April in the Niche - Usagi Rakki and Friends

It's hard to believe that it has been nearly four years since I first went to John C Campbell Folk School with my friend Mary Wilkes to take a doll class from Leslie Molen called Usagi Rakki.  This was a new adventure for us as doll makers.  This doll was a start to finish.  No pre-work.  We loaded up my Odyssey (Lola) with sewing machines, sewing supplies, luggage, water, etc.

To commemorate our trip I made two journals from an on-line class I took called "Remains of the Day".  I took a photo of the class doll and the dates of the trip and printed them on fabric and added them to the journals.  Our first night was spent in Asheville, NC, and I had some travel brochures that I picked up when Jim and I visited Asheville, using parts of them in the construction of the pages. Here are some pictures of the finished journals.

                             Inside Front Cover

         
Quote - "Love is the Thread That Binds Us" which we hand embroidered on the doll skirt.

                                    Name of the class and teacher/designer, Leslie Molen.

                                         Outside Front Cover

After the long days in class we would go back to our room and jot down some of our thoughts and events of the day.  I often look through that journal today.  It was a labor of love making them.

There were only 4 students in the class.  That made the week even more special since it meant we had more time getting to know one another and inhaling as much of Leslie's knowledge as we could.

                                 Drying in the Sunshine

                                 Whiskers Drying

      
                                 JoAnn, me, Leslie, Mary, Kim

We were a crazy bunch and were a force to be reckoned with as we charged into the meal hall to make claim our chairs.  We had a class theme song - If I Should Ever Leave This World.  And a class saying - Whyt? I aint dead yet! (southern back country inflection)

Wonderful memories and a cherished finished doll to display.

March in the Niche

March is the month of huge contrasts in weather going from winter to spring, from death to rebirth.  For me this doll has similar symbolic elements.  Her body as white as snow.  Feathers that remind me of the birds that welcome spring.  The crow and the snake her companions from the earth and sky.  A shield, bow and arrows her tools to provide food and clothing.  Talismans like the dream catcher and the trophies that hang from her belt to show she endures all challenges and pays homage to the spirit world.

This doll was a collaborative project from my Akron, OH doll club, Time For Dolls. This group really enjoyed round robin's.  I think this was our third RR.  We each started with a basic doll size dress form.

We were to come to the first round with the form decorated as we wanted for her to begin the journey each month to a different member to embellish in any way they chose.

To start, I made a head out of a paper mache cupcake.  I had this face cab and doll arms in my stash.  I first painted all of this in copper Lumiere and then applied a white crackle finish to everything.  I put another coat of the copper to the pedestal only.

I made accordion folded books for each doll with tags that were numbered for each round.  The members were to document on the tags what they added to the doll.  When I read through my tags today, I noticed two people either did not work on my doll or forgot to fill out the tag.  That makes me sad because this was our last project together before I moved to Colorado.  Here are some close-ups of the finished doll.

February In The Niche

February is the month where there are lots of red, pink, and hearts are everywhere you look.  That is the theme I chose for this doll, which is a Barbara Willis design called Field of Dreams.  I took this class when I was new to doll making at a store I adored because of all the bright colorful fabrics.  And it had a fantastic name, Cotton Candy!  But, that store closed some years ago. The teacher was Judy Brown (pictured below). Judy is a patient encouraging teacher who, over the years since first meeting her at Cotton Candy, has become a doll making friend.

One of the features of the design is that the doll can stand on it's own.  I put it on a stand for display purposes but the picture below shows her standing without any help.  Strong ankles are the key here which means the feet, ankles and legs need to be stuffed firmly.

The doll has a pancake face with the corners of her mouth sculpted.  The facial features are all hand painted.  The pupils are size 11 seed beads which also give some dimension to the face.

The costume was a lot of fun to make.  She has a lined jacket, pantaloons and billowy skirt.  This was the first time I made shoes for a doll too.

Hair is Tibetan Lamb.

I would consider this an advanced beginner doll.  Barbara Willis also has some beginner patterns and the next picture shows both Field of Dreams and the beginner pattern Sea Side Sadie.

January In The Niche

Ari Briavel of Winter Wild Woods took up the spot of honor In The Niche in January.  The pattern is a Barbara Schoenoff design and part of her Elfling Series.  The doll features wooden bead jointing, which you cannot see because of the clothing, that allows the elbows, wrists, knees and ankles to be manipulated for posing.  The picture below shows the beaded joints.

The costume consists of blue ultra suede and on the hat and jacket I couched fiber with free motion embroidery.  The fur is real and I got the pelt for free at a Guilded Lilies doll club meeting in Columbus, Ohio.  One of the members was moving and brought in heaps of fabric and other goodies that she didn't want to move.  I believe she got this at an estate sale and it was part of a stole.  Sorry the picture is blurry.  Hair is Tibetan Lamb.

Here is a better picture of the costume as I was making it.

 Close-up of the boots.

Close-up of the face.

This doll was made in a class sponsored by Time For Dolls in Akron, Ohio.  Barbara was the first professional designer/teacher that we had come and teach to our group.  Unfortunately, the group disbanded shortly after I moved to Colorado.  They were the best group of women and I miss them all.

The Opposite Side of the Cold Front

For the past few days a massive cold front with snow and freezing temperatures have gripped the midwest and east.  We, here in Denver, are on the back of that front which means we have warm temperatures and sunny, blue skies.  I got a new pair of walking shoes last week and took them out for a test run today.  I wanted to know how long it takes to walk to the local recreation center.  It took just over 17 minutes.

There were lots of families in Central Park, runners, dog walkers and cycling families.  I usually just look at all the park activity out my windows.  I longed to be one of those enjoying the out of doors.  I wondered why I never found the time to take a walk.  I have discovered that finishing my art studio has freed this little voice in my head that said I was not allowed outside until that room was finished.  I could shout the "free at last …." part of Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech.  I do live on one of his namesake boulevards after all.


Here is a little of what I saw today on my walk around the neighborhood.

There are several benches on the trails so that you can rest and enjoy the scenery.

There is also lots of artwork sprinkled here and there.

There is lots of work being done on Westerly Creek.  They are fixing and improving the flood plain because the 500 year rains we experienced in September damaged them.  Stapleton had 12 inches in a 24 hour period.

It is January 3, so I know the snow and cold will return soon.  As for now, I am grateful for mostly sunny skies and 60 degrees!

New Year - New Art Studio

One year ago today, my husband and I were on a plane to Denver to finalize the purchase of our new home.  We drove to the building site soon after we landed. Here is what it looked like.

We spent the next four days signing documents, deposit checks, rental checks, and choosing all of the finishes for the interior of our home.  The bedroom in the basement with the large walk-in closet was going to be my new art studio.  I chose a wood grain vinyl for the floor for ease in clean-up of the occaisional art mishap.  I also requested that they do not hang the closet shelves but to leave it just drywall because I wanted that room to hold my cutting table.  In May of 2013 we moved into our finished home.  Here is a picture of what the basement looked like after the movers left.  Most of these boxes came out of the two rooms and two closets I used for my office and art studio in Ohio.  Now they would have to fit into one bedroom and one closet.

Some seven months later, I have finally finished unpacking and organizing and have this lovely art studio to start the New Year!

I designed the counter height workstation from IKEA kitchen cabinets.  I have two work areas so that if I have a sewing project going but want to start a beading project I won't have to put away the sewing.  The turquoise cart is in one of the work spaces.  The shelves on the walls and the cute button rug are from IKEA as well.  The cutting table is from Pottery Barn and it has bookshelves on the side for my library of craft/art books.  Sprinkled here and there are some of my Longaberger baskets filled with UFO's!  I still have some finishing touches to do like under cabinet lighting and adding the hanging containers on the towel racks, also IKEA kitchen components.

Since my studio is in the basement, I chose a soft yellow for the walls called Banana Cream Pie. I also used that color in one room of my studio in Ohio because it is very, very cloudy there.  My accent color is turquoise.  A nice reading chair finished the room by making it feel cozy and inviting.

A nice new place to create surrounded by the things I love.