X-Mas Surroundings!

Indian papoose ornament

Here a few of my favorite things hanging on my tree!

Peanut ornament

 Embossed "Our Lady de Guadalupe" paper ornament

Look what I finally fnished! I named him "Happy" just because I'm so happy to have finished him.

I decided to go with doll legs and a cone cap.

"Word Became Flesh"

Hope everyone has a Blessed Holiday Season!!

Gentle Woman

Our blessed mother has been on my mind since celebrating The Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary last week.

Gentle Woman is one of many beautiful titles given to the Virgin Mary.



Domino #10

I've been fiddling around with my domino art dolls. Always trying to find new levels to take it to. Size wise I like to work on a small scale because my studio is small and my time is very limited lately.

W.I.P. for Winter Market Show

"Angel Gabriel"

Trying to get last minute work done for my last show of the year!! Yeah!!! I'm tired, but motivated with new ideas to work on.

Angel Gabriel was created with only the right wing, because I really liked the way he looked. Well, there was only one problem. He was heavy on one side, so he hung off balance. I didn't have much choice but to add that other wing to make him upright. I was happy with the end results, but still pouting a little about not having only one wing!

Oh My!! What a pose! I haven't put a hook on the back for hanging yet, so I had to a find a position that would keep him upright while the glue on his hat sets. The paper on the front side is a piece cut out from one of my collagraph prints.

Cork board display in my studio, where all my little creations hang for my viewing pleasure or critique!

Jewel

Winter Fair this past weekend was a very nice and sold a few items. I also got to meet the person who purchased my brick doll from the breast cancer auction.  I had mentioned that to my hubby last week that I had no idea who bought the brick, so that was a bit exciting!!  Winter Fair is juried fine art show and I am making plans to apply for a spot next year. This year I showed with a group of fellow doll makers as a guild on the upper level of the convention center and the juried artists were all on the first level. Several guilds are allowed in on the upper level as long as you demo your craft for the public.
Jewel was created from a wooden stake used at a construction site and the string was still on it when I scavanged it somewhere. I originally left the white frame around the face plain white, but that kept bothering me, so I added some design marks to it and now I'm somewhat satisfied with the results.

Queen I

Another paint brush art doll. This one is titled "Queen I". I've been experimenting with pewter like faces and just looking at her now, I should have done her crown in the same material.

Bewitching Angel

I'm still a little MIA with blogging, but I have been plugging away in the studio. Yes, I know that Halloween has already passed, but my spooky little face creations keep reappearing.
Winter Fair is coming up next weekend and our figurative art group has been preparing for it, so hopefully we will have a successful show/sale. My last show for the year will be at Winter Market on the Dec. 4 in Indianapolis, IN. That show is held at the Eiteljorg Museum and I just love the feel and atmosphere of that place! Their permanent exhibit is awesome!!

Paint Brush Art Doll - Pebo

The hubby had a bag full of paint brushes left over from a painting project done a few months ago and of course I had to keep them when they were offered to me.
I tripped over the bag over the weekend and decided it was time to put those brushes to work. My favorite part in creating this doll was working with the paper ruffles. She measures about 13.25" tall.

Fiber Art Quilt By Danny Mansmith

Awesome mail art! This is the front cover of the package.

This is what I found after opening the first layer of wrapping. It's wrapped many times with different colors of thread. It's like X-Mas in Oct!!

This is the back view before removing another layer.

The drawings below are what covered the papercut flower showing above and yet another layer of string to cut through!.





This is the piece I was dying to see! This is a mixed media art quilt created by Danny Mansmith. He is one incredible fiber artist and I just love this piece I bought from his Etsy shop a few days ago. If you zoom in on this photo, you can see the detail in the stitching and the eyes are too cool!!!!!

Anyone Up For Critiquing My W.I.P.?

It's seems to bit of a struggle for me lately where my creativity is concerned. I can count on one hand the hours I have spent in my studio in the past four weeks. I feel burned out and wish like crazy it would hurry up and pass. I do make the effort and the doll above has been a pain in my behind!! That head just bothers me! The pic of the head below was the original one I was going to use, but I had issues with the Apoxy Sculpt not adhering to the plastic, so I selected to go with the head above. There is just something about it! I have hung that darn doll on the walls throughout my house so I can stare at him and it just won't speak to me!!! 

Am I being too critical about the poor guy? 

Head #1

"Blaine"

I finished Blaine and Blanche today and that did bump up my time in the studio by a couple of hours.

"Blanche"

Mercado! Hispanic Art Market!

Rogue and Jingle

If anyone is in the Indianapolis area, come join us for the 1st Hispanic Art Market at the Eiteljorg Museum on Oct. 23 (10am-5pm).  I was thrilled to be invited to participate in this event! Some artists participating come all the way from New Mexico, which is my home state! Born and raised!

I finished Rogue and Jingle and they will make an appearance this weekend.

St Francis

St Francis

Francis was born into a wealthy family and lived a very comfortable life. One day he heard a call from God and devoted his life from then on to serve God and others. He inspired many by the his example and encouraged others to live according to Christ's command "leave all and follow me."

St Francis renounced his inheritance and followed Christ.

Minuet

Minuet has silk skirt ruffles, porcelain arms and head, wire lower body and a thimble for the upper body.
I switched her head off with other things and I finally decided on the porcelain piece. I was pretty indecisive as to which head, but I finally commited to one. She stands about 8.5" tall. Available here!

Angel Igor

A new little angel I created a few weeks back and I just now found time to post. His face is not quite as serene as my other angels, but I really liked the look of him when I was done. My place of employment has a whole lot of rusty stuff scattered all over the property, so on my brake I meander through the property filling my box with goodies. The angel's arms are from one of my outings.

I Spy Two Eyes and Doll House no 333(with heart)

 I sneak peak at a doll I'm working on and I hope to have a lot done by this weekend!! I have finally started to use some of the dolly eyeballs that I purchased last year.

This wonderful piece of art work was a giveaway hosted by Sushipot (Suzanna Scott) and I won the drawing!!! I know you have heard this a million times, but I usually never win anything. I'm totally honored to own a piece of Suzanna's work.  Stop by and take a peak at some the different art pieces Suzanna creates!
Thanks Suzanna! It really ROCKS!

Fall Rush!

Fall is a little busier for me with a few shows to prepare for. Not much time for exploring and experimenting, and I usually put that in my schedule after the New Year.

Fraktur in Folk Art!

"Jacob and Hannah: Courting in the Garden"

This awesome original painting was gifted to me from a very generous friend Ken Scott.  The painting depicts a gentleman wooing a lady acquaintance. The background shows flowers and birds that are prevalent in Pennsylvania German folk art and fraktur. The depictions of nature on some pieces represent good luck and healthy life.
Fraktur is the use of archaic and decorative fonts for lettering. Fraktur writings appear in broken segments within the art work. Ken's pencil drawings and writing in this piece are reminiscent of what may have been done on book covers years ago. The painting is done in India ink and watercolors. The base for this piece is a book cover that was antiqued to look 200 years old. Stop by Ken's Blog and check out some more of his wonderful art work.

Blog GiveAway Winner!!!

Thank you again for stopping in to play in the Blog Giveaway! The winner for this go around is Lynda Howells!! If you would e-mail your address, I will get Tilly all packed up and ready to fly later in the week!

Last Chance for Giveaway is September 10!!

Just a reminder that tomorrow is the deadline to enter for the Giveaway. The winner will be announced on Monday. Thank you to all who have stopped in to play along in the Giveaway!

Spare Parts Monday

Finally I am able to get my Spare Parts Monday postings going once again!! After three years of staying at home, I literally had a job offered to me one day and I was working the next. So, I am in the work force once again and I'm still trying to figure how that all happened!! Trying to figure out work schedule, gym schedule, kids schedule, & art studio schedule has my head spinning these past few weeks. But I'm back and hopefully more organized! Ha! HA! I'm never organized and the hubby can attest to that!

Anyway, here is another wire base that I wove a few years back. My fascination with wooden spools continues and an altered porcelain doll head tops off this piece.
After a few years sitting in the basement, the wire base has rusted and I really like the look, however, I wanted to preserve the rusted look by spraying it with a sealer. I sprayed it outside on a very humid day and it left a nice white coating all over the wire!! I was pretty ticked to say the least. So, painstakingly I had to rub off the coating one wire at a time, and the moral of this story is to never spray a sealant on a piece of art work in hot, humid weather!
P.S Don't foget to enter the giveaway in Aug.23, 2010 posting! Deadline is this Friday Sep.10, 2010!

Breast Cancer Brick Complete!!

I finally finished my brick and let me tell you, she is heavy!! Meet Pink Rose!

The only thing I wasn't too wild about is all of the ruffles. One day I just kept hand sewing and before you know it, I had all these ruffles! Then I thought of doing ruffles all the way down close to the bottom, but I wanted to show some of the brick and the rusted wire cage. The beauty lies in the wire and brick! I attempted to tame it by placing the large, round metal piece at her waist and it sort of worked, but it still annoys me a little. I don't have much choice at this point since they are due at the beginning of next week. I'm sure someone will love her enough to buy her. It's all for a good cause! 

I was fortunate enough to find this mutted pink ribbon at an orphanages sale last month and it matches well with the color scheme.

Assemblage - Paint Me

The hubby had a couple of used paint brushes and asked me if I wanted them before he threw them away? Of course I can't say no to almost anything given to me, so I kept them.
This piece was inspired by the work of John Whalley. His paintings are phenomenal!!
The red background are painted egg shells. The fibers are ink stained cheese cloth I retrieved from the printmaking studio.

Mira

I belong to the RiverCity Figurative Artists' Guild and we brought dollmaker Cindee Moyer to teach a class last weekend. She created  a doll specifically for the class. This style of doll making is not really my style, but I went in with an open mind and really enjoyed the class.

If I can avoid stuffing a doll at any cost, that's the game plan. Cindee's doll was stuffed all the way to the bottom of the dress and I stopped right below the waist line because I really liked the look!

I tweeked my doll a bit further by using clay for the head and porceain arms. However, I was intrigued with her technique for making hands and plan to try that sometime soon! I did away with the hair and she hangs on the wall instead of a free standing. She measures about 18" in length. There are soooo many possibilities with some of the techniques I learned.

This is the doll Cindee created for the class. Cindee also offers on line-classes at Joggles.com

Blog Giveaway!!

"Tilly"

Sorry for the MIA for the past few weeks! This has been the year for my body to start wearing down!! My heart issue has been addressed and now I'm dealing with my knee. All that's left are my feet and I shouldn't say that too loud! Over all it's still good! Next week I will get back to my Spare Parts Monday Postings

I truly enjoyed the last giveaway, so I was anxious to have another! So may I present Tilly! She stands about 7"x3" and is created from wood, wire, clay, silk, and found objects. The wire work on the lower half of Tilly has been done by hand. All you need to do is leave a comment on this post and it will run from August 23 - Sept.10.  The drawing will be done over the weekend and the winner will be posted Sept. 13.

Queen For A Day

"Queen For A Day"

Assemblage - Flutter

Flutter is a lot larger than I normally work and it measures about 15.25"x8"x3.25".  The wings are brass and have been treated to give it really cool colors. My favorite thing that I used for this piece is the faux snow behind the figure. The box it came in is actually labeled faux snow. All they are is soft shavings of plastic and they are really cool looking!

Spare Parts Monday

When I first started out making assemblages a few years back, I had discovered M. DeMeng and his infamous art work and was so enthralled by his work! He was the king of the altered anatomy man and hence my anatomy man that had been rusted. He's been sitting around for a few years collecting dust and now in all his gradeur, he stands tall amongst the towering columns of dowels. The box is part of a free make and take my kids frequent with their dad at the hardware store. The window is a piece from a yard sale and the background behind the window is a collage piece I had made.
Inside the anatomy man is a matchbox and a fuzzy glass heart.