but he turned out to be more of a biker dude. That happens sometimes. Well, actually a lot. I start out making one thing and it turns into something else. I’m not one to have it all planned out before I start.
I made him a vest- red paisley from a Liberty shirt that had belonged to my Dad. I made his head tie out of it too. The vest just wasn’t working so I ended up using the fancy paisley side for the inside. Now there is a surprise inside.
I like his blue hair.
I’ve always thought of myself as an artist with girl appeal. When I used to do pottery, my work was painted with images of women and children, mostly mirroring what was going on in my life. There would be open studios at the building I worked in and when couples came in, I would see the man’s eyes glaze over. When I started making dolls, it was pretty much the same. Probably even more so. After all, what is more girly then dolls? Then I started noticing a change. It started out with the robots… then the tikis, and now the tattooed men. When I started showing them in my booth, I would notice that men would come over to get a closer look. Even if they weren’t with a woman. Wow! Big changes!
Now that I am in my show season- pretty minimal by most artists’ schedule- 3 during the fall months, I’m thinking about making dolls especially to encourage a wider audience to look at my work. So, I finally finished up 2 tattooed guys for the market last weekend.
I had them hanging on my folding screen. The funniest thing- I saw a number of kids walk up to look at them, stare for a minute and then pose- mimicing the tattooed men. I loved it!
Anyway, I will be making a few more of these but they will probably be reserved for the shows I’ll be doing- October 12 and Dec. 13 and 14.
some dolls fight me all the way. This is one of them.
She’s had several different outfits. And, different legs. The thing is, I really liked her head- the face, hair, expression… I just had such a hard time getting the rest of her to work for me. Something wouldn’t look right so I’d go work on another doll. This one was what got all the rest of them finished!
In the end, I’ve made her something fairly simple and that works the best. Isn’t it always the way!
This is the last of the girls for now. I am spending this week getting ready for the Market this coming weekend. I am trying to finish all the half finished projects in my studio right now. I need to get my banner ready to hang and tag everything. All that little stuff takes so much time. I won’t be showing anymore finished pieces until next week.
This little one is looking fancy!
I love her dress and how a silk ribbon and a bow make for perfect party shoes.
back view- little wool ball buns, silk ribbon gathers and sash-
It is a funny thing about taking photos. It makes me see things in a different way. I dyed the cashmere “skin” fabric and have been sewing with it to make this doll. When I looked at the photos, I noticed the texture. Honestly, it is not so noticeable when I look at the doll next to me. In some of the photos, it looked like teddy bear fur- yikes! I could relate to Claire’s post about taking photos.
2 girls together.
And on last one of her-
I would have to say the colors are not great in these photos- I would say that the dress is grape jelly, the skin color is light brown M&M. The reds are almost raspberry. Yummy!
I am finding these drawings very inspiring. I love flickr. There is so much amazing artwork!
Tropical Storm Hanna came through- we got lots of rain and my sunflowers sort of tipped-
Not so bad, and by Sunday we were having a beautiful day. I went down to the South End Open Market to see friends and do booth research. I will be showing there during the South End Open Studios weekend on Sept. 20 and 21. On Columbus Day weekend, October 12, I will be part of a Boston Handmade event at the market. I’ve been very busy doing all the little (and mostly annoying) things that need to get done before a show. Today’s big excitement (doesn’t take much) is that I will now be able to take credit cards- I’ve got my very own card imprinter- otherwise known as a knucklebuster.
Last night I spent the evening watching the first four episodes of the first season of Project Runway while I packaged up my magnet sets. That was a great way to get a boring job done. I have to line up all the jobs I can do while watching and then I’ll be able to finish the season- ahhh, inspiration!
Anyway, in between the other stuff, I have been trying to finish up some more dolls. Today I got one done. My brain must be totally fried because I can’t think clearly enough to come up with a name. Maybe later.
The good photo light is gone pretty early these days- mostly due to the angle of the shadows and how they hit my house and yard. I waited late enough to do these photos that I was working in shadows. I did find one place where the sun was still shining- I like the shadow of her hair.
with orange hair.
Her cape fastens with an antique button.
and it is removable-
I made a “jelly roll” of 2 colors of wool for her hair curl.
and in these over-exposed photos, you can actually see the details in the black cashmere clothes-
Another girl, another cashmere dress. I have been thinking about a little girl doll with these buns for 1 1/2 years. Finally she got to the front of the line.
I used the cuff of the cashmere sweater as the bodice.
The buns are made of felt beads.
And, since I know everyone wants to see- under the dress-
Cashmere dress with cashmere and angora roses. Misty and very soft. So soft black cashmere hair.
