Happy Holidays

I just want to wish everyone a Merry X-mas and a Happy New Year! I know it's been a rough year for everyone and hopefully the new year will bring brighter days.

I haven't been keeping up with my blog lately but will try to do better for the new year. I have been working on a few things but need to take photos for posting. So until then..........Happy Holidays!

New Doll Club

There's a new Doll Club about to begin in Brooklyn, NY. If you're interested in joining, contact Tonya www.paintedthreads.com

I'll be back to posting on regular basis real soon. I just need to clear up a few things before I can focus on any new projects.

Coming Out Of My Slump

Well it's been a while since I last posted. It seems I've been in a bit of a slump. I guess the winter blues caught up to me late this year. I haven't felt like doing much of anything in the past few weeks; but I do feel like I'm beginning to come out of it slowly. Spring is approaching which may be why the fog may be starting to clear from my head and I can get back to my usual pace with my dollmaking. I did complete a doll prior to going into my slump but never got around to taking her photos. I finally mustered up the energy over the weekend. She was made from a pattern designed by Mary Tressler she named Reza. What I liked most of all about this pattern was the pose and it was easy to put together. I also increased the size from a 12" to a 16". I prefer working with the larger sizes; less strain on the hands and eyes. Well hopefully this post means I am officially coming out of my slump and will be making more dolls and posting more often. Stay tuned!

Praise

I mentioned in an earlier post I was working on a couple of dolls. I usually work on no more than two at a time so not to get overwhelmed. I completed one which was featured in the newest issue of SDA. It is called Praise designed by Mary Tressler. I think what attracted me to the pattern was the cultural aspect of it. When I read through the pattern and saw the skirt was made with three tiers, I remembered I had a piece of fabric in my stash that would be perfect. It had a print that was in three stripes wide enough for each tier so I decided to use it instead of looking for separate pieces of fabric. I used leather strips for the bands around her neck and arms which I also found in my stash. The sticks in her hair were actually parts from some old earrings I also found in my stash of old costume jewelry parts. It was as if I was suppose to make this doll. I had no problem finding everything I needed in my stash. Don't you just love when that happens? It was a fun pattern to work with. Well, back to the drawing board. I'm still working on The Storm Dancer. I'm having trouble on deciding how to dress her. I think she wants to be naked for a while; so in the meantime I'll start on something else. That's always fun!

It's A New Year

Well, it's a new year and I have wound down from the holidays. I hope I don't wind down too much. I don't want to get hit with the winter blues and not be able to work on my dolls!. So far I've been able to keep up my energy and move along as usual (knock on wood).

I've been working on a couple of projects for past few weeks. One I'm especially proud of is the one I've completed last week. I started making it for a friend as a Christmas gift but didn't get to finish in time. I'm really proud of this one because I drafted the body and clothing patterns myself. I think I made the arms a little too long but who said they had to be perfect....right? Here's my version of the Egyptian God Anubis. He is of mixed media. I used a combination of cloth, air drying clay and paint. The base is made of a piece of scrap wood I covered with air drying clay. I put the clay on in pieces and worked the pieces as I covered the wood to give the illusion of a piece of stone. Once it dried, I painted it with a metallic paint and then went over it with a thin coat of black paint. The body is made of cloth which was base coated with gesso once it was stuffed and put together. Since I haven't learned to needlesculpt a male torso yet I decided to sculpt it with clay. Since I was going to paint the doll I figured it would work; and it did. It doesn't show in the photo but he has a nice pair of pecks and nice abs. In the side view you can see he has a little "tush" that was done with the air drying clay also. The doll was then painted all black which is how Anubis is usually depicted. His staff was made with Styrofoam and clay. The base and head of the staff were carved from a Styrofoam block and covered with clay. A wooden dowel was attached to the head and base and painted with a translucent metallic paint. The costume was made with a silk fabric I had in my stash I thought would be perfect. I made the pieces out of paper towels first for fitting before cutting the fabric. I didn't have a very large piece of this fabric and didn't want to waste it. I used black acrylic paint to decorate the collar, arm bands and the loin cloth. I enjoyed making this doll; especially the costume. I know my friend who loves all things Egyptian will be pleased to add this to his collection.

The other project I'm working on is on the cover of the January issue of Doll Crafter & Costuming. It's a pattern designed by Patti LaValley called Storm Dancer. I think it is the pose that attracted me. I still have to pickup some supplies for this one before I can complete it, but here's a preview of what she looks like so far. More about her in a future post. In the meantime, I will have to work on something else. I received the March issue of Soft Dolls & Animals and saw a pattern designed by Mary Tressler called Praise. It looks interesting. I think I'll give it a shot.

Oh, I almost forgot. The group I belong to Needle Knows Cloth Doll group was asked to participate in an exhibit. The exhibit will run from January 21st through the month of February for Black History Month. It will take place at Rockland Community College in Suffrin NY. More on that once it begins so stay tuned!