Visit with Royalty, Part II

If someone had asked me five years ago if I ever thought I'd be a doll collector, 

I'd have looked at them funny and said, "Seriously?"  

But now that I've spent so much time studying them--from the dolls found in prehistorical grave sites to the "modern" dolls of today--I find it impossible not to find them fascinating in their own right.  The sociological aspect alone is enough to make me want to write a thesis.  I've only touched the surface of the topic in my studies, I know this.  But the more I learn, the more I want to learn.

What does that have to do with being a doll collector?  Well, I'm not one!  Am I?  Well, at least not in the traditional sense.  But what is the traditional sense?  Technically, more than two makes a collection.  In that case, the silly smiling Treasure Trolls that have added themselves to my life over the years makes it official, to heck with definitions.  Maybe I should go to meetings now.

Hello, my name is Jan Conwell, and I am a doll collector.  

Right now I can only afford PICTURES of certain dolls, because of house payments and groceries and silly things like that.  But pictures are good, if that's what you can get.  I got the following pictures, while visiting with Nan the Izannah Walker doll at Lady Collector's house.  Lady is a collector in every sense of the word, and her collection is awe-inspiring.  Hers focuses mainly on early to mid-century composition, but she did have a few cloth dolls, of which Nan was one...and then she had this pair. 

These are first generation Kathe Kruse dolls, so sweet in person that the pictures just don't do them justice.  They're heavier, smaller, and stiffer than I expected, given their adorable slumpy posture.  There's an unexpected blend of the primitive and complex in their construction at first touch.  These early dolls were sewn from so many pieces, they were more like fabric sculptures...but done with the materials, methods, and tools available back then (early 1900's), which gives them an innocence that's hard to explain in light of that realistically sculpted face.

The face gets me every time.  Hard to believe that's molded cloth, isn't it?  Here's a short history of these dolls, from the first generation (like this pair) to the modern ones...

Thank you again, Lady Collector, for letting me meet these little sweeties.

They inspire the artist in me to create, even if the collector has to wait a while.

Sending Cinderella to the Ball.

Okay, well not really the Ball, like in Handsome Prince and all that because she's still wearing her work clothes.  But she IS going to a rather interesting party--more of a come-as-you-are sort of thing.  The attendees will all be Storybook Dolls from the members of MAIDA.  Dixie started this big ol' shindig as a "group submission", and it's been so fun to see what everybody comes up with. 

You'll find the Storybook Doll challenge in the summer issue of Prims Magazine.

I had finished Cinderella quite a while back, except for her little pals and a broom.  So look closely...a mouse on her head, one on her shoulder, and a little bird has landed on the end of her broom.  (Might be suggesting a bit of chocolate Ex-Lax in Step-Monster's cocoa?)

Anyway, here's my Izannah Walker version of Cinderella.  I won't see her again for MONTHS because submissions to Prims take a while to find their way home.

Teeny Tiny Izzy!

I had to see if I could sculpt one this small...her head is as small as my thumbnail.

But how fun she was to make!  I've listed her on Ebay for a lark...

fingers crossed she finds a good home.

My mom used to make the most wondrous miniatures.  

She used green balloon rubber to make
teeny potted house plants, one leaf at a time.

She once even made a tiny working television for a doll house!  

I think she'd be proud.  Here's to all things tiny. 

Kicking around ideas...

for a paper clay tutorial.  Sort of a combination Sculpting Tips and Tricks thing, showing certain things I learned the hard way, over the last year and a half of working with the stuff.  I've got to get the hubs to cooperate and get pictures.  In the meantime, I repainted one of my very first Izzies...Enid got new face paint and some hair!  (And the Effanbee antique baby doll got her bonnet, since it not longer fits Enid.  :~)

Queen Annes finished finally.

And listed in the Etsy shop.  I may take a break from doll related stuff for a day or two (riiiiight).  But in the meantime, the dog needs a bath and a hair cut. Hope your Monday is behaving itself.

Cheers.
Jan

Two celebrations.

One is that I just had my 100th sale on Etsy.  That doesn't count doll shows or art fairs, but given how scary it was to open a doll store, and how sure I was that I was wasting my time for the first several months, I'm kinda tickled about it.  Granted--a whole lot of those sales were Walnut Ink and Rabbit Patterns, but I'll celebrate.  What is is about hitting a benchmark of 100 that feels like such an accomplishment?  Why is 99 not terrific, or 103? 

The second is not really a celebration, just a silly little rag doll on Ebay.  She's the first of the Linen Sisters, very simple and homey. I was ready for another auction...because even when it doesn't go the way I want, it's still exciting to put one up.  I don't go to Vegas, don't play poker or by lottery tickets...so maybe a doll auction is as much gambling as I can stand.  

Hope your week is FABULOUS!

A visit with Royalty.

Back in February at the show, I met a lovely doll collector who, upon seeing my Izannah Walker inspired dolls, told me she had an original.  Oh my.  I would never have dreamed of this, of finding a real one this far south.  Not that there aren't great antiques down here, just a definite dearth of real Izannah Walkers.  Facts are facts, and I thought I'd faced this one pretty well.  Life proved me wrong, and offered this incredible opportunity.  I was never so glad to be wrong.

So...this lovely doll collector lady (I'll call her Lady from now on) invited me to her house to visit this doll...and I've been about to blow a gasket keeping my mouth shut about it ever since.  Not wanting to assume or impose, I waited so to ask her about the blog, about pictures, just to be sure it was okay.

Well, yesterday I went.  And Jackie was right: The clouds opened up, a chorus of lovely voices sang, and rays of light shone on this Holy Grail of dolls.  I was entranced.  My dolls were understandably jealous.  Lady was sweet, open, and generous, saying it was fine to get pictures, so I did.  I was able to pose my Izzies with Nan.  (Lady calls her Izannah, but I've dubbed her Nan to avoid repetition.) 

I've been studying these dolls online now for about a year.  Nowhere nearly as long as Dixie Redmond, under whose expert tutelage I've gone from my first attempts to my most recent, but all my experience has been via pictures.  Pictures can't convey the surprising heft, the petite delicacy, the three-dimensional beauty of shape and texture.  Having only touched my clay-over-cloth dolls, my hands expected the hard surface of cured clay, not the slight yielding of this molded cloth.  A resiliency that amazes me when I think of how old the doll is, and how much she has seen.  Would that we all could be as resilient at 150 yrs old.

So typical of these dolls, and yet so unique.  There is a pink cast to areas of the skin, on chest, arms, legs, etc. that Lady was told resulted from natural dyes in Nan's clothing.  Owing to the delicate nature of the doll, Lady preferred that I not remove the clothes, but offered to let me copy a photo she'd taken the time she did once remove them (and dear Lady, I do plan to take you up on that, if I may.)   But her beautiful gown had fine cartridge pleating at the waist, and covered a lovely set of unders--chemise, petticoat, and drawers--all original.  I could have sat for hours, studying every detail.

My Izzies, once their curiosity got the better of them, decided Nan had some interesting tales to tell, and settled down to listen.  I can only imagine what they discussed.  But while they discussed it, I took pictures for comparison's sake, so that I might better sculpt in the future.  Not having the heavy press that Izannah Walker made for the molding of her pasted cloth faces, I have nevertheless vowed to make a mold of my own sculpts so that I can make the molded cloth dolls instead of the cloth-over-clay.  Long way off, maybe, but a definite plan.

More later on my visit to Lady's incredible doll collection--she let me visit with her first generation Kathe Kruse dolls, and they broke my heart with their sweetness.  But for now, I've got to study.
I hope you have enjoyed this little visit with Nan.

The newest project.

We closed on rent house #4 last week.  So much craziness and so many fires to put out trying to get this one purchased...if I'd gone through that kind of turmoil a year ago, my head would have exploded.  I guess I really am learning.

So now we've got a contractor out there rehabbing, and it'll be another big one--looking at 21K, barring any unforeseen major stuff.  This contractor actually seems to be working out, at least he moves pretty quickly.  Fingers crossed that the work is as good as he claims it will be.

These are the Before Pictures.

Living room.

Kitchen

Bath?

Master bedroom.

The giant prickly pear bed in the front will be gone, as well as the dead tree in the back and all the junk left on the porch.  The inside has already been painted--not my colors, but we'll fix that NEXT time he does a job for us.  The light tan and white trim is still way better than Pepto Bismol Pink, navy/red, and turquoise blue. I forget what all else is there...traumatic block, I think.

The kitchen will be returned to its small but new self (they'd taken down a wall and made a three bedroom instead of a four, but we're putting bdrm four back in.)  The contractor has some cool flooring that is essentially like wood laminate on steroids, but it's glued down so it doesn't have that icky hollow sound when you walk on it. 

I'm going up today to pick the exterior trim and siding paint...figure a white and putty gray to go with that odd red/black/white brick.  "After" pictures when it's all finished.  I have native morning glory seeds to plant along the back fence.

Then it'll be all about starting the refinance and getting tenants in there.  I will be SO much more careful with this one, so I don't end up with tenants like we have in house #3.  I let initial (read: wrong) impressions sway me, and I didn't do the background checks like I should have.

The trick is to avoid people who will treat the house the way the owners/last residents of this place did.  They lived in this house, in this condition, right up until a month or so ago.  I can never get over how people can treat a HOME this way--and yes, I've been through dire financial straights, divorce, death, all kinds of depression-causing issues.  But a home?  Homes are sacred, and should be taken care of.  It doesn't cost much to clean bathrooms.  Little vinegar & baking soda goes a long way (and can be bought with food stamps--I know this from experience as well).  There...I've probably gone and said too much.

Oh well...it'll be SO much better when we've administered some TLC. 
Lessons learned...I just keep on learning.  :~)

Spring is sprung already.

Lots to do in the garden--primarily, weeding!  But it's hard to do some of it, because lots of the weeds are actually native wildflowers, and they're beautiful right now after weeks of mild rainfall.  Very green here--we even had to mow the front yard (okay he did.  I planted marigolds.)

Our garden has been hugely neglected over the winter--which here is really one of the best times to grow veggies.  But the arugula has bolted and I'm letting it set seed--it's kinda cool to go out in the yard for salad greens every night, but they're bitter once they flower.

The larkspur and poppy seed I scattered everywhere last year are sprouting--some of the larkspur is already tall and flowering!  (That's the tall purple stuff.  The short hot pink stuff is native phlox.)  There's also a native weed vine that grows rampant here all over, and I tend to let it do it's thing and grow because it's a member of the pea family, and does a good job of fixing nitrogen--which can be in short supply in our sandy soil.  Still, it makes for a messy looking garden.

Kale is NOT among my husbands favorite vegetables.  Guess I'll be eating lots of it myself.

The birds are already nesting in this my Dia Head gourd...both his eyes are the doors, and last year it was pretty funny to watch both mom and dad birds sitting with their tails sticking out of it.  In the lower left you can see the neighbor's palm tree.

The ceramic wind chime (more like wind-clink) I made a few years ago only seems to house wasp nests, but since they eat grasshoppers and don't really bother us, I let them stay.

The agave nursery is doing well--despite one or two frosty nights last December.  I have another giant agave (also called a century plant) out front with pups alllll around it, so I'll dig them up and pot them just like these, and sell the pups on Craigslist this spring.  Good desert landscape plants, and they get four or five feet across...very impressive.  The taller yucca looking ones are native New Mexican soap tree yuccas.  I brought babies with me from Las Cruces when we lived there.  I have some in the ground, but some I'm taking with me when we move again.

I love marigolds.  The ones I found yesterday are huge!   

Woohoooo!

Dixie's agreed to offer her Izzy class one more time! 

(Click on that first sentence to go to the site where it's offered.)

If you never took this online class but wish you had while she was offering it, now's your chance.  I did, last summer, and aside from her patient teaching, I have benefited greatly from the continued support from the Izannah Walkers Workshop site.

Even if Izannah Walker dolls are not your thing, the principles you learn in this class can lead you to your OWN special cloth and clay dolls--I can think of three or four doll artists who make wonderful unique dolls with their own "voice" who started with this class.

Seriously wonderful class.  I highly recommend it!