Plain ol' rag dolls...less plain.

I made these two rag dolls in early 2014.  Apparently the heavy linen I made them from is too course for the average doll collector's taste.  The ones I'd made of muslin sold right away, but these girls just languished until I had to do something. 

Since I've recently been bitten by the painted doll bug and the cloth/rag doll bug, (I can show you the bite marks!) I figured I'd make an attempt at the sort of portrait painting the old oil-painted dolls have.  They're not bad--but I'll get better.  I do like the rough wool I made their hair from, and will have to try this again on other dolls.

My inspiration for these girls has almost no face left--she's a doll I came across a couple of years ago.  I had to sell her, because the AC went out and the antique dealer's offer was good, but to this day I still regret it.  So I try to imagine that Magda (I hope she's being taken good care of, wherever she is) started out as a painted portrait doll.

Lessons with Dorothy the Doll Doc

Dorothy Meredith is a doll restorer, super doll show promoter, and a good friend.  So we decided to trade classes.  She came over for my two-day intensive on cloth & clay art dolls.  Then I spent two days at her place, learning (some of) the fine art of restoring dolls.  I figured to apply what I learned to the restoration of my old dolls, but it goes so much further.  I can see many exciting and creative possibilities for these tools and materials in art doll making as well.  WIN!

So the first day I went by myself, where we chipped and dremeled and painted and sanded.  Seriously good information from a lady who has spent thirty-plus years in this business.  Her encyclopedic knowledge of twentieth century dolls is amazing.  (Look up Attic Antiquities for info on her classes!)

Here is her workshop and doll store.  I confess to a little Woman Cave envy.  Aside from great work lighting, lots of space, and all the materials you could ever want, there's a work sink and a little half bath.  How cool is that?

The workshop

Shop Kitty "Nosey"

The Doll Store.  I have to wear a bib here, because I drool.

We buckled down and got to work.  I'm a fan of PPE (personal protective equipment) because I've  not got enough brain cells to waste any, and some of that stuff is STINKY.  And the the dust goes everywhere when you sand bondo.  Yes, bondo...like what goes on cars.  Interesting process, this doll restoration biz.

My projects for the first day: an old Boudoir doll, a no-name fellow that will require an entirely new body, and below that, a little Effanbee Bubbles who has paint chipping and needs a new crier (laugher?). 

The second day was more of a group effort with some of my favorite people.  Laura and Joann drove a long way to join us with their own restoration projects.  With a good lunch stop at the local Grain Bin, we worked and learned and shared and laughed--a wonderful day spent with people who share a passion for dolls, old and new.

Laura, Dorothy, and Joann

On this second day, I worked on restringing a modern resin BJD--because I wanted to learn restringing--and learning to air brush.  I am so going to use this air brush in making dolls!

 
Laura had a little Betsy Wetsy type who needed new eyes, and a Patsy Ann type that needs work on her badly chipping paint on the back of her head.  (I am ignorant of 20th Century Dolls, as well as the finer bisque antiques, so ladies, please forgive me if I named your dolls wrong!)

Joann had a lovely (and huge!) Kestner girl who needed restringing, and a tiny little porcelain who needs a wig and a dentist.  I kept suggesting she leave the snaggle toothed look and give her an eye patch and a pirate costume, but apparently this will not happen.  Maybe she'll get them for Christmas.

Dorothy (when we gave her a minute to work) had some tiny Ginny's to restring, and Nosey worked on exercising the hinges on the shop door.  In and out, in and out.  She's a good shop kitty, making sure everyone knows she's the one in charge, no matter what the Lady of the Shop might say.

The plan is for a "hair rerooting party" at my house coming up...BYORT (bring your own rerooting tool) where we can practice on my Monster High dolls.  And my first official Art Doll class is coming up on the 19th and 20th of August.  I love this job! 

Hope your weekend is lovely...and includes time with people you enjoy.

So many dolls, so little time...

I'm not talking about the dolls I'm making.  Still haven't gotten to sewing unders yet, but all nine have their second skin tailored to them.

The dolls I mean are the ones I've managed to collect over the last few years.  All of them but one are still waiting for clothes!  Does that make me a bad doll-mom?  Gloriana (my Martha doll) has a baby gown on, so she's at least covered.  Tansy (my Sherri doll) came with incredible hand-stitched clothes that sometimes I remove just so I can re-visit the incredible sewing skill.  But the few papier maches, Bubbles the Effanbee baby, the Mad Alice, a really nice china, and a not-so-nice but endearing Anita type boudoir doll?  They're all sitting around either in what passes for unders, or in white baptismal gowns just to have something on them.

And now, I've added two more: Crazy Wax Doll (from Dixie) and Theo.  Theo was an ebay purchase that cost me a whopping three bucks plus shipping.  He is "supposed" to be a girl, but he and I know better.  When I learn from a friend of mine in nearby Seguine (or Diane?) how to refinish him, he'll need clothes too!

Theo.

Crazy Wax Doll need mucho help, but I love her all the same.  She's in really rough shape, so after a little more study, I'll make her a second skin, sort of like the Izzies, to keep her arms and legs from falling off.  Poor thing.  Not much to be done for her damaged shoulder plate or her melted face, but maybe with a little wig and hat she'll not look quite so...um, well, the hubs says I have to keep her somewhere besides the bedroom. 

Crazy Wax Doll has the coolest weighted sleep eyes!  But they "thunk" when she closes them.

In the meantime, I've been decorating for Yule.  I posted a story about our new tree...got it decorated and sat for hours in the glow of its lights.  I had so much fun unpacking the ornaments the kids made when they were little.  Every year we'd sit around and make new ones to give as gifts--a tradition I continue to this day.  So they have the year written on the back...some are clay, some are leather, some are wood.  And each has a story.

The Yule Tree.

My son Josh made this in school, and the little campfire is one I made in first grade.  The little paper spiral of smoke is long gone, but the felt campfire seems to endure.

This was one I inherited from my mom...it's a leaf that's been dipped in gold.

These little bead wreaths are some my Air Force students made me when I taught Basic Instructor Course.

I didn't get to the Elf Shelf or the collection of Toy Soldiers yet, but maybe I'll get it done tomorrow.  And as my granny used to say: if there's not another tomorrow, it won't need doin' anyway.

And last, a photo of my newest granddaughter, Juniper.  This is her first Christmas, and her first tree.
Peace, y'all.

Heads, shoulders, knees and toes!

I started an experiment...well over a year ago.  Figured I'd try my hand at a separate head shoulder for the dolls, the way the old maches, chinas and later compositions were made.  So I set about with toilette paper rolls, styrofoam, glue, tape, mache paste, and later, paperclay.

Can't say it was an unqualified success, but I'm happy (all this time later) with the result.  Having only the vaguest ideas of what I wanted to end up with is sometimes a blessing, because it allows you to follow what turns up, and in this case, two very different ladies appeared.

The one with her aquiline nose and blue eyes is destined for auction in Castroville, TX, to raise money for a large Catholic church.  I feel she's a sort of cross between a mache head doll and a Santos cage doll, but she'll have a cloth body and sculpted hands, and a heavy, Raphealite figure.

The dark one is Molly, and she'll wear plaid homespun and white linen.  They are a departure from the Izzanah Walker dolls, but I am enjoying the novelty.  I intend to make more, learning as I have what to do.  (And what not to do: DON'T dry the clay in the oven when you use styrofoam as the armature!)

Photos once they're dressed (well, bodied, then dressed).  Hope everyone has a fabulous Wednesday.

Izannah Walker Dolls!

Given the craziness that has been our life over the last six months, it's no wonder I haven't had a lot of time to work on dolls.  But it just occurred to me (uh, yeah, this living in the margins thing again) that I only have three weeks until we close on the new house and have to move!  Now I'm stoked about that, but when you boil it down, that's really just over two weeks of doll making time, to fit in and around everything else.

Oh my.  What is me who said, "...where complacency turns into planning"?  I'm a little short on both time and planning at this point, but that's okay.  I work well under pressure.  Ahem.

Thanks to my friends Edyth and Dixie, I have quite a few dolls to be working on. I've made a good start... lots of little heads and torsos, arms and legs all cut & sewn.  The fun part is the sculpting, but I am forcing myself to do the less-fun part, so I don't put it off. 

I asked Edyth if I could share pictures she took of her dolls, and that Dixie featured on Izannah Walker Chronicles.  Edyth has two lovely antique Izannahs, and I've had the privilege to meet both of them.  They are so different from one another, and yet the basic Izziness (technical doll maker's term) is abundantly clear in each.  

Edyth's antique Izannah Walker dolls

Edyth wanted some artist dolls to keep her antique girls company, so she now has two (at least): a boy and a girl.  The boy on the left and the girl on the right are the ones I made, and I have to say it's been a fun time learning from these originals up close and in person.  I have gotten a chance to measure and study, to photograph and compare.  So much can be absorbed by the hands that the eyes just can't get to...there's a visceral satisfaction in holding one of these babies that is hard to describe.

Soon I will have several Izannah Walker type dolls for sale--small 16" ones and larger 19 to 20" ones.    Some of them are already spoken for, and some will be headed for Ebay to find new homes.  If you would like one before it goes on Ebay, email me.  For now--break's over and it's time to get to work.  Okay, it's not really work, but we won't tell anybody that just now.

My reproduction dolls are the ones on either end...they all seem happy together.

The Doll Show and New Friends

Had a blast at the doll show yesterday.

Completely worn out, dehydrated, and almost voiceless.  Funny how a fourteen hour day of too little food & water and too much talking will do that to a body, eh?  But sales were good, I met so many new friends--and got to actually visit rather than just cruise through their booths nodding hello.  Repeat shoppers from the two previous shows have come to look for me, and several have requests for upcoming shows.  Not planning to do custom work, but my little "Smoker" doll sold the night before the show even opened, and one customer said "You must make another one for August."  Cool.

One of the highlights was that I brought home a new friend.  I call her Miss Merriweather, because so far that's all the name I can sense from her.  She'll tell me her first name when we're better acquainted, I guess.  Anyway, she's 25" tall, her wig is badly made of human hair, she's been "helped" all over her neck, back of her head, and the shoulder plate in a couple of places.  The legs, while not new, are a later edition.  Her hands and arms are white kid, in pretty good shape.  Her face still has the original paint, but with a little cracking, scratches and a bit rubbed off her nose.  Her body is very heavy--I have no idea what she's stuffed with, but she's heavier than my Big Girls who have BB's in their butts.

I can't wait to sew for this doll.  She needs a bonnet or hat because while her hair is a lovely red-brown, it's a bit of a mess.  I'm sure there are so many things I could do to restore this doll, but I never owned an antique doll before, let alone restored one.  So for now, she will reside in the carved chair in our living room, with her quite expression and fancy red shoes.

Oh, and one more friend I brought home...he joins the ranks of my Doll Show Rescue Babies.  At least this one doesn't leak sawdust like the last.  Doesn't he look like Radar O'Riley's bear on M*A*S*H?  He smells a little like an attic trunk, and the ghost remains of some lady's perfume.

I feel as if this doll business has been waiting for me to grow up and figure out what I was supposed to do.  So I may as well get to doing it, eh?  :~)

P.S. Mary Jo: one of the dealers tried to buy that bench I bought from your thrift shop.  I didn't sell it.  ;~)