November Notes

Here we are entering the month of November.  I'm glad to be turning this calendar page.  October was filled with me trying to do things I 'used' to do and giving up on them half completed.  Grrrr!  After my last 'stuff it in a box and forget about it doll' I realized that I still need/want the safety and joy of 'box lid art'.

At this point in my life I'm not pushing myself to continue working on something I don't enjoy anymore, just to say 'I can do it' *smile*. 

Over my creative life I have tried many, many things.  Some have been successful (to my eye), others not so much.  Some went the way of the weekly trash pick up and others I still have sitting here in my studio, cheering me on.  For now I'm ready to stay on my 'boxed' in path. 

As for the month of October, I so enjoyed being outside.  Crispy cool mornings, slightly warmer, sunny afternoons.  Heaven is: shuffling through the dried leaves while I walk the roads of our community; watching huge amounts of rain outside my studio window; standing in the sunshine knowing that soon I'll be wedded to our heater; and lastly letting myself start a project - stop it in mid stride - and not feel guilty. 

"All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on."- Havelock Ellis

Let's Face It

While working on something else I found this linen shirt buried in one of my boxes.  It was an excellent 'find' at a local thrift store.   Oh, I just had to use this.  Its got texture, a beautiful earthy shade of beige/grey and soft, soft, soft.

For me the 'face' is the pivot for any doll -- it sets the scene for the story.  Does it make me laugh, does it make me smile, does it make me wonder?  And it can be the most difficult of part of the whole design.  In making a prototype I decided to draw the face on a finished head.  I practiced on muslin, I drew faces until I almost wanted to have a 'faceless' doll.  Time to draw the face on a linen stuffed head.  Tragedy!  That idea did not work with the linen.  Okay -- I'll just embroider over the drawing -- worse tragedy. Pawing through some older doll stuff, I found a few stitched faces which I'd once meant to attach to a stuffed head.  Voila!!  Could that work?

After making several faces and attaching one to a finished doll I thought I had the answer, but each day I grew to dislike it more and more. This doll design is supposed to be somewhat serene and quiet and even a bit sophisticated, if you will.   What is a non-artist supposed to do?

Coming to my aid was a collection of circa 1500 women's portraits.  Several to choose from, but this beauty came to my rescue.  I cannot seem to find out who the artist was but the title is "1500 Eleonara Gonzage Italian Renaissance".  

Much more to do, but the secret seems to be patience and perseverance. Thanks to Eleonara I now have a face that helps tell this story. 

"Sometimes things aren't clear right away.  That's where you need to be patient and persevere and see where things lead." - Mary Pierce 

Anthropology

Do you think doll makers are anthropologists in our own way?  Through our  hands, hearts and especially our imaginations we can create whatever creature comes to mind.  

Sometimes they seem to come from far off lands, not yet even discovered.

Other times they are other versions of our species.

Did you ever think of yourself as an explorer?  I didn't until I started inventing little communities.  Its great fun isn't it - to be an anthropologist right in our very own studios (or backyards)?

"Anthropology demands the open-mindedness with which one must look and listen, record in astonishment and wonder that which one would not have been able to guess." - Margaret Mead

The Best of Three Worlds

These days I'm incorporating my love of punchneedle embroidery, doll making and words into one small package (or hopefully 'packages')

I'm also learning along the way - with several missteps.  But then for me, that's always part of the play. After a brief frustration with myself, I move on, knowing a little bit more each time.

Training myself in the use of materials, especially if not traditionally used this way, is always 'interesting'.  That's the fun part.  The not-so-fun part is taking stitches out (and ruining a whole face in the process) and/or putting one piece aside and starting another to replace it because the first one did not work.  I shall persevere!

Don't lose your confidence if you slip

Be grateful for a pleasant trip

And pick yourself up, dust yourself off

Start all over again.

Jerome Kern/Dorothy Fields

Continuity

 

 

Fabric is piled onto my work table where I sort/discard/keep various bits and pieces that would fit the themes I want to work.   One problem that I have - like a kid in a candy store - is that I am presented with so many choices, so many designs and patterns and colors that I quickly go into overload. 
 

After my first assemblage I Ieave these carefully crafted piles on the table and walk away  to return the next morning.  In the early morning - even before getting out of bed - I realize that in some cases I might have been swayed by the fabric itself and ignored the general, overall design of this series of dolls.
 

These dolls are meant to be 'whimsical',  'simple', 'humble' and somewhat 'vintage'.  I want them to speak for themselves.  As I look at some of the piles of fabric that I had laid out the day before I realized that some of my choices would present a 'mixed-message'.  Hmmm -- this is not something that had occurred to me before. 

Looking at other doll maker's dolls - I am drawn to the designers that are always 'true to their design'.  Dolls tell a story - they can't help it - and if I want to tell my story I must carefully practice continuity.  So - its back to the drawing board - or at least to the fabric stash - to look for the 'just right' pieces that will do the job, carefully keeping in mind my dream.

"Identity in the form of continuity of personality is an extremely important characteristic of the individual." - Kenneth L. Pike

Of Needle and Thread

The other day I was asked 'what do you do' - in relationship to craft/art.  The description listing all of the needlework types I have been involved with over the years would take forever -- it's quite a long list.

My 'handwork' began with my husband's grandmother teaching me embroidery.  While I was pregnant she bought me little flannel gowns from Woolworth's and I embroidered their printed designs.  My next step into needlework came many years later when I worked in needlepoint.  Still I worked from a printed pattern.  From needlepoint I went on to counted cross-stitch. 

After cross-stitch I began making cloth dolls.  Finally I was making my own designs and patterns.  I soon became surrounded by dolls - paper, fabric, painted and stitched. 

One day I discovered "Somerset Studio" and then "Cloth Paper Scissors" and my stitching life took a tremendous turn.  No more carefully constructed patterns and lots of improvisation as I spent five years creating book art.  Mixed media became my mantra but still there was plenty of stitching both by hand and by machine.

From book art I moved on to beading.  I couldn't string jewelry I had to stitch it - and so beaded embroidery became my 'new best friend'.

These days I feel the tug toward using more fabric and embellishments, the need to put more of 'myself' into a piece rather than regulated loops.  We'll see where this journey goes -- but I know quite well that I will always be holding needle and thread in one form or another.

"A line will take us hours maybe; yet if it does not seem a moment's thought, our stitching and unstitching has been naught." - William Butler Yeats