Art Doll Fun

Art Dolls are particularly fun projects for me because I love costuming and dress up, as long as I get to remain in comfy clothes and shoes–so with dolls I can indulge. Making art dolls can be a way of expressing and working though strong feelings, of pleasurably and creatively spending time by yourself or with like minded friends. Some dolls I make from cloth, paper or clay from my own patterns, but I also enjoy staring with a pre-made cloth body and dressing it up. I like the portability of these small projects. You can do a lot in a few hours or continue to add more and develop their style.

I’ve spent many years dyeing natural fibers with Procion MX Series cold water dyes, and built up a lovely cache of cottons, silks, and rayon. So, I put together kits with fabric, lace, ribbons and 3,5,and 8 inch cotton dolls. Then to some I added goodies like sequins, beads, Angelina fibers, dyed feathers, polymer clay or ceramic faces and vintage silk sari trim ribbon. I had a wonderfully colorful time adding ingredients to each kit, and now it is time to share the fun, so art doll kits are going up for sale in my shop here. I’ll be adding more all month!

Shown here is an art doll made from a 5″ art doll kit. I used scissors, a needle and thread, and some E-6000 to affix the polymer clay face to the body. I put a small heavy box on her as a weight as the glue dried to get a good bond. I used everything in the kit except a dozen beads or so. She looked great, but I wanted more..so I added some size 11 gold glass seed beads and size 15 glass purple beads. Much better! She still needs a bit of glitter, some feathers, some paper flowers…but I will come back to her another day. That’s my favorite way to play with dolls! In the meantime, I get to make up samples from the 3 and 8 inch doll kits next. Stay tuned!