Back in the Day?

I was going through my doll photo files, trying to clean and sort.  This happens to me every fall, the urge to clean, clear, sort, and organize.  Dunno why, but I know well enough not to fight it.

At any rate, my photo files were a mess, and now they're not.  Yay me!  Getting ready to list a bunch of stuff in my Etsy store, and needed to see what I have/have not regarding listing pics.  But while I was digging through the virtual closet, I found quite a few of my old photos, dolls I made back when I was still VERY new at the whole process, playing with all kinds of new ideas, techniques and materials.

I'd say don't laugh, but some of these are pretty mirth-inspiring, so chuckle away if you feel the need.  I'm still proud of some of these starts, because they represent the very best part of finding out what I can do.

"Good Bones"

Made of a cornucopia basket, paper clay, and found stuff.

Her wings move on their hinges...but she's pretty lazy.

Josephine, Witch in Green Plaid.

Old Gardeners never die...they just become great compost.

Lord Elfwin, my second gourd art doll.

He's the Keeper of Santa's list...don't tick him off.

My FIRST gourd art doll...Tiamat.  I think she weighs 8 lbs.

Six months after she was finished, the clay finally dried and she cracked all over this nice smooth bottom.

Marcelle...made with a wooden spoon, various toys, wood bits, and paper clay.

Dreaming Bunny...she's preggers, and dreaming of the baby clothes she'll sew.

Jack Frost was a challenge doll when I belonged to Art Dolls Only.

He is proud of his skills.

This one is called "Twa Corbies" after a very old Celtic song...

...again, mixed media, with lots of found stuff. 

My first wooden cat doll.  These are so fun.

Learning cloth and clay...

Mostly these days I'm making the Izannah Walker dolls, wooden jointed dolls, and gourd art...but I can't completely get away from the mixed media, because I will always look at things and see something other than what's on the surface.  That is another Best Thing I've learned from doll making.

Ciao, y'all.

Goodbyes and helloes.

Goodbye to a couple of wee friends...Diego and Lexi are on their way to Florida.

Diego

Lexi

I set up my doll show display in the floor of the family room yesterday.  This always amuses my husband, because I make a HUGE mess with stuff strewn everywhere, but it helps me visualize the set-up, and correct things before it's actually time to set up.  Plus it helps me see what all I need to finish.  This time it also helped me see how well my new back drops and display props will work.  (Pictures after the doll show, of course.)

Hello to Pumpkin Jack and Friend, who are newly listed on Etsy, and to several others as I get A Round To-It.  (yeah, that joke is old, but I like it.)

Pumpkin Jack and Friend

He's like our foster cat...always waiting for food.

 Also: I just bought 128 pairs of eyes this morning.  How many people can say that?  I love my job.

Goals: finish what I've started!

Two doll shows coming up...one at the end of August and one in October.  I have lots of dolls finished, but lots in the works still raising their wee brows when I begin yet ANOTHER project instead of finishing them. 

So the To Do list over the next month:

Dress the Izzies awaiting dresses.
Finish at least three of the boudoir dolls (might be pushing myself there...)
Draw up the instructions for at least two of the pattern designs.
Stop starting new projects until I finish these things!!!

I have at least gotten the Izzies in unders, and finished the clothing for a couple of the Izzy-tpe dolls.  I set up the "photo shoot" this morning, and got lots of new listing photos, but there still remains lots of dolls I forgot to include.  Wondering if our insurance covers a psyche eval for this Start a New Project Every Day syndrome.  Hmph.

Sculpted Clown-on-a-box, and wee elephant toy pattern.

She's got a dress finally,

and a pale gray linen cape.

These girls have unders, but no dresses or bonnets yet.

This one has unders and a bonnet but no dress.  She's the loudest of the lot, reminds me of Charlie Brown's Lucy.

One of the "Velveteen Rabbit" rabbits from a pattern I'm working up.

A long legged frog pattern...

A pink nursery version of the elephant toy...this one has a gusset unlike the primitive one...

Pumpkin Jack and Friend.  He's a gourd art doll...looks a lot like my Papa.

A pattern for a duck pin-keep sewing pocket thingy. 

Renee (my daughter) has already claimed this rabbit...she doesn't sew.  :~)

More of the pin-keep ducks.  Can you tell I went a little gonzo designing patterns?  I have a lot more to sew up and get pictures of, and then to write up instructions for.  But there will be lots of patterns on my shop in the future!

Now I've got to tend to the house work I've put off.  

First step is to put away all the photo props, backdrops, tripod, etc. etc. etc.!  

And then, well, maybe a cup of tea to recharge.  

Have a lovely week everyone.

A Gourd Art Doll and...

a sewing box.
I finished this Greiner-type Lady the other day, and now she is up for adoption.

I should make one to keep, perhaps, given the constant state of my end table...it's covered in threads, snips of fabric, odd buttons, and three--count them!--three pin cushions.  An un-picker, the larger stuffing fork (I'm still looking for the small one), a couple of crochet hooks, and probably four or five spools of thread.

Yes, today I'm working on cleaning house instead of making dolls.

You heard it here first.

Jester Pete made it!

According to Daryl Cook, (who is sharing a 37th anniversary with his Lady Katie, and who makes the most incredible dolls at Woodstown Whimsies) my gourd doll Jester Pete made page 62 of the Fall 2011 Art Doll Quarterly.  Woohooooo!

Now, to patiently wait for my copy.  I'm not yet enough of big shot (wink wink) like Daryl to have earned my advance copies.  But here's to you, Pete.

Boys...

Yesterday the Phil was out washing the Fat Boy.  The name comes from the structure of the front forks, but never mind that.  So I grabbed the camera and headed outside to sweat with him.  It was a cool 94 this evening instead of our usual 100.  The following random assortment of pictures is just what I wanted to catch before the season moves on and the yard/garden looks different.  As always, click twice to zoom.

My featherless biped boy Phil and the Fatboy.  We live on 1.3 acres of pure sand that has gotten 1.5" of rain since last November.  It's a miracle there's green anywhere.  The giant pile of branches behind him is the "bird sanctuary".  That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

I think I'll marry him again.

This is our featherless quadruped boy...Schultz.  He's hoping I'll give him a tomato.  Peppers (left) are struggling...waiting for cooler weather.

Baby banana trees and Schultz and a conch shell by the irises.  Banana trees are always boys, and conch shells are always girls.  I realize that's illogical, but ever since I read Tom Robbin's "Skinny Legs and All", that's just how it is.

Baby gourds.  Gourd plants have heart-shaped leaves, and both boy AND girl flowers on each plant.  How romantic is that?  Sadly, the boy flowers die after their job is done, and the girl flowers go on without them.  Phil says it's like that with featherless bipeds, just takes them longer.

 

This is a crepe myrtle I grew from a leafless 5" twig sent from the National Arbor Day Foundation.  He's only two years old now, but he was sprawling all over the path from the gate so the cage is to teach him to grow upright.  It's tempting to think of flowering plants as girls, but this one is a boy, and so are the Trumpet Vines and most of our Canna lilies.  Oh, and in the background is the back end of the featherless quadruped boy. 

These are weeds growing by the gourd plants in the garden bed.  I don't know their gender.

This is an Izzy boy I finished painting.  Long way to go, but I'm encouraged by him, despite his pensive little face.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend, filled with whatever makes you (and all the boys and girls you love) happy this summer.  :~)

A new kind of gourdie doll...

Just playing around this weekend, and decided to use a gourd as the head for a rag doll.  For some reason I literally dreamed about doing this, so I figured I'd best give it a try.  What do you think?  She's a little sweet for my taste, but it was an interesting exercise.

The body is two piece construction, gathered around the "small end" of the upside-down bottle gourd.  Stuffed with raw cotton, rags, and bee-bee's in her butt to weight her so she sits upright unaided.  Her hair is a wig sewn of yard and glued on.  I didn't use any paper clay--there was a bump on the gourd just right for her nose.

I like to think if a mom back in the pioneer days were trying to make a doll for her daughter, she might have made one sort of like this.  She'd probably do a much better job on the dress and bloomers, and she'd have had to figure a different way to paint the face, but they did have oil paints, stains, dyes, and pencils.  This dolly is just under 11" tall, which surprised me, because she seems so small sitting in my hand...