"Embrace Silence"

I often crave silence - perhaps that is one of the reasons I love spending time in my studio.  It is quiet (unless I feel the need for music). Silence seems to be a rare commodity these days.  

I love it that this sweet - somewhat shy - 'Kindred Spirit' came to visit.  No words were spoken and yet we communicated.  Sometimes just being with someone in silence can be a true gift.  Knowing that you needn't say a thing -- that a hug or a touch or a smile can convey all that you feel.
  

 Each quiet moment is like treasure found.  

"Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.  And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.  And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance." - Khalil Gibran

U Turn

[Jen of "Bayou Quilts" is the winner of the 4th Whisperer]

Fortunately the road rules in my studio do allow me to make a U-turn once in awhile.  That is exactly what I'm doing these days.

You might remember the few dolls that I made back in early June.  They were my first linen dolls.  Sadly I was never quite 'satisfied' with them and a trip to Nevada interrupted my creative flow.

These days I've made a U-turn and gone back to this basic design, making some alterations that are more pleasing to me and bringing them up to date.  Sometimes a U-turn can be quite fun. 

"Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn." - Harriet Beecher Stowe

Weave A Dream

I've heard it said that each of is living a dream.  I'm not sure what I think of this but I do know that each day I feel as if I am creating that day as I go.  Sometimes others are weaving my story and sometimes I'm weaving my story.  Of course I prefer it if I'm the weaver.

Creativity is all about this.  The idea appears in my head.  Its often drawn in one form or the other to give it substance and perhaps a bit of validity.  As the time goes on and my head, heart and fingers move together, like threads being woven into cloth, I see the results.

For me this is sort of what life is all about.  Using what we have within us to create a carefully woven story.  Just as a woven cloth can keep us warm when the earth cools, so 
can the work of our hands bring joy and pleasure of a day woven well.  

"We all have our own life to pursue, our own kind of dream to be weaving, and we all have the power to make wishes come true, as long as we keep believing" - Luisa May Alcott


can our own weavings  bring joy and wonder into our hearts.

Shine Your Light

Don't you love that phrase - shine your light?  What a thought and inspiration that we might share with others the work (play) that we do.  That we should pass along the disappointments and the successes.  That we should try to shine each and every day in whatever way we might.

Please go ahead and ask me if I'm having fun and I'll answer with an out loud YES!  This small group of figures is certainly quieter than those who have come before and I'm so enjoying the quiet colors, the simplicity of the design and this oh so peaceful face which greets me each morning.

"If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely." - Roald Dahl

"Really" Unlikely

Oh dear!  Who is this sitting atop a heavy drill atop the work table in the garage?  Of course we had to have a conversation because if this drill actually started up it would vibrate "Really" right off the bench onto the floor.  Pointing this out was something "Really" did not want to hear.

So once again - I had to compromise with one more Unlikey by promising him that he could watch the next time the drill was turned on.  Of course I cautioned him that it wouldn't be me who turned it on -- I am averse to any heavy duty machinery (and by my definition pretty much anything other than an iron or sewing machine falls into that category).

"Okay", said "Really" - "Just let me talk to your husband he'll understand".  Hmmm I might have to eavesdrop on that little conversation.

"Do not wait; the time will never be 'just right'.  Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along." - George Herbert

"Baggaraggs"

I've recently added a little extra magic in my life.  Oh the excitement of opening a package from Robin Ridener of "Baggaraggs". 

I started with "Everland" -- a bit of a thing who sits on a ball of twine.  Her story is a dream sequence which is quite haunting and lovely.  

 

Robin's use of embellishments -- oddities -- paper, fabric and thread are just hard to describe.  In fact each time I hold  one of my little trio I discover something else.  The "Wishlist" talks about Christmas -- but I consider it my year-round wish list since I've been wanting one (or more) of Robin's dolls for what seems like forever.

And don't you love "Birdbrain"?  With her burlap wings and a Robin-made bird on her head she makes me laugh.

If you haven't discovered Robin's magical creations -- please hop right over to her shop on Etsy  --  Baggaraggs Etsy Shop . And don't miss her blog where she tells the stories of her creations at Baggaraggs Blog .

"True originality consists not in a new manner but in a new vision." - Edith Wharton

  

Hilda Hexintgon

After retirement Hilda read a book about witches -- I think it got stuck in her library stack by accident, but I'm not quite sure.  She at once decided that she would become a witch.

She had read about good witches but that seemed a bit boring.  So Harriet decided that it would only be fun if she could place hex's on those people who annoyed her.  Oh so many were written down on her list.  You know the ones -- the newspaper delivery that ends up on the roof, the cold food which should have been hot and moving toward the top of her list -- the customer service person on the other end of the line (we all know that frustration).  

The list could go on and on.   But I think we're all pretty safe for now as Harriet has been so busy compiling her 'Hex' list that she hasn't actually learned how to do a hex.  Time will tell...

"A nasty old witch on a broom

On Halloween night she will zoom.

She'll appear in the fog

Turn you into a frog,

So you'd better stay home in your room."

Anonymous

Prudence Prose

Miss Prose is the keeper of our books. The Lickety-Split Library has been her bailiwick for years.  She's quite set in her ways -- thus there is no computer usage allowed in our little corner of the literary world. 

 She does tend to collect the most obscure books one has ever seen - let alone read.  Perhaps someday when the library inventory is held, such titles as "How To Fix a Whirlagig" or "The Autobiography of Hortense Hightower" will be questioned.  Meanwhile I can safely say that the patrons of our library never get bored while browsing the stacks.

"A library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life." - Henry Ward Beecher

Arabesque Danse

If you're in Lickety-Split for very long you will probably have a chance to see our very own Arabesque Danse lead the children in a dance recital - ballet of course.  

Miss Danse's mother was quite a famous prima ballerina.  Arabesque tried very hard to follow in her mother's footsteps (quite literally) but sadly her talents lay elsewhere.  However, as most of us do, she has always held onto her dreams. 

These days, with her rheumatism acting up the way it does, her actual dancing days are pretty much over -- but her dreams continue on in the small feet of her charges at their twice a year recital.  Should you see her on the street - you would make her day if you asked for her autograph.

"Dance is the hidden language of the soul of the body." - Martha Graham

Adventures in Stitching

I have to admit - when it comes to handwork - even if it is supposed to look 'a little rough around the edges' I have trouble letting myself completely go.  I'd like to pay tribute to three doll makers whose work speaks for itself. 

Nola Hart's dolls are wonderful and she very graciously gave a pattern to Cloth, Paper, Scissors so that others could make 'her' doll.  In the process of a description of her work she says that when she stitches the outline of her doll's head she doesn't have a pattern or design, she just stitches a shape.  To me that is such bravery -- and even more brave that once its stitched she uses it as it comes out - without worrying about whether there is a good curve here or too abrupt a turn there.

Robin Ridener of "Baggaraggs" creates the most wonderful figures.  Her technique of making the whole doll, staining it with coffee and then putting it into a 200 degree oven - not really knowing what effect she'll see when she takes it out is amazing to me.

Last, but certainly not least is Catherine Zacchino - "Junker Jane".  Her work speaks for itself -- but for me she is the epitome of 'letting go - letting be".  

As I wrote this tribute to these women I realized what was missing in my own psyche.  Growing up in a time where the seams must be neat, the sewing 'well done' and the end product be 'just so', I have a difficult time crossing those barriers into 'acceptance'. Each of these women do their art with their own controls (thus their style) but I don't believe they worry about 'what it will look like' - more the story that it will tell - the feeling that it will convey.  That's my goal as I work along today.  I know I'll never be as 'wild and beautiful' as these women but I think I'll gain a bit of fun along the way if I learn to accept with joy what comes from my hands and stop worrying about what's going on in my mind.

"Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring." - Marilyn Monroe

The Fun Always Begins...

...with a mess or two.

...some painted Osnaburg fabric...

... some thread, some lace, some embellishments -- and a bit of anticipatory joy thrown in.  Is not the beginning of a project the very best time of all?

"To find a form that accommodates the mess, that is the task of the artist now." - Samuel Beckett

"Out of the Box"

Last January our InspiredArts Guild had a discussion about what we wanted for the coming year (2012).  Here we are beginning 2013 and its time to go back and see how each of us met the challenge of 'getting out of the box'. 

My statement, a year ago went something like this: "I focused too much on production in 2011".  My ways of jumping out of the box for 2012 were:  not doing any shows; trying new kinds of projects; developing punchneedle further.

Here's what actually happened this past year.  I did end up doing two shows - but I used pieces that I had made earlier so there was no production line going on in my studio and the only deadlines I had were to get the paperwork in on time.

Then I really jumped out of the box because I put punchneedle aside and moved on to some stitcheries early in the year.  From there I went into doll construction - first with a few 'stuffies' and then to a whole batch of cloth dolls with costumes that I designed.  Great fun!

As I ended 2012 I found myself still deeply entrenched in doll work - but switching over to paperclay (at least for the head).  This was a huge change for me since cloth has been my medium for years and years and years.  Here I was -getting messy - playing with clay - learning a whole new skill set.

So what do I foresee for 2013?  Hopefully my clay work will improve (it has to as it can't get much worse *smile*).  Hopefully I'll be able to continue exploration of alternative ways to make figures that please me. Perhaps I'll come up with a series of 'out of the box' figures. My overall plan is to work the way I did last year with no timetables to meet nor pressure. 

Let the creativity begin!

"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." - Anais Nin

"A Ten O'Clock Scholar"

" a diller, a dollar, a ten o'clock scholar!

What make you come so soon?

You used to come at ten o'clock;

Now you come at noon."

    old nursery rhyme
 



Here's my 'Ten O'clock Scholar' - all decked out in flannel and corduroy for the cold days ahead.

He is reading so much better these days, since he got his glasses.

 

Just so he doesn't forget his ABC's!

"There are perhaps no days of our childhood we lived so fully as those we spent with a favorite book." - Marcel Proust

"Can You Read My Heart?"

 

Let me introduce a new member of my family.  After going through a list of possible names, I made the decision not to traditionally name this particular doll but to use a spirit driven phrase - "Can you read my heart?"

This phrase came to me last month while helping a dear friend as her husband lay dying.  The words I spoke to her just didn't seem to be enough.  I wanted her to know how deeply I felt her loss.  As I thought about my frustration, this question came to me -"Can you read my heart?" 

I scribbled these words onto a piece of paper and laid it on my desk.  As I completed this little one I decided that with the writing on her arms and legs and her rusty, old heart sitting quite boldly on her breast, she deserved a very special name.  And so it is... "Can you read my heart?"

"Wherever you go, go with all your heart." - Confucius

Just a little bit smaller

 

 

After preparing six new dolls - ready for dressing I did a u-turn and went back to the drawing board.  The idea of a somewhat smaller doll - with 'jointed' legs was calling me.

I wanted to consider a little bit of a difference in design.  While the basics of the doll are the same -- a few things have changed, along with a reduction in size.  At this point in time I'm planning that each of these dolls will have 'patterned' arms and legs - a pattern that either reflects their theme or 'goes well' with the rest of her dress.

What is going through my head while I create these smaller ones?  Vintage, simple, themes.  What design components will I use? Dresses, hats, hanging dolls, perhaps even some 'staging'. 

We'll see what happens - but here is my first effort. 

"Not knowing when the dawn will come I open every door." - Emily Dickinson

The Process

 

Before going on holiday I drew, cut and stitched bodies, arms and legs.  At least I got that far.

Upon returning home I spent many quiet hours stuffing all the 'parts.

 

 

Then came the fun of painting - first with off-white and then aging by using watered down acrylics.



And soon the true fun begins -- creating identities and fashions for each and every one of them.


"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over it became a butterfly." - Proverb

Body Parts

 

I've been working on doll 'body parts' -- drawing on muslin, stitching, stuffing and painting.  My least favorite part?  Definitely stuffing and yet it is one of the most important jobs in making cloth dolls.  A poorly stuffed doll will lose shape, or not even develop the shape you were aiming for.  Its worth the time and patience to stuff well - as probably every cloth doll creator has discovered.

Painting is my favorite thing -- it means the stuffing is over *smile* and looking at freshly painted bodies, arms and legs awaiting further attention is exciting.  From this point on the 'fun' part of creativity enters the scene.

"Arrange whatever pieces come your way." - Virginia Woolf

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