This is a vintage paper doll that I picked up a little while ago.
Shhh! She’s a Spy.
She’s also adorable and this is one of those mid-60s sets which had two dolls (a big and a little) with matching outfits.
I especially love the white trench coat outfit — it reminds me of Agent 99 from the Get Smart show.
Posted in ephemera | Tagged paper doll, vintage | Leave a Comment »
This year is the first time I’m participating in a local arts fundraiser. The 3rd Annual Chair-ity Auction is a fun event that will be taking place during the Art-A-Licious Festival in Adrian, Michigan (September 17 & 18). The money raised will be used to benefit the Art-A-Licious Festival and the Boys and Girls Club of Lenawee Art Program. Local artists are asked to “create constructed, altered, and/or embellished chairs”; you can use your own chair or use one of those provided. Here’s the chair I chose:
It’s an older wooden chair that came out of one of the city offices (there’s a little metal plaque on the underside of the seat). What drew me to it was the incongruity of the straight forward no-nonsense slatted back and dished seat combined with those rather odd curved arms and turned arm supports and front legs. This was a chair that screamed out “I want to be Silly!”.
So I obliged:
I’m calling it Motley. What with the Jester colors I chose to paint it, I couldn’t very well call it much of anything else. The dominant color is the dark purple of the back, back legs and larger portions of the turned areas. The green is so very nearly neon that I’m glad I chose a darker rose and an almost school bus yellow as the other bright colors. The seat and stretcher bars I painted a dark blue to add balance and a bit of (strictly tongue in cheek) gravitas.
A side note on the names paint manufacturers give to colors. I used a national brand of acrylic craft paint on this project and if you can believe it they called this particular green: Apple Orchard. Apple Orchard, mind you, Apple Orchard; where is the hypothetical orchard this color came from? The Altered States of Drugachusetts*??
*Yes, I’ll admit it. I’m a huge Mr. Show fan and will watch very nearly anything (even if it’s otherwise rather sucky) if David Cross is in it.
Posted in altered art | Tagged charity | Leave a Comment »
13-1/2″ tall (with staff 16-1/2″). Natural bamboo staff with an arrowhead made from polymer clay. And yes, that’s a mohawk cut made of my signature shredded fabric.
Sorry for the abbreviated post, I’m having internet difficulties today. Perhaps because the rain has driven all the children indoors and those who aren’t umbilically connected to their gaming system are most likely glued to their computers on the net.
Posted in figurative art | Tagged fae, faerie, figurative art | Leave a Comment »
Here is a lovely little vintage book about making clothes for your dolls. The copyright is 1953 so the language is a bit quaint but the information is surprisingly comprehensive. The book is out of print so I got my copy on ebay where it does pop up every now and again. I was lucky and got a copy with the adorable dustjacket.
As you can see from the contents page this book is designed to give you the ability to make an entire wardrobe. No namby-pamby dancing around the need for dolly to have clothes for every occasion.
The style of the clothes are fairly simple so that they’ll be quick to make up while still having enough detail to satisfy the eye. Notice the darling slash and gather dart detail at the waist of the slip. There aren’t any ready-made patterns in the book; the idea is for you to learn to draft patterns to fit the specific doll being clothed.
The directions start out with simple pattern draping and branch out to a bit of pattern drafting for some of the patterns later in the book.
The how-to-sew information in this book is refreshingly complete. Unlike many books published today it doesn’t “dumb-down” by over-simplification. The writer assumes that the person using the book wants to make a quality product that is going to hold up to little girl usage and the little bit of extra time and effort spent doing so are well worth it.
For instance this is the best explanation of how to do a proper buttonhole that I’ve ever seen in a basic-level sewing book.
The only complaint I can make is that the instructions call for the inclusion of one of my pet bugaboos: acute angle inside corners. As a child I found them a complete and total pain in the backside and to this day prefer to avoid them. I learned early to eliminate an acute angle beneath the arm or between the legs by breaking up the pattern into more pieces to obtain that vital fray-and-bunching preventing seam allowance.
On the up-side it does teach how to do linings and how to bind an edge. Both of which eliminate any need for dealing with my other pet bugaboo: narrow hems on curved edges. Too fiddley by far for a child and again I’ll go a long way out of my path to avoid them now.
So if you enjoyed this post, get yourself access to a copy of this book — you may just end up wanting one for your very own (try ebay or amazon marketplace). FYI, Michigan residents: the Michigan library system has copies of this available, your local librarian can get one through the inter-library loan system. Or for those of you in the know; request your own loan via melcat (www.mel.org). Ooooh Yes! I do so love the library.
Posted in book | Tagged book, doll clothes | 2 Comments »
Last August I realized several things. First, that NIADA at Arrowmont was fast approaching. Second, that I wasn’t going to want to be hiking back to my room for things I needed for my next activity. Third, that my current handbag was woefully inadequate for the task of holding what I was going to need for the whole day. Scratch that – I have Never owned a bag that really met my storing-my-stuff needs. So I decided to make my own.
It had to be sturdy; inside as well as outside. It had to have pockets on both the front and back and they had to be designed to hold the stuff I carry. There had to be open space in the middle for notebooks, datebooks, keys, the other detritus of daily life. The handles had to be strong and be attached in a way to allow hands free carrying. I wanted it to be cheerful and fun. Here’s what I made.
The fabric is an Alexander Henry paired with a light pink polka dot and a darker pink stripe, the binding is a black and white dash print. All the fabrics are quilting weight. The strap is nylon webbing designed for backpacks and other sporting gear; it’s attached with d-rings and is one continuous strand which allows for cross-body-bag-on-hip carrying. I generally double the straps and carry it over my shoulder but I like the versatility factor.
There is a simple secret to how I made the fabric so sturdy: I fused white acrylic felt to the wrong side of the fabric. In effect the entire bag is interlined with felt; lining and pockets too. It takes a very long time to do this with a home iron but it’s totally worth it for the final result.
Inside I put two arrangements of pockets. On one side I put two zipper pockets: one large, one medium, and a horizontal pencil/pen pocket. The medium pocket is for my cell phone and now I can always find it and a pencil – neither can burrow to the bottom of the bag any longer.
The other side I arranged to hold other things I didn’t want floating around; stuff I’d want to find quickly or wanted in a more protected space. So there’s a bank of open pockets for meds, chapstick, magnifier, and a business card pocket. Then there is a roomy cargo pocket for my camera or glasses case or a medium bottle of water. The cargo pocket has a flap that can be velcroed shut or tucked inside the pocket as needed.
As a bit of fun I planned the layout of the print for the front so that I could use a rhinestone-eyed skull as a decoration. I disassembled an old keychain and drilled a hole to make the skull into a button. It looks rather silly peeking out of the inside of the tote in this photo.
Posted in accessory | Tagged fused felt, organization | 2 Comments »
This is Market Day, she’s a Brownie. She’s also the first piece I’ve done that has corn-row braids. They were a bit fiddley to make and attach but the final effect was worth the effort. She’s about 16 inches tall and is carrying a basket of moon-faced dolls. I made her for a moon-themed challenge for a NIADA conference.
Yes, her braids are partly green, which compliments her mauve skin. She’s a gentle soul.
Posted in figurative art | Tagged fae, faerie, figurative art | Leave a Comment »
So here I am, finally, starting a blog. Just for a minute I’m going to pretend that absolutely no one out there knows who I am or what I do. Which, mostly, you don’t; unless you’ve met me at an Art Doll conference. The most seriously art thing that I do are my figurative art sculptures. They are made of cloth over an armature with hard sculpted polymer clay face masks which are covered in cloth. Their hair is made shredded fabric. They are all one of a kind.
This one is Girl with a Watering Can, after Renoir. She’s 12-1/2 inches tall. I made her watering can with paperclay.
You’ll notice right away that I don’t do people-colored people. All my figures have lovely colored skin, yellow, blue, green, mauve; whatever color feels right for that piece. They also are all faeries, but earth fae not air fae (no wings). Some are bugs, some are Brownies or Hobs, I’ve even done a few Grigs. Mostly they are happy little folk, some more mischievous than others but all fairly benevolent spirits. I hope they make you smile.
Posted in figurative art | Tagged fae, faerie, figurative art | 2 Comments »
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