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.

PATTERN PROBLEMS

Designing anything from scratch is fraught with problems.  It's disheartening when your great idea turns out to be near-impossible to achieve.  At least not the way you THOUGHT it could be done.  Nine times out of ten, it's much more complicated than you anticipated.

And so it is with clothing design.  Many years ago, I took a European pattern making course.  It was my first experience with templates and I was so excited when I created a pattern for "hip huggers" that actually fit me.  With a full time job and a full load of domestic chores, I didn't have time to use the course often, but the confidence stayed with me.

Now, I'm designing costumes for art dolls, those dolls that are somewhere between Barbie and American Girl; and I'm grateful for those years of drafting at CDI Marine as well as the pattern making course.  Ships' curves work just fine for doll clothes.

Case in point is the aforementioned Opera Cape.  After the first pattern and first revision, I made a "muslin" and revised it before I could finish pinning the thing together.  The pattern now is two inches shorter, and almost two inches wider at the shoulders in back.  That extra space will be taken up with a deep pleat on each side which will (I hope) add volume to what will be a "bubble"  created by a gathered hem.  Finished, the hem should reach about mid-thigh.  I'm sure there will be more about this cape.  The fabric I've chosen for it is terrifying just to contemplate.

NUMERO LAST

Today, we took a new set of shots of the Spanish Dancer doll.  The first set was just too dark and couldn't be photoshopped.   This new photo will be sent to Art Doll Quarterly and hopefully, be published in the Winter Dance Challenge.

 This will probably be my last ADQ challenge for quite a while, as I have two very special dolls I want to make.  One and perhaps both will be offered at public auction, the proceeds to go to a children's hospital and to a seaman's fund.

The Spanish Dancer doll has already been donated to a fund to help a dear friend who has been hospitalized for almost three months.  She is a very talented freelance artist and as soon as I know whether or not the doll has been accepted (or rejected), it will be sent to her daughter who will put it to auction or sell it, however she feels would be best.                                                  

She's a Winner!

Of the two dolls I took to Houston last fall, the one entered in the Gypsy Challenge took a Judges' Choice award.  The theme of the challenge was Mardi Gras and as usual, the winners are featured in the Art Doll Quarterly, which thrills me to pieces..

The second doll I took to Houston was my  grand daughter's D&D figure, Flynn Hollysharp.  Our participation in the "In Celebration of The Doll", was by invitation only - which is why we were in Houston in the first place.  And while Flynn didn't win anything, she was accepted for publication in ADQ's Super Hero challenge.  A fitting place indeed, for Flynn.  We will see her in the fall issue of Art Doll Quarterly.

Meanwhile, my Geeky Grand Daughter is mucking out all the thousands of duplicates and just plain trash from my computer.  A two day job at least.  I take  LOT of in-progress photos.  They're my way of stepping back to check proportion or balance, etc with a new eye.  Many of them could be deleted as well, but I can do that another time, one project at a time.

Well, I blew it.

----- was pretty sure I would.  Guess I need an over seer or something.  Naw, even when I had one , I'd get up in the middle of the night to heed the call of an urgent idea.  Okay - I have NO self-dicepline.

SO.I came up with an idea for a gorgeous black evening gown.  We're talking 70's and 80's uber glamor here.  The drawings were making me salivate.  Even did her sexy undies.  And you know what's coming next.   The doll is tall and slim and I'm trying for that glamour pout look on her face, like the fashion dolls in Haute Doll magazine.

Although I hate the idea of covering the gown, I've also designed what I call an Opera Coat - or perhaps a cloak - made of stunning gold and silver brocade.on sheer black.  It will need lining, of course, which will be a major challenge.  The cloak is sounding better by the minute.