Proper Patience

Let me introduce "Proper Patience" -- a new doll design that has developed over the past few weeks. I talked about her in an earlier posting -- at that time she was but a bare foundation.

Working this design helped me to practice and learn a few techniques that I hadn't tried before.  'Staining' her head, legs and arms using a whiteish base and then wiping it with a soft brown acrylic.  Looking at her afterward it was apparent that I'm going to need a bit more practice of this particular technique *smile*.

Putting her together helped me to recognize that the pattern as I had drawn it would need some tweaking -- such as longer arms and legs.  Also the design with its 'waspy waist' ended up being difficult to dress and gave me a very limited amount of space on her body with which to use embellishments.  The clothes became very simple - which is not a problem - but does limit dressing possibilities and what I could do with future clothing. 

Looking at her now it seems that she is way too 'ordinary' and 'plain' for me.  She is missing the slightly whimsical interest that I seek.  She has taught me patience - I'll say that much for her and I appreciate her willingness to put up with my stumbling through each step of her creation.  Hopefully she'll be a guide as I move forward reminding me to let go, relax  and have a lot more fun with the next figure.

"Have no fear of perfection -- you'll never reach it." - Salvadore Dali

Summer Blues

Its a hot August afternoon.  No relief in sight.  The plants are starting to droop and the humidity is rising with the temperature.

And then these images appear online Blue Hole of the Bahamas.
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There is magic and mystery.  Instantly a silent and deep world beckons me.  I feel cool, calm and collected.

"I feel we are all islands - in a common sea". - Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Trial and Error

Working on a new-to-me doll design.  Drawing over and over again.  Going through three different designs before I found one that pleased me. Working head, shoulders, arms, legs to meet my satisfaction.

Finally a design I can live with - now on to the next steps.  Once the basic design is obtained lots of other little decisions crop up.  How do I want to attach the arms and legs? Shall I draw the face, stitch the face? 

And then the biggest decision of all -- who do I want this doll to be?  Am I looking for whimsical, vintage, historical -- what of myself do I want to add to this doll?  That part is just now developing in my mind.  Hopefully I now have a workable blank canvas on which to express myself.

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes.  Art is knowing which ones to keep." - Scott Adams

Coming Your Way!

Three little bits of 'me' will be making their way to new homes.

Congratulations to:
 Lurena - "Man in the Moon".
 Barbara - "Sonata"     
 Karen  - "Twilight Path" 

Thanks to all of you who commented -- I value you so much.  I've learned from each and every one of you - I've shared snippets of your lives and we've cheered each other on.  That's what friendship is - whether it is in person or from all corners of the world.

"Our friends interpret the world and ourselves to us, if we take them tenderly and truly." - Amos Bronson Alcott

"Wordsmith"

Everyday I am surrounded by words.  I listen to them - I read them -I write them - I speak them and sometimes, to the horror of those around me, I sing them.  I'm a word-aholic, loving words -- the big ones and the small ones.  The familiar and the not so familiar.

Thus comes a new 'person' to my studio -- "Wordsmith".  Having some fabric that has letters and words on hand it seemed like a good idea to use it to bring this cloth doll to life.

Having a little 'journal' embellishment -- which I found on a shopping trip -- was an extra addition to the theme.

"We listen to words so we can silently reach into the other". - Rumi

300 and counting...

Back in late 2009 when I began my blog I never thought that I'd still be going and that I would actually put 300 posts on line.  Whew!!!

You know what keeps me going?  You do!!  Each of you who read and comment; those of you who have become dear friends; the sharing of the art that you do and the techniques we all use - priceless!

When I began this blog I was heavily involved in beading and actually began it in conjunction with my enrollment in the Beaded Journal Project.  Soooo, how about a big giveaway of three beaded items from what seems like so long ago?

 "Man in the Moon" is a beaded three-dimensional piece which comes with a stand from which to hang him.  "Sonata" is another three-dimensional piece standing on her own stand.  "Twilight Path" is an encrusted bead stitchery which is mounted in a metal frame.

Please leave a comment below - this give-away is open to one and all - even if you've won a giveaway before feel free to throw your name in the hat!   Three names will be drawn Sunday the 19th with winners announced on August 20th.   Meanwhile thanks to all of you who have made this art journey so much fun.

"Things start out as hopes and end up as habits." - Lillian Hellman

Hmmm - what do I want to do?

I'm playing around with a new art doll figure shape and type.  Somewhere on the edge of my mind I know what I want to do - but I can't quite bring it to the forefront.  A couple of pattern designs have been drawn.

I've changed the head from straight to tilted - I think I'll like that better. But I'm thinking about even more of a change.  I have some testing, trying to do and then..

This is the part of the creative process that can be frustrating or treated as an unfulfilled journey.  I'm tending toward the 'journey' but the frustration is starting to set in.

"You need chaos in your head to give birth to a dancing star." - Friedrich Nietzche

Light and Shadow

I have a new view in my studio, now that everything has been changed around.  The morning sun comes sneaking in -- leaving lovely light and shadow across my work and my work desk.

I am in heaven!!!

"Shadow is a coulour as light is, but less brillians; light and shadow are only the relations of two tones." - Paul Cezanne

"Nestling"

Like a little bird I have become a nester this summer.  As the bird moves twigs and collections around in her nest, I have also been moving this and that here and there.  It is a good feeling to gather my nest around me -- to know where everything is (well almost everything) and to look once again at the trinkets I've collected over the years.

This sweet girl is my tribute to birds and their nests.  What is more wonderful than watching a bird sitting ever so still on a branch and then taking off in swift flight - wings glinting in the sun?

I've added music for the birdsong that greets us now that summer is here.  The beautiful, natural songs that I can hear from the quiet of our back porch.

"Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul - and sings the tunes without words - and never stops at all." - Emily Dickinson