, I managed to get this little head sculpted. The class calls for a press mold for the face, but I don't have one the proper size, and I'd rather make my own anyway. I learned that, even though the color of the clay won't show in the finished piece, it is not a good idea to scuplt a single piece in multiple colors. I should have started over when I began having difficulties seeing details, but I was was too stubborn. Leave it to me t do things the hard way... ;-)


Here is the same head with 2 coats of gesso. As soon as the gesso is dry I can begin to put it together with its pedestal. I am so excited! I love to sculpt! This is my first "eyes closed" head. I'm not crazy about the look -- I like to see a soul behind the eyes -- but I finally managed to sculpt a pretty mouth. It will be interesting to see this character evolve.

Off playing instead of creating

We finally got a chance this past weekend to visit my son and his wife in their new home in Bremerton, WA. Oh my, was it every hot there, but we had a nice visit -- I am so happy to see *them* so happy in a house of their own.

On Friday evening they took us on a picnic at a little cove park near their home. I love picnics! Alice took this photo of Jake and I together. It's one of the few I have of the 2 of us in the same picture, so I will treasure it. I think I will have the girls take more of the photos on our trips... it's nice to be actually IN the photos instead of the one who takes them all the time.

Well, it looks as if I had better count my blessings and be glad that I got this one photo to load. Blogger is being tempermental this morning and won't let me put up anything else.

sigh...

I am creating still, but nothing is really worth photographing at the moment. It has been SO hot that I can't work upstairs this week. I will get back to my painting when it cools off. I am still working on "Eustacia" but the clothing patterns didn't fit the body I created, so it's back to the drawing board for some redrafting. Ugh. But, unless I want yet another naked doll on the unfinished pile under my work table, it has to be done. I hope to have at least her gown finished this afternoon...

Flat Stanley on the move

This little guy is Shashi's Flat Stanley doll from our round robin. He is even more adorable in real life than he is in these scans, and the little charmer knows it, too!

My contribution to him is the crocheted muscle shirt. He says now he wants to be a body builder like Jake when he grows up. (I *told* you he was a charmer. )






Here's another scan of him, this time from the back. I am crazy about the embroidery on his
shirt! I would never have thought of that.

I have finished his journal too and will pop him into the mail to Linda in Canada tomorrow.

I will miss the little guy. I couldn't help but smile every time I saw him sitting there on my work table. I hope Shashi loves him as much as I do when he finally gets home!

I've been busy these days, too busy to post. That, and I have to fight the girls for my share of time at the computer!! I am still creating though, in the minutes I have between other things. I'd go crazy if I couldn't...

These are bodies made from the same piece of doe suede using exactly the same pattern pieces ("Eustacia" by Mary Tressler). The only difference is that the pieces for the doll on the left were cut with the stretch going around her body. The doll on the right has the stretch running lengthwise. I am amazed by the differences in their shaping!

My family agrees that the doll on the left has a more attractive and realistic shape. She was also much easier to stuff, by the way. Her head looks deformed at the crown where the seams join, but that will be covered eventually so I won't worry too much about it. This doll will be travelling next week -- she is my beginning contribution to a round robin exchange. I am so excited to be a part of this RR. I can't wait to see what everyone else does!

I prefer the head on the tall doll. I will be giving her limbs and a costume this week. It will be so interesting to compare these 2 when the Traveller returns home...

I started a painting this week too. This is the underlayer of what will be a collage of rice papers and watercolor paints. I learned this technique from a video I bought off eBay -- I am just waiting for the rice papers I ordered to be delivered.

I am kind of glad for this break in the action though, because I notice in the photo that the waterfall isn't falling straight (oh my!) Not a big problem, as it will be covered and repainted in the collage process. It will be interesting to see how much if any of this first layer of color will be visible in the final painting.

The photo has been *heavily* edited to crop out the rest of my painting room -- gads, what a mess! I didn't notice that until I looked at the photo either (oops!) Time to get in there and put some stuff away!

Second Post -- Family photos this time

One of these days, I will learn HTML and figure out how to get these photos uploaded right the first time I try. ARGHHHHH!

Anyway...

I took a series of photos of the family that I wanted to share, especially for the sake of you on dial-up who won't get the e-mail versions.

This is Lydia and Sailor the dachshund leading the way on a family hike one evening on our recent camping trip. Those 2 are so compatible with each other -- Sailor is quite a lot like having a 3rd teenager in the house.

Jake and Alice were the clowns of the trip. It's a good thing these 2 love each other -- their senses of humor can leave me speechless sometimes...












Here is a sample of what I mean... Lydia is just a little afraid of heights, so OF COURSE these 2 had to freak her out by pretending to dive off the top of South Falls, a drop of "only" 177 feet.

Um, yeah... right...




On the other hand, she's sort of cute...










...and he's pretty darned photogenic as well...




...and Lydia and Sailor are none the worse for wear after all... (if Sailor looks a little weird in this photo, it is because he was jumping about 6 inches into the air as I snapped the shot)









... AND he's pretty nice to me too. I think I'll keep him.

Yet another new Art Hobby

We had the best of Good Times this week as we went camping at Silver Creek Falls State Park, just outside of Silverton, Oregon. It has become a tradition in our family to spend Alice's birthday (which also happens to be the first day of summer) up there, sort of as a practice run for any trips we may take later in the season. I can't believe we are home again already, but I took a bunch of photos and have been having fun reliving the moments as I edit them.

I think this is one of the best photos I have ever created. It is actually a digital composite of a series of photos I took at the base of South Falls, the tallest Fall in the park at 177 feet. I am slowly learning some of the more intricate tricks my imaging program can perform -- too fun!

If I keep on at this rate, I will NEVER get "caught up" with my scrapbooking though. grumblegrumble...

The Falls are my favorite spot on the planet (so far!) and I am thrilled to have finally, after 24 years of photographing them, gotten an image that approximates the beauty of the actual place. The next time we go to the park, I will have to try the same trick with North Falls, which is my favorite of the 10 in the canyon.

The conditions on this day were perfect. I hope this picture makes you feel as I did at that moment -- as if I were standing in the middle of a bowl of golden light.

This one isn't quite so good. I think there was just too great a difference in the light conditions between where I was standing (UNDER the waterfall!) and what I was trying to photograph. Nevertheless, I think it is cool that I have finally discovered a way to capture the entire view -- from below my feet to high above my head -- in a single image.

Now, if this had been Lower South Falls, I would have been close enough to the water to put my hand in it.

Some day I will go back without the dogs (unfortunately, no pets are allowed in the canyon) and attempt to capture ALL the falls. What a wall display THAT will make!

Why I Don't Make Teddy Bears...

Will you just look at this poor little creature?? Too much blush, bad embroidery, and, to add insult to injury, his little ears are SO out of alignment. His nose could have used another line or two of stitching, and his eyes aren't indented evenly.

On the other hand, after an afternoon's work in front of a movie -- one of my last solo afternoons before my girls are out of school for the summer -- he is finally assembled and no longer lying in fragments under my cutting table where he has lived since approximately 1998. This is definitely a Good Thing.

All the "quickly doable" old projects from under the table have now been completed. I am longing to begin something new, but there are still quite a few dolls to be worked on. Most of them are pretty cool too, so it's not as if I don't *want* to finish them. (Except maybe that white/white doll who is causing me so much grief -- WHY does she hate everything I do for her??)And I really do NEED to get these girls out of my work space if I ever want to have any hope of sanity in there.

It's way more fun to start something new though, LOL!

I do not need another hobby.
That being said, I had 22 years of photographs that needed re-archiving (is that a word?) and so I went -- reluctantly! -- down the scrapbooking road. OK, I confess, I love stickers!

Now I have gotten into digital scrapbooking. As much as I love my scissors and glue (and stickers!), I have to say that this is way more fun.

What is it about the computer screen that I find SO addicting? Honestly, I can (and have!) sit here for hours! Maybe it's because computer stuff makes me feel smarter. hehehe...

It is also something of an "instant gratification" thing, as these are so much faster and more fun to do. I know, I know... they are VERY basic layouts, but I find that I actively dislike the current trend of throwing everything INCLUDING the kitchen sink in with a simple photograph in a layout. TOO MUCH!

On the other hand, now I'm afraid I have developed a desire for a copy of Photoshop...

Please welcome "Poppy"

I am working on overcoming my chronic "Fear of Finishing". It is very common for me to get to a certain point in a successful project and then freeze -- I don't dare touch it again for fear of ruining it. Hence, the pile of nearly completed objects under my cutting table...

This morning I forced myself to pick up this former "Baby so Beautiful" and finish her. I managed to do some minor damage to her wings, but I FINISHED her ANYWAY. I am tickled to death with her -- her customizations are totally out of my own head. I probably would have done things differently if I had had a "real" plan before beginning, but hey, I learned a few things to try on the next one. And there will be a next one -- this is too much fun. The new victim is getting her bath at this very moment.

So here she is. Please meet "Poppy", the flower fairy. I had an interesting time getting a photo of her -- I think her green skin confused my photo editing software, LOL. These colors are pretty true.

The detail that gets the most smiles is the little spider and web in the upper right of her bustier.

I think she wants something in her hands, but no ideas are coming to me yet.

I had to use my largest drill bit to make the holes to insert her wings. THAT was scarey! Now that I look at the photos, I think I want to add some more of the microbead tattoos to her back. The rear view is a little skimpy compared to the front...

I really like the closure on her bustier. Even my daughters now admit that she looks sweet in it.

The green and orange fabrics are silk charmeuse from my stash that were part of a Kool-Aid dying experiment years ago. I LOVE that shade of orange -- I knew I would find just the right project for it one day!

Now, does anyone have any tips on how to glue on a wig without getting glue all over the hair???

This poor baby has spent the last 10 or so years in the bottom of my daughter's toy box. She is a grimy mess, but isn't she pretty??

Roses come to mind immediately as a flower for her, but I think I want to let that stew for a little while. She has such exotic coloring that perhaps a more exotic flower (or butterfly?) would be more fun...

Fairy Baby update

She is completely painted now -- it was SO hard to stop. I was just having way too much fun. Dinner became nothing more than pita burgers as I completely lost track of time. Bless my family! They understand that when I am "in the zone" I am useless for much of anything else and are usually willing (and hungry enough) to eat what gets shoved in front of them.


Here is a close up of her face. I am pleased with the way her tattoos show in the photo as they are quite subtle in real life. The highlight on her lower lip is not so pale however. I think it's just the way the vinyl is catching the light from the window.

Didn't her skin tone turn out great?!




I'm about half way done with her costume. The plan is for her to be a little goth-ish flower fairy. Is that too big a contradiction? Her wings still need a few more embellishments -- I need to take a photo of the back view so you can see how they blend into her body. It was scarey drilling the holes to insert the wings. It took the biggest bit I have to make a hole large enough. They looked HUGE, but a little more Aves around the hole and blended into her skin holds the wings nicely stable.

Her tights fit perfectly, and the underbodice is just the right color. In spite of my daughters' protests ("She's a baby Mom!") she will have a bustier of lavender silk dupioni embroidered with silk ribbon, and then an underskirt of "flower petals" made of silk dyed with Kool-Aid.

I can't wait for her wig to get here.

Honestly, I haven't had this much fun on a project in years.

I painted my little fairy girl last night. Oooohhh, that made for a bad moment just at first. She turned out WAY too green, AND her wig melted in the oven. (Oh dear!) On the other hand, the wig will be easy enough to replace (I didn't like it much anyway,) and the vinyl softened up enough to pop her head off to make her easier to work with. All is not lost after all!

I added a second wash of paint, this time a pale flesh color, which toned down the green nicely. Then yet another wash of a rosy/lavender/flesh to blush, and then some final touches of blue in the creases. Very fairy-esque! All she needs now are her tattoos. Still thinking those should be gold...

The tights are made from a striped T-shirt -- I honestly thought I had matched the stripes better than that. It's amazing how photography shows up flaws that I just don't notice otherwise. I've got her bustier made except for the eyelets. Her skirt is cut out and the wings are in progress. This little girl is addicting!

Here are the photos I promised of my white-on-white doll in progress. The glare in the photo washes out the nice tones of the silk her gown and robe are made of, which is too bad, but turning off the flash robbed her face and hair piece of their detail. Sigh...

She is made from a Kezi's "Dollmaker's Angel" pattern, which has a lovely realistic body, but weird arms and legs. It's as is she can't decide whether to be an art or a play piece. Fortunately, her clothing hides the flaws and hangs nicely from her body.

I lost the instructions for making her wings, so I am using the instructions from an online class I took this spring from Jean Bernard. These wings made of shredded crystal organza and floral wire. The upper wire is reinforced with Aves. I still have the painting and glitter and bead embellishments to add -- these are labor intensive wings!

I will be so So SO happy to finish this doll. She isn't nearly as much fun as I had hoped.

Second Post

I am having some weird episodes with my internet connection lately, so I split today's entry in order to just get SOMETHING up on the blog. It's been a while since I've had a chance to post, and these interruptions are becoming quite frustrating...

Here is my little Goodwill baby with her ears and toes sculpted. I have painted the additions a flesh color and they are now in the oven for a heat set. The next step will be to add a wash of color to the vinyl to give her a fairy skin tone. I am thinking that a very pale green with violet shadows will be what she wants.

Fortunately, if she DOESN'T want it, the Genesis paint wipes right off until it's heat set.

Then for some tattoos -- in metallic gold? -- and her costume and wings and she'll be all set.

I'd *like* to post some photos of my white-on-white doll in progress, but I think I will take what I can get today and run with it. I'll try again tomorrow and see if I can catch a more reliable connection.

Instant gratification

Yes, I CAN finish what I start, and here is the proof. I bought the fabric for these pillowcases on a whim -- the prints just *fit* my daughters' personalities so well as to make them irresistable. And I am a HUGE Laurel Birch fan. Lydia didn't have to twist my arm at all to get me to buy the horse print from the LB fabric line. I love the way she uses color. Sigh...

Anyway, I sewed them up this morning. It's a pity the LB horse print doesn't show up better in the photo. It is a spectcular print. Aren't they cute??! And best of all, the girls like them too. It has been a long time since they let me make something for them. I hadn't realized I missed that feeling so much.


It feels very VERY good to FINISH a project and get the remnants out of my sewing room! I am trying -- really really trying -- to finish other ongoing projects, but, true to form, they are taking longer than I had anticipated when I began.



This little girl is a Goodwill rescue that was just too cute to pass up. She is in wonderful condition, but very very DIRTY. A hot bath cleaned her up nicely. (Her legs are off in the photo so that the interior of her body can dry too -- they went back on before I worked with her again.)

The ultimate plan is to rework her into a fairy in the style of Amy Brown. We will see if this is an idea the works as well in practice as well as it does in my imagination!

I think it's safe now

Here is the surprise doll I mentioned last week. Her name is "Serenity Rose" which is such a lovely and appropriate name -- she is going to live with my Mom as a Mother's Day gift. I didn't want to post her photo too soon, as mom checks the blog now and again and I didn't want to spoil her surprise. My dear dear Mom is so hard to choose gifts for. I hope she likes her...

She is a heavy girl -- over 3 pounds! -- fully clothed with painted shoes and features. I used my Genesis paints and I am SO happy with the results. Those paints are such a pleasure to use. I just with I could get a supply of them locally. Thank goodness for mail order!

I have 3 more fully assembled dolls now sitting on my cutting table waiting for clothes. It feels so good to clear out that backlog of parts off the floor. I haven't taken any photos yet, but I will do a "dolls in progress" spread today or tomorrow to show what I've been up to. It is amazing how mind-cleansing it is to actually FINISH a few things!

Paying Dues

This is one of those days when I wonder if I am *really* cut out to be a farm wife... I love living on the farm, but some days aren't as idyllic as others, and this is work that needs to be done. On the other hand, it was nothing a trip to town and some new paper and ink couldn't help alleviate. ;-) Whether or not to leave and get away from the noise and dust was never the question -- how long to stay away was another issue!

I have been creating like a maniac in my newly cleaned studio, but I can't share pictures of my latest project just yet. It's a surprise... So in the meantime, I'm going to tell you what's been going on here all day, and then you can decide for yourself if the inks and (beautiful, gorgeous, luscious, HAND-MADE) papers were worth the gas for the trip!

Both the north field and the west field were mown yesterday. A dry east wind has been blowing ever since, so a light fluffing was all the grass needed before it was ready to be chopped and packed in the silo. Unfortunately, I didn't think to get out my camera until the "fluffer-nutter" (as I call it) had already left. It is a fascinating machine to watch in action.

Here we are looking into the north field where you can see the chopper (in front) blowing the grass into the truck behind it. This truck will then take the grass to the other side of the farm to the silo for packing. The other truck on the right is waiting to take its place when the first truck is full.


This is the same truck dumping its load of grass in front of the silage pit, all ready for the tractors to push up into a neat, tidy, and well packed-down pile so that it can ferment properly without drying into hay or developing mold. That's Jake in the tractor on the right -- I haven't seen him all day. I wonder if he has had anything to eat yet...

Off it goes to get back in line for another load. And so it goes... and goes... and goes...

They've been at it all afternoon, and, while progress is being made, they won't be done for a while yet. (It's nearly 6:30 p.m. now.) Jake's dinner will be VERY cold by then...

What we go through to feed our cows!

This is the part that makes me nervous. Those tractors are plenty big enough for the job -- at least they look big enough when they are down on the ground where they belong. But look how high up they go!!!

Man was not meant to crawl around like a bug in big machines on top of huge piles of stuff, no matter HOW much fun they're having.

It's not nearly as nerve wracking to watch as when they o corn in the fall, but it still makes me plenty thankful when the grass is all piled up and covered and my man is safely back down on the ground. It's not that I don't trust him to know what he's doing... I just can't bear to watch!

The curse of an over-active imagination!


Julianna the llama and Penny the old pony are sublimely unconcerned.

It is a beautiful evening.

Irish Eyes Have A Reason to Smile at Last!

This is "Gracie", designed by Sherry Goshon and made by me. I adore her little Mona Lisa smile, don't you? Sherry's faces are so expressive! Just look at those gorgeous green eyes. :-)

Gracie herself has been sitting (hatless) in my collection for several years, while the figure of her little rag doll has been languishing on the floor under my cutting table for just as long. (poor baby...!)

I cleaned my sewing room this week, and now have 9 (!) unfinished dolls sitting on my cutting table. I didn't even count the ones sitting in the laundry basket where I store my supply of doll hair. (Ooooh, ouch... cringing!)

This morning I picked up the little raggedy, dressed her, gave her some hair, and made Gracie's hat. I think I put in maybe 2 hours work total. A bunch of the other beings awaiting completion are just as near to being finished. Hmmmm... I am seeing a pattern here, but I'm not sure quite what it means...

Perhaps I just like to go shopping for more patterns and supplies!

A couple of them were false starts; they have been dismantles and reduced to their parts for recycling. Some are stalled due to "operator error" -- I hating fixing mistakes! -- these have had the mistakes undone and are ready to resume progress. Whew!

I think I might just finish some dolls this week.

Could it Possibly Be... Spring?!

If you live in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, you come to expect rain, especially in April. So, when the sun shines in April, it is a Big Deal indeed!

We opened the door to the outside for the weaned calves -- this is the first time in their lives these little girls have been out of the barn, and most were staying quite firmly inside, thank you very much. A few were a bit more adventurous. These calves have it figured out. Don't they look happy?

These particular tulips are volunteers in the window box on the back porch. My mother-in-law never planted any but red and yellow tulips when she lived here. Even though tulips are one of my favorite flowers of all time, I am so burned out on gardening by the time the fall rolls around that I have never gotten around to planting bulbs ever... Who knows where these beauties came from -- but they are a special gift from life to my garden and I just love looking at them. Fortunately, from this angle you can't see the mass of weeds that is taking over the flower bed in the background!

This is "Fili", Alice's favorite barn cat. He doesn't like me much because I never bring him food. This is about as close as he ever lets me get to him -- I think he was just curious to see what the heck I was doing (taking photos of the calves) and came up close in spite of his better judgement! I know this is a horridly lit photo, but hey! he was gone 2 seconds later so I am lucky to have caught him at all! He isn't much to look at -- none of the barn cats are except for Pretty Momma -- but he is a nice little boy.

This is what I grabbed to work on while waiting for the apoxy clay to harden on my Water Spirit

In my ongoing effort to FINISH a few of the major projects I have underway, I decided to pick up and do the hand sewing on the Baba Yaga mask of my Smallworks topsy turvy doll. The mask is made in 3 pieces (upper face, lower face, and nose)using an interesting and unique trapunto technique; it took some fussy work, but it wasn't difficult and the results are fantastic. I still want to sharpen up the detail around the eye area and add a few more "age spots".

The next step will be her headdress, which will give her head a more finished look, and perhaps make her seem a touch more human -- this view is just scary! I doubt I will get to it this week -- I want to keep going on my Water Spirit figure -- and working on her in bits and pieces is the only way to keep my sanity on this project. This doll has already taken a HUGE investment in time and energy, but she will be worth it in the end I think.

Blessed Easter!

We had a lovely holiday weekend -- busy but very fulfilling, and a blessing in every way. Unfortunately, it also meant 3 entire days with no art at all! With the many distractions of church, family, dairy business (ASK me about my audit with the gentleman from the State Employment Department yesterday!) and general holidaying, my attention has been more fragmented than I would have liked. Fortunately, my faithful spinning wheel is always there to keep my hands busy when my mind isn't able to focus on what they are doing.

The three pink skeins are a blend of romney wool and mohair from a farm just north of here. It was a delight to spin -- almost spun itself! -- but a little more coarse than I had anticipated. This will go nicely into a future weaving project, I'm sure

The brown is a wool/luxury fiber blend that is softness itself, but a bit lumpy. Definitely a character yarn.

I got a little work done on my Water Spirit on Friday as planned. I put in a DVD and made the "splash" armatures. These were constructed in the same way as the wings of my dragon bust.

(I have to think of a name for that guy yet...)

It took the entire movie to make the 5 armatures, but I am very pleased with the form so far. Alas, they aren't quite sturdy enough to bear the weight of the polyclay, so I will reinforce them with some Aves Apoxy.

This is not a hardship as I have been dying for an excuse to give the Aves a try. I loved the Magic Sculpt, and I am eager to see how the Aves compares.
.
This is a close up of the armature. You can see how well it fits the base and the figure form.

I didn't measure or plan, just "eyeballed" it. I get in trouble sometimes with my "seat of the pants" approach to planning a project, but it worked for me this time.
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This morning I finally got a chance to get back to work on it and cover the armatures with the Aves. Interesting stuff... stickier than the Magic Sculpt, but easier to blend and perhaps a touch easier to handle. When you come right down to it, it's about exactly the same though.

OK, now what! The day has barely begun, and I am stuck waiting for my clay to harden. Growl!

I COULD always go clear off the top of my work table, which became the universal repository of stuff when the carpet cleaner was here last week...