Jun 20, 2013
I’ve made great progress on projects this Spring, and I’m celebrating the Summer Solstice working on more.
I’ve learned a lots recently–from odd count peyote stitch and right angle weave beading to making my first ball jointed doll in polymer clay.
Meet Aurora Rose! I really like how she turned out; not bad for the first try. Of course, I’ve made a few dolls of various sorts before…but I also know that each one gives you experience in new things, and she certainly did.
I rearranged my living room and laundry room to provide more work space and access to all my fabric and my sewing machine. After a good cleaning and oiling, it runs like a champ, and its been doing so since 1960. I just love my heavy old Singer, and wouldn’t trade it for the newer models.
I got patterns for her clothing from Matisse Fashions (Brenda is an incredible seamstress/designer) and found that I remembered how to sew pretty well but will no doubt improve with more practice this summer. Lots to do!
She’s show here in a variation of the pleated chemise and drawers patterns. I didn’t add the waistband, and left it a bit long to be a set of cool cotton pj’s made of fine cotton lawn and embroidered with peach roses and teal green leaves.
Dharma Trading Co. carries cotton lawn and many other wonderful fabrics for use in doll making and clothing too.
See more info and pictures of how Aurora Rose came together here.
May 6, 2013
We’re almost done with Spring Semester and in between studying for finals and doing my homework, I’m working on projects for upcoming books through PolyMarket Press, my burgeoning publishing empire.
I went back to college to learn the programs needed for publishing, and I’m now one Business Math class away from an Associate of Applied Science degree in Media Graphic Design (Print and Publication). I’ve taken a lot of art classes along the way too, which, though they don’t count towards the degree, have been wonderful learning experiences in ceramics, metal work, and watercolor as well as web design and graphic arts.
I’m signed up to finish this degree during summer semester–along with finishing several new printed books and E-books. Some are mine, and some are with other artists and authors. I’m excited to see the growth of skill and projects and the forming connections that strengthen both the work and the workers.
I’m also getting back to working with polymer clay now that the weather is turning warm again. I’m documenting the progress of dolls for Making Faces, Molds & Forms.
That includes new forays into ball jointed figures and making set-in eyes as well as painting eyes on clay and on fabric.
Here’s a look at a sketch for ball jointed dolls in several scales and a pair of eyes that are part of the 15 inch doll I’ve started. I’ve got the foil armature covered with a layer of paper mache, all ready to cover with polymer as soon as school is out and we are on break. It was easy to work to the right size with a sketch. Thats not something I usually do, but I wanted to give it a try along with with making the ball joints instead of a single pose sculpt.
The eyes are shown on the back of a business card, to give you the scale. They are around 1/2 inch in diameter. I’ll be making lots more too, as I’ve got dolls to make and tutorials to write and shoot.
They just HAPPEN to be sizes that go with the projects I’m putting together for Think Inside The Box-–which will feature many projects that transform boxes into beautiful miniatures in several scales and styles!
Here’s the armoire that is part of that doll’s suite. She gets an armoire, a bed, a bedside table, a rug and other decorative details, and a wall.
There will be variations on that in other sizes and styles; but this is a start!
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a frozen food box with 2 tea boxes, with a priority mail box added at the base next
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two layers of paper mache and dowel rod
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ready to line the drawers with paper, add knobs to the doors, and some wire hangers
Aug 27, 2012
Laura Humenik of Lands Glory Artisan Jewelry and I had a booth at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Festival this year. I saw lots of beautiful quilts while there, and the dolls from the Hoffman challenge too. While sales were slow, it was good to get out and try my new grid display and new ways of presenting things in the booth. It’s also a great way to see what is popular in this area and what I need to make more of before the next upcoming shows. All in all, we were glad for a chance to try and new venue and see how everything looked set up in this configuration! I really do like my new grid displays. This time I have them set up like a folding screen. Here are some pics from the show–click the image to see a larger version.
Aug 5, 2012
Quilters, beaders, and textile artists are some of the most colorful people I know!
There will be a lot of us–and a lot of color going on–at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Festival coming up this August 17-18-19 in Loveland, Colorado.
Please come see me and Laura Humenik at our booth #LL and see all the hand dyed scarves, ribbons, textiles, and Spirit Doll Kits. Shown here are some three inch tall colorful babes that are hand dyed cotton with polymer clay faces attached, all ready to decorate. Now I have to finish packing them up with sequins, and dyed feathers, ribbons, fabric and other trims! The colors are all a result of our Annual Dyeing Days color marathons.
We’ll have beads, cabochons, buttons, and all sorts of beautiful, colorful wearable art, and art-parts!
Title: Rocky Mountain Quilt Festival
Location: The Ranch | 5280 Arena Circle Loveland, CO 80538 Booth #LL
Link out: Click here
Description:
Fri. August 17, 2012 10 am – 5 pm
Sat. August 18, 2012 10 am – 5 pm
Sun. August 19, 2012 10 am – 4 pm
Start Date: 2012-08-17
End Date: 2012-08-19
Apr 22, 2011
I’ve been busy with all of my classes at Front Range Community College this Spring. That’s true of the classes that I’m taking now, the ones I’m preparing to take in the Fall, and the ones I’m listing to teach this summer through the Continuing Education department. We are still working out final dates as the Boulder County Campus in Longmont CO is closed on Sundays, so the classes listed as being on Sunday now will be moving to a different day, probably Friday. But that’s ok–online registration isn’t open yet anyway. I’ll update the dates and the links to register very soon, but for now you can take a look at what classes are coming up! You can also see polymer clay beads on wire pendants I made in our metal jewelry classroom and how I strung the hand bead that I made of ceramics and PMC (Precious Metal Clay) that was featured in the previous post–here it is now.
