OCEANNA

Oceanna is my Hoffman Challenge doll for the 2012 season. She is my own interpretation of the fish rider concept. The Hoffman challenge fabric is in the fish tail and fins. 

Oceanna is 18" tall and this year, due to my disqualification last year due to being 2" over the height limit, I carefully measured every element from the design stage to finish! 

Incorporated into the fish's design are appliques of coordinating purple fabric. Tail and fins have armatures and the fish has Paperclay face. The doll body  is hand dyed to suit the color scheme, and has the usual needle sculpted elements, face painting, and articulated hands. She holds a hand dyed shell in her hands. Free motion embroidery cover her legs and arms and hand dyed lace piece for her bodice. She is very firmly attached to the fish and base with several armature techniques and should stay put should she be chosen to travel. There is a chance she will not travel because I used the Hoffman challenge fabric in the fish and not the doll, if they choose to be picky.

The base is applied Apoxy Sculpt over a plastic cone, embellished with micro beads and metallic paints. 

Shorty and Hercules

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I just  finished a piece commissioned for Shorty Rossi of the Pit Boss Reality show on Animal Planet. If you have not watched the show, Shorty is a dwarf who runs a charity and rescue for pit bull dogs.
There were challenges in creating Shorty, mainly the fact that I have never created a dwarf body! Achondroplasia is a bone-growth disorder in which one's limbs are proportionately shorter than one's trunk, with as larger than average head.


 I did many Google searches for images of dwarf anatomy and even found a few naked dwarf images. lol! 


Shorty's pit bull dog Hercules is basically a flat pancake style piece with some quilting for definition, and Paperclay snout. 


I have to admit I really had a lot of fun with this piece!
Here is alink to Shorty's Rescue:
http://shortywood.com/pitrescue.htm

Susie O Stash!

Recently jean Peters from the Stitchin Times Doll Club in Eugene, Oregon came into possession of the bulk of Susana Oroyan's odds and ends stash to distribute to her club and charity. She was so kind as to send me a box of some of Susie's stash from her studio which included a doll! And a couple of clay masks too! I will probably hoard the items, but may make a tribut doll with some of the fabrics and trims someday.

Roxie and her Sock Monkey

This is a doll I made for Dollstreet Morgue Challenge. We were to make a doll from our body parts we had on hand, reject heads, legs, arms, etc from other projects. The head and body I had from prototypes for a commissioned doll. I found a pair of arms, and very skinny legs which I added some paperclay to for bulk. Yeprz, she does indeed have a very large head!

Katie the Kiter

This is a whimsical little doll t hat I made from my Imperess pattern. Actually the head and body were from some of the prototype pieces I made.  I created this coll for a kiting event in January, there is a dinner and raffle after the indoor fly. Sadly, we were snowed in and could not attend. Well, she will visit with me until next year.

Maori Warrior

This is a doll that I created for the Male Doll Challenge on FOCD. The piece is titled Maori Warrior. He wears traditional costume and accessories, and is positioned in a stance depicting the Haka (war dance) of the Maori People. the extended tongue is part of the Haka. He also has traditional tattoos.

Semperviren, New Workshop

This is Semperviren, which means everlasting. She is the gaurdian of the forest. Semperviren is eternal: she has always been with us and always will.
This is a new workshop class that is available for hands on teaching, available as of July,2011.
This multi-technical and mixed media piece uses a variety of techniques including creating a full body armature, drip-wash painting, free-form ink drawing on a stuffed body, creating a clay mask, and more!

A body is sewn from a template.

                                            Full body armature is created for attaching doll to base.

                                              Special painting techniques are applied to stuffed body

                            Designs are drawn onto the body with ink, incorporating the drip wash into the designs.

                                                   Partially drawn design onto the doll's stuffed form

Doll is attached to base, clay mask is created and painted and driftwood is added for interest. Bark, spanish moss, acorns and alder bark are added elements in the finishing.

Zentanga

This is Zentanga, created for the Dollstreet Zentangle challenge. I have always loved to doodle, and created many pen and ink abstract designs in the 60's using similar techniques. I prefer to draw free-form designs, but did adapt some of the designs I found on the internet. I first drew the front and back on paper using my Tsunami Butter fly pattern as a template

I then printed it out onto fabric after scanning into my computer, using freezer paper backed muslin.

                                                               Printed on fabric

                                                      Upper body is attached, and body front and back sewn together.

                                                              Finished doll, front view

                                                                  Finished doll, back view

I spent a huge amount of time on this doll, considering I don't love her!!! LOL!  Sure was fun though, and next time I think I will draw my designs directly onto a stuffed form.

                    This is a design I drew in the 60's (Yes, I am OLD!!)  I did many many of these, and this is the only one that survived, and it has some water damage and is only part of the picture.



This is a doll I made using my own drawn designs onto paper, printed onto fabric and then fused with Timtex. She is a flattie I created for Woman challenge sponsored about 7 years ago by Dianne McDonald.
She is one sided, and the designs are of a rather personal nature, and tell a story.

Doing these kind of designs is not new to me, but doing it in a structured manner is. I still prefer to use a free-form style,  which beats to my own drum.

Me^Ladee, Hoffman 2011 Challenge doll

Me^Ladee is my Hoffman 2011 challenge doll. She is a Renasiance era lady, with an ample bosum! To create her "assets, I applied paperclay over a cotton woven cloth body and added an outer skin of a stretch knot fabric. Working with woven cloth is out of my comfort zone, so it was a bit of a challenge for me. She balances on one leg, with a full body armature that extends through the straight leg.

The flowers for her costume were created from long strips of organza, clipped and burned, tthen gathered and drawn together to form the flower. Her hat is lined and coated with Paverpol to create to permanent form. She balances on one leg, the other is bent slightly and she has cooridinated blooms gathered at her ankles. Me^Ladee's features are dwawn with water color pencils and sealed, and her hair is Tibetan wool.

More amulet bags

                                           BEADED ON VELVET, CLAY FACE

                                    BEADED WITH CLAY FACE

Pattern by Elise Peeples

Amulet Bags

I have not updated my blog in ages! So thought I would sahre some of the ittle amulet bags I have made to sell at AFIC conference where I will be teaching2 classes April 29-May2, 2011.