ETHNIC DIVERSITY

The doll I'm working on now -between bouts in the yard and garden - is turning into one of those exotic dark skinned beauties seen only in the European Fashion Week shows.  Which pleases me but getting those exotic features just right is a slow and frustrating journey.

The shape of the head gourd dictated the ethnicity, in this case.  A long, narrow face, with high, prominent cheek bones, a straight, narrow nose and not-too-full lips.  Her hair will be long, straight and shiny.   As for her skin, I want it to have a rich golden glow.  Which will mean stirring up an entire jar of the final color because I will never be able to make a second batch the exact same color.

The Fairy Queen Made the Scene

My entry to the ADQ Mother and Child challenge was published along with numerous other entries - all of them very good and with one other fairy and child.  I was sent a medallion for that issue, but I either don't know how to use the link or it has expired.  Posting photos has been my personal hell from day one.  Every time my family geek "fixes" my computer, every thing gets scrambled from how I had it and it takes hours just to find a photo I KNOW I have.  And if I should stumble upon the thing I seek, I don't know how to post it.  AND - should I accidently manage to post something, I probably won't remember how I did it because of all the frustrating detours it took to get to this point.
So.  That's why I've not posted a photo of the Fairy Queen accepting the gift of her little princess, being delivered by a Monarch butterfly.

BODY PARTS

Having a lot of problems sculpting the current doll.  One arm was 'way too long, the other almost too short.   Cut off the hand of the too long one and got rid of a quarter inch of arm.  Discovered leather glue works fairly well to hold damp clay until the clay can harden.  Popcicle stick and blue tape held it all in place.  Don't know how I managed the mismatched arms.  Probably trying to work and sleep at the same time.

Numb, crooked fingers are a problem, too.  They don't always go where I point them, then don't know when they have actually touched something.  Fabric can be especially difficult to grasp.  And I must always moisten my fingers in order to hold on to pins, needles - anything smooth.

But I shall carry on as long as I can.  I will make things until I can't make things any more.  This is what I do.  This is who I am.  I make things.