Doll

I’ve been a bit obsessed with Luna Moths for a while now. This photo went by in my Flickr photostream last May and it’s been haunting me. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to fit a luna moth image into what I do. I was worried that moths on babies might have a giant ick factor. I got over it.

The moth and the moon are cashmere- so soft.

leaf and embroidery details-

Baby on a blanket-

I have only seen a Luna Moth once in my life- 30 years ago. I vividly remember the feeling of awe.

the other ones are here and here.

and one more grandmother-

My favorite colors to play with-

I love making these viney flower designs.

And here is all three-

Hey! I finished something today. 2 things actually- 2 Grandmas.

These are the baking cookies, carry a turkey in at Thanksgiving kind of Grandmas.

I had so much trouble with the faces. Usually the face is the most fun part for me, but this time I just wasn’t getting it right. I re-did them several times. Finally I got something I liked- a face that looks happy.

Here is Grandma #1-

I think the back of her dress is pretty-

Color inspiration-

And Grandma #2-

And the back of her dress. Fun with polka dots!

And here are the 2 friends, sitting on the stoop after a hard day of cooking delicious food-

Ahhhhh!

?  That has got to be the reason for what has been going on in my studio this past week!

I am having a little problem with my focus. I started by cutting out three grandmas- a doll that has been waiting in line to be made for a long time-

but I needed to cut out some babies too, because I had *an idea*. (six babies) Actually, several design images floating around in my brain that really need to land on something soon-

So, I’m going along, working on the grandmas, and I get frustrated with the face (that is why it is not showing in the picture). Instead of moving over to the projects that I have already cut out, I start thinking about some gifts on my list. So, I cut out three tote bags-

hmmm. Now they are partially done too. Oh well, sooner or later I will have a finished project to show you- because I’ve got 12 of them going here!

I’m liking this fortune. Enough of the pretending that I am going to clean my house, organize my studio and weed the garden. Not working makes me crabby and anxious. So, back to my cool, dry (air-conditioned) oasis. Ahhhhh!

I need to get my hands back to wool. I’ve put the toile and tattoo men to the side for a while.

I’ve got poppies and Luna moths on my mind.

this is another version of the tattooed man as if from a black and white photo.

here is a super close-up of his face-

Here is a photo of the face before I washed off the fabric marking pen. I changed the eyes after I took the photo…

Three more men in vintage bathing suits, one sepia tone. I decided to wait and post these as a batch instead of one at a time, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday… seems like that would be repetitive and boring. I think that the sepia fellow looks odd with the other 2. I took loads of photos and was not satisfied with any of them. He looks better when paired with his other sepia friend.

Here they are in the order I finished them in-

#1

#2

#3-

I recently got an updated version of Wordpress. I hate trying to adjust to a new system. I get so frustrated, it makes me feel so stupid and  I am right back in 7th grade trying to memorize a french assignment. As far as I can tell, what I get for this aggravation is tags. What I have lost is understanding how to put pictures where I want them (among other things). So, I am sorry about how spread out everything looks- I couldn’t figure out how to put the long thin photos next to each other. I’ll probably figure it out in a year or so- right before the next upgrade. Whine, whine, whine….

I’ve been thinking about some different ways of approaching the men dolls. I got this idea about old photos- black & white and sepia tones. And also trying some other characters- hence this pirate.

He is various shades of browns. It was harder then I expected to get the browns right.

Back views-

I am back to work on fellows.  I am exploring some new ideas/directions.