Several weeks ago I wrote about the head with 3 little heads poking out of the top. This is the finished piece. I realized that it didn't really show up very well hanging on the wall. That problem was solved by framing it in a small tray that I painted. The scraps of music in the sky make it clear that these guys are singing.

I liked the idea of developing a relationship between several characters, so I made these guys. The rounded piece of wood as a base takes the place of the head. The irregularity of the sticks tilts the heads in an interesting way, but I would like to suggest a body, not just a long neck.

I decided to try a cone of paper mache to suggest a body for each figure. Words cut from the comics suggest overheard snippets of conversation from these 3 little gossips. A small painted box used as a riser for both pieces helped set up the photo and suggested that each could benefit from and additional base piece.

These are some other small pieces that I have made in the past couple of years.  The pair on the left were planned to be game pieces for a game board that hasn't been made, yet. In the center photo small heads decorate a pair of  storage jar. The girl on the right is perched on a jewelry rack.

Gotta say, I'm kind of annoyed. Over the past couple of weeks I thought I was on the way to developing a new idea, but as it turns out, I'm just circling the block.

I have decided to experiment with some small pieces that have figurative elements instead of making a whole doll with arms and legs, clothing and so forth..  Along the way maybe a new idea will present itself. The piece pictured here is a small collage built on a 5" by 6.5" panel. Again, sewing pattern tissue, spools, lace and buttons are used. I love the illustration of stylish shoes. The 1.5" depth of this panel has interesting possibilities that could be developed more fully.

In the process of creating the doll, "Maybe", I made a second head on a small pillow form. I have started to work with this, hoping it could hang on the wall as a small sculpture. I discovered after I had cured the face the first time, I realized that I didn't like the eyes. In the meantime I had cut holes in the top of the head for the sticks and used plenty of paper mache to hold them in place. This morning I worked on the eyes again before I discovered that there is still a soggy place in the paper mache. So, this little project is on hold for now.

Always on the lookout for new ideas, I quite like the three little heads just on their own.  I'll be thinking about that.

This figure began to take shape early in the year, but was set aside due to other concerns. I had originally planned to make this a small version of a pedestal doll with the torso supported by a single dowel. She is about 18" tall. The skirt was to be made up of multiple strands of beads draped from torso to base. I didn't  have enough of the right beads on hand and the draping process was not working. She got sidelined.
I've been a bit at loose ends with my doll making after the push to get the La Veta Gallery show open, so it seemed like a good time to finish this up. I changed my plan to make use of some of my bountiful supply of antique lace. The lace skirt needed a bit of support so the pedestal dolls became a cage doll with the addition of 6 skewers glued on  to bridge the space between the torso and the base. The lace is glued and stitched on in tiers around the resulting skirt form. The in-progress photo below shows the skirt structure.

Beads at the top of the skirt and a tiny piece of tatting at the neck were the finishing touches. Speaking of loose ends, I tried to make a bird nest for her to hold in her hands. Paper mache, dryer lint, twine and thread came into play. 

I plan to continue this blog twice a month, writing about doll making topics and projects. I've thought for some time that I would also like to paint. Finding that the discipline of posting regularly helps me structure my ideas and work, I have started a new blog. Click here to see my new blog about my painting adventures. 

The La Veta Gallery on Main will be open for ART WALK on Friday evening, July 24, 5:00 - 7:30 PM.

I started making dolls when we lived in Huerfano County, so I was really pleased when The La Veta Gallery invited me to exhibit a special collection of work this summer.  My exhibit plan changed several times over the spring months  I designed an interactive game and later a "Shelter at Home" doll house, and then set both ideas aside. I completed several larger, difficult-to-ship dolls that ended up staying home with me. I hope the time will come to make and enjoy these pieces.

Mary and Karen at The La Veta Gallery used the dolls I was able to send them. Thank you both for creating an imaginative show!

​I hope you will visit the gallery in person if you are in the area. If that isn't possible, please visit my website for a sneak peek of everything. The La Veta Gallery is handling sales on all these items. You will find a few of these dolls in their on-line shop and they can help with any others, also. 

​If you choose to visit in person, please check with the gallery for current open hours and restrictions

I've been planning to take a break from doll making, maybe a long one! Very soon after I made that decision and put away materials so that I had some elbow room I had another idea. What if I made a head form by sewing a simple cloth shape, stuffed it with fiberfil and sculpted it with a bit of hand stitching?  I could build it up with layers of paper strips and paste. That was easily accomplished with our hot, dry climate shortening drying times to almost nothing. 

I made a face on the surface of the dry form with polymer clay. My original idea was to stack several heads together with a cord running through  the center of each one so that they could hang like a big necklace. I scaled back my plan and made the character you see above. The wooden box I used for his body became a puppet stage. The puppets represent those competing inner voices that urge us with a "Yeah" and a "Nope". The arms were donated by a doll I made years ago. I was unable to remove the pinwheel without damage to the arm, so it stayed.

He is thinking maybe,"Yeah", or maybe, "Nope". The answer depends on which way the wind blows.

This piece will be part of a show at The La Veta Gallery on Main, La Veta, Colorado, beginning July 24.

What happened to that sketchbook I bought more than a year ago? Not much. I recently pulled it out of storage and started making doodles and marks, mostly with crayon pastel and pencil, then adding puddles with watercolor.  These are the simple materials I enjoyed in elementary school!

I have been trying to work quickly and intuitively without giving any thought to purpose or result. Maybe I'll be able to look back at these in time and find shapes, compositions .. and marks that will lend themselves to a bigger purpose. But for now,  no rules, just doodles! 

I finished up with a large painting project this week. Painting as in walls. This is what I found when I reamed out the paint tray as much as possible for the last time. Nice work!

I had resolved to enjoy a little break from my studio but I needed to take refuge there while I processed a roller coaster of emotions prompted by the events of the last 10 days.

​A little bit of fabric collage was an easy choice. I enjoyed doing a lot of this type of design when I was making the Hoop Skirt dolls, but it has been a while.  I started by digging into my supply of hand painted scraps.

Then I laid out some of my favorites.  The background needed more interest and depth, so I painted the base fabric. I love painting wet into wet, first using black paint only and adding a rust  wash when the piece was almost dry. Then I transfered the collage onto the painting. Below is the result.

This was fun, so I made 2 other collages just using available scraps, eliminating the painting step.

All 3 of these could be greatly enhanced with free motion machine quilting. I seem to be out of batting, and sewing machine needles at the moment, so that will have to wait. I'd like to continue with a few more, and then just quilt the best ones. It is hard to say how, or if,  this will fold into future work, but it is not important to know that now.

The weather last weekend was perfect for a studio tour! Pleasantly warm. Very little Wind.  The Eldorado Studio Tour that had been scheduled for last weekend (May 16 and 17) sadly didn't happen. When the event was cancelled back in March, my frantic scramble to get work finished tapered off! But, I could have been ready!

Finally, my website is fairly well organized. You can see the dolls and a few paintings there. I still need to work out some name and measure a few pieces. Please contact me if you have any questions about a piece.

Now I find that I need to catch up on some housekeeping chores and start to figure out what I would like to present at the studio tour next year!

"This Girl of Mine" is my tribute to mothers and their daughters everywhere! Happy Mother's Day!

This figure stands about 18" tall. She is made in my "flat head" style with a stuffed body sewn with hand painted fabrics and free motion machine quilting. I haven't made many (or any other) dolls that portray children. I continue to be amused my the little girl. She seems so reluctant to have Mom haul her out for an introduction.  I enjoyed finding this piece when I was taking new pictures of everything.

The Eldorado Studio Tour had been scheduled for the weekend after Mother's Day, May 16 and 17.  With the tour now cancelled, I made this date my goal to reorganize my website my and take pictures of all the new work. This seems to be harder than making the stuff in the first place! You can tune in on my progress by checking the "Studio Tour" page on my website. I still have a week to go!

This is just a note to follow up on the studio clean out project I wrote about earlier this spring. I no longer have to worry about the weird ugliness of my very last doll ever because I have thrown out or donated most of the possible components! Yah!

I created this little character one day last week just using scraps of things on hand. I was at loose ends. With the May Studio Tour cancelled my interest in finishing up the dolls in progress had waned a bit - quite a bit.  And, the 100-mask challenge was finished. The process of making this figure and the resulting doll reminded me of some earlier doll ideas, so I dug out a box labeled "inspiration Dolls" just to see if any inspirations presented themselves.

It was fun to see these familiar faces again. The Largest doll here is about 12" tall and the smallest is close to 5" tall. Some of them became the first in a series or introduced one element that was used elsewhere. And, yes, there was a little but of inspiration. 

Maybe what I should do next is dig deeper into the stash of collected items on hand and see what could happen. I have a silly vision of using up everything - every scrap of fabric, every bead and button. That would be another 100-piece challenge! It would be interesting to see what #100 would be, or if that would even be the last one! I'm not committing to that idea, yet.

​ In the meantime, I plan to finish photos of all the new work and get that posted on my website under a "Studio Tour" tab.