Merry Christmas!

Before I get too busy, I wanted to wish everyone in blog land Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Ms Purdy

Trying to settle down a bit before the Holidays hit, but that has been a struggle to do! I thought I was going to have some down time from art 'til next year, however, I need to prepare for a print show that goes up the first week in January. I was thinking of working with watercolor monoprints because they are really cool to create and not as labor intensive as other printmaking techniques. I will post some of work as it progresses, and it has been a long time coming in getting back into printmaking!
Ms Purdy is another assemblage doll that is homeless and is need a of a loving home. She is posted in my Etsy Shop.

Little Man Tate

Little Man Tate made his debute at the Market, but did not find a home there! So he will be listed in my Etsy Shop. There will be new items posted in the days to come.

With free admission into the museum and parking, the Eiteljorg Winter Market was hopping with shoppers. There about fifty-five vendors set up on two levels.

Tobie

I had another head in mind for this doll, but at the last minute I switched it.

Winterfair Success!!

I will have to say this years Winterfair was very successful and I had a ton of postive feed back on my work! I belong to a local art doll club and we showed as a group at Winterfair. There were about nine doll artists with very different styles, so that made a nice diverse showing of work.

Of course I forgot to take my camera the whole weekend, so I have no photos of the show.

This coming weekend is my last show for the year (Winter Market) and I will have a booth to myself. It will be at the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis, December 5 from 10-5pm. My hubby is coming along, so he will remember to bring the camera this time.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just a quick note to all to have a Happy and safe Thanksgiving! We're headed to my in-laws for a quick visit and then back home for Winterfair this weekend! Hopefully shoppers will be in a buying mood!

X-Mas Theme Ornies

I decided not to alter the previous ornies posted, however, I had these ornies in the making as I was finishing up the first set. They are much more glittery and sparkly even though the photo doesn't really convey that.

This turquoise colored ornie is a bit flashy and bold.

Assemblage Art Doll Ornies

I have two weeks left in preparing art work for Winterfair at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center and three weeks left for Winter Market at the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis.
This is the first year for me at the Eiteljorg and I'm very excited!
These art dolls were made to either hang on a wall all year round or they could be hung on a Christmas tree. I think I need to make some dolls that are a little sparkly to give that holiday feel to them.

Assemblage - Life

The black fibers surrounding the figure came out too black in the photo. She appears to be standing at a doorway or portal to gaze at life swirling all around her. One of these days I will make a piece that has a happy looking individual and not all the drama and spookiness I have been known to create. I had a lot of interesting feed back from people at the Essex Studio Tour in Oct. I heard everything from creepy to spiritual. Very dark feel to the pieces.
This piece still needs some type of hanging chain for display.

Taking Flight

She was at the end of the line, but begged me to assemble her first. I'm a sucker for cute faces!

The large rusted metal piece is from sort of level and I don't know what type of level it is.

I'm not sure if the bottom area around the legs is finished. Something about being bare nags at me.

WIP

This assemblage doll is waiting patiently to be pieced together. I told her to take a number and get behind the other 10 or so pieces that need to be assembled.

I still need to get a box of goodies together to send to Jen Worden for her assemblage challenge.

Menace

I not sure how I fell about this doll because it certainly did not come out the way I had intended it to. I was hopeful in using lighter and brighter colors, but it just didn't work. And the face turned out to be whole other issue! She is kind of spooky looking and everytime the hubby sits down to use the computer, he turns her to face the other direction! Poor, poor girl! She is feeling pretty unloved right now!

Damien - Assemblage Art Doll

I made several wire skirts for dolls last year and I got burned out making them, so they sat on the shelf waiting for new life. I was stumped on what to use for the trunk of the doll. It takes me a little while before the light goes on and an idea pops into my head. I'm not sure if it has to do with age or having children. Maybe both! Anyway, I have moved beyond that block by creating Damien and few others I will post later. I'm trying to get a small body of work together for a show/sale in Milwaukee for the month of December.

Mickey

I ran out black pepper last week and was left with this wonderful canister, so I created Mickey.

Just finished up back to back birthday parties for my kids and I'm done until next year! My kids are two years apart, but their birthdays are 9 days apart, so the month of Oct. is very busy for me. Physically it seems that my ability to bounce back from highly energized situations takes a lot longer than it use to. Thank God my husband is right in the mix helping me out to the very end! I am very blessed to have such a wonderful partner!

Lady Liberty

Lady Liberty has the words from the Star-Bangled Banner stamped on her.

The wood used in this piece makes it heavy and large in size. It measures about 15"x4".

Angel of Charity

New wings for my angels! Much larger and more detailed than the other wings.

More Domino Baby's

I have some ideas swirling around in my brain in which direction to take these. They could evolve a bit more, but we'll have to wait and see.

Penny

This is probably the last free standing assemblage doll I will make until next week. I have an art show/sale this weekend, so it's off tomorrow to set up for the Friday and Saturday evening event. It is being held at the Essex's Studios in Cincinnati, which is home to about 100 artists. For the month of Oct. and Dec. the artists open up their studios to the public and they invite outside artist to come in and participate in the events. This is my first time flying solo for this event, so wish me luck!

Assemblage - Retro Man

A few months back, the hubby switched out heavy duty plugs for the dryer and handed this plug to me and challenged me to make something with it. Well, how could I not take on the challenge.

Baby Mine

The doll stands about 9.75" tall.

WIP - Baby Mine

Small peak at a work in progress. I'm in the process of preparing art work for an art show/sale at the Essex Studios in Cincinnati in two weeks, so I have been busy!

Doll Show Goodies!

After having missed this show for the past several years, I was finally able to attend and found some really wonderful doll parts and less then gently used dolls. They were quite a find for me and I was pretty thrilled!

These doll eye balls were a nice find and buy! The vendor apparently dug them out of all types of dolls and never got around to using them.

Tis' the season for Hatch Green Chile!

My sweet mamacita sent me a big box of fresh green chile from New Mexico and I was in heaven!! Here in the midwest you can't even come close to chile like this!

The color and smell was divine!

Now begins the labor of love, which is slow roasting each chili over an open flame.

And the end result is wonderfully roasted chile that awaits to be bagged and stored in the freezer for many future uses. I will of course leave some out to eat!

Assemblage - Block Dolls

This past week has been insanely busy, but I was able to fit in working with these block dolls.
I have way too many porcelain doll arms and legs, so I am trying to find ways to use them.

Queen Esther

Queen Esther had come from humble beginnings. She was a young and very beautiful Jewish girl who was raised by her cousin Mordecai because her parents had died when she was a little girl.
King Xerxes of Persia at the time was in search of a new bride and had decreed that every girl in the kingdom was to enter into a beauty contest, so that he may pick his bride.
Reluctantly Esther had entered and had ultimately been selected by the king for his bride. However, she had kept her Jewish heritage a secret from the king.
Haman, who was a court official for King Xerxes, made everyone he encountered bow down before him. However, Mordecai bowed before God and no one else and this infuriated Haman.
Haman plotted to have Mordecai put to death. Knowing that Mordecai was a Jew, Haman tricked the king into signing a decree that would allow him to kill every Jew in the land.

Queen Esther exposed Hamans treacherous lies and landed up saving the Jewish people as well as herself. Haman 's death sentence was to hang from the same gallows he had special made for Mordecai.