party girl

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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!

another girl

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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.

this and that…

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I’ve been having a very social week- unusual for me. It is connected to the new school year although no one in my house is affected by that- first time in more years then I can remember. It is just one of those new month/year things- I need to connect with people I haven’t seen in a while.

I went over to see a friend to talk about studio design… I am probably going to be moving my studio so I am working on the fantasy planning stage- ie looking at other peoples’ spaces, online and in person. She has a lot of my art from the old pottery days. It was fun to see it hanging at her house-

She also had this amazing bit of advertising ephemera. It is a TIME magazine ad from November 1955 for Simplicity patterns. Can you imagine a sewing pattern company advertising in such a mainstream magazine now? Anyway- great Steinberg drawing, so funny text. If you can’t read it, you can check it out here on Flickr- click all sizes.

Last night I went up to Portsmouth, NH with Abby, for the opening of the Teeny Tiny Art Show at the Three Graces Gallery. Wow! Portsmouth is a happening place on the first Friday opening night. Here are Abby’s beautiful birds-

We also got to see Elsa‘s amazing paper cuts. I don’t think there is any way I could get an idea of the delicacy of these pieces without seeing them in person. I’m in awe.

Today, we are waiting for Tropical Storm Hanna to visit. It is very humid.

little witch #2

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I hope you aren’t getting tired of these little girls because I am still having fun with them. Here is another little witch… or maybe a Jane Eyre sort of girl.

She has a black undersuit, so her arms are black. Her dress is purple cashmere with a silk ribbon closure. It is hard to get the photos right when the colors are so dark.

I am excited about her hair-

I used the felt beads (I dyed them all black) again. 5 small ones for bangs, 5 big ones in the back.

Here is her scarf, off. I was very nervous about doing the hand-stitched button holes when I was dressing Marigold. I seem to have gotten over it and am having fun with them now!

The dress is made from the arms of a cashmere sweater, cut at about elbow length- 2 arms, cut open, pinned together, sewed up the sides to where the cuff starts.  Then sewing in at the top of the cuffs, about 1 inch on each side for shoulder seams. The cuffs are the bodice. Close zigzag at bottom edge for the ruffle. Add ribbon to gather.

Pansy

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Woohoo! Another doll out of limbo!

This doll ended up stalled because the body fabric totally overwhelmed me.

She is wearing a skinny cashmere dress. Sewed on shoes.

Pansy is the only flower I can think of that could possibly have all these colors!

Hair detail- boiled wool.

Sold

marigold

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When I first made the girl dolls in March 2007, I finished 5 of the 8 I started. Finally, at least one of these poor girls is coming out of limbo.

The “sisters” all had flower names so I am calling her Marigold. I always planned on this doll having removable clothes and maybe even a whole wardrobe. Her body was meant to look like she had on underwear.

She has a shirt made from a linen napkin. I kept the edging. Her skirt is made from Liberty of London fabric.

Sweater- cashmere of course!

Her shoes are sewed on, so she will be a sensible shoe kind of girl… forever.

And about Tropical girl and naked dolls and all. I like the idea of a removable grass skirt- sounds like fun to make. A good project for later today. Another event on todays schedule- I am going to give a talk about being an artist to the teen counselors at the local art camp/center. I’ve never done anything like it before- I’ll give you a report on it.

tropical girl

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This image from Flickr inspired me.

The sketch-

So what do I think about a naked doll? I was originally planning a fairy with little wings on her back. I changed my mind, thinking of Gauguin’s Tahiti paintings. Of course, just now as I was searching for a link to those paintings, I see that they are nothing like my idea. So, I was thinking about my vague memory of Gauguin’s Tahiti paintings.

I left her body undetailed except for fingers. I figured it would be a case of not knowing when to stop.

I was unsure of this doll last night. I had not cut her “hair” into locks. After looking at her for a while, I decided it looked too Lawrence of Arabia. I was nervous about cutting, but I like it a lot better.