Marza

Some dolls just come knocking at my door. This one literally did...

A good friend of mine and her sister at the Antiques and Collectibles show this past weekend, and saw this very funky folk art doll lying under a table. They decided to buy her for me.... just because.

On an otherwise dreary and stressful Monday morning, a parcel wrapped in tissue was handed into my arms. "Here... you must have this", she said!

I was completely floored to receive such a gift! 

She is quite old, but we're not sure how old... the seller had no information. Probably around 1920's, we're thinking, based on the costume. She is firmly stuffed with sawdust. 

Her head and face are a very finely woven cotton, but the hands and arms appear to be silk.

She has a very interesting combination of styles and influences. The embroidered eyes give the impression of something Greek... or maybe ancient Egyptian or Etruscan. Look at the heavy outlines of kohl she's drawn on!

From other angles, she looks slightly native American, with her dangling beads. The shape of the upper bodice of the garment is interesting... like a mini-capelet. Very chic... and made from silk.

The hair is astonishing... made from very good quality cotton jersey (another reason I'm thinking it was made not much earlier than the 1920's), and needle-sculpted to form a lovely hairdo.

The hairstyle *almost* has a hint of Princess Leia about it...

While definitely evocative of a 1920's flapper, the costume also has a very ethnic flair... almost peasant-Slavic, which brings me around to how I chose her name... Marza, which is short for Marzanna, a Slavic goddess of winter/death and rebirth.

Waist belt medallion made from wooden beads, with some kind of dyed red seed or pit bead in the center, backed by what looks to be a piece of lead foil for a shiny detail.

Sweet little brocade handbag. She is ready for a party.

A rather shapeless smock type frock really, with a dotted Swiss under shift (that you can barely see on the edges of this next shot). The dress is quite short, showing just the edges of her pantaloons underneath... which are linen, I think, trimmed with striped silk.

And then there's those boots! They REALLY look sort of Slavic-Hungarian in style. Definitely prepared for a long cold winter, despite the short dress.

Get Punked

Punks are all the rage around here...

After the Valentine love punks I made for my granddaughters, the first was Gigi... who is now listed here... on Etsy.  This and all the other punk dolls below are made from a vintage log cabin quilt, circa 1930's-ish. If you look closely at the seams, you can see that most were pieced by hand! I'm using vintage buttons for eyes, bits of wool felt, old keys, faux fur for hair, and trim from my stash of silk sari ribbon, vintage rick-rack and other lovelies. Each is about 6.5" tall.

Next came Babs... a birthday gift for a friend. This is my personal favorite so far. I just love how much character came out as I worked on her.

Then, Esme... by request, for my daughter-in-law. Esme's blue button eye (stacked on a larger brown button) was from the dress of a baby doll I had as a child, and have been carrying that button around ever since. The only thing I had left of her.

Just finished Posie this afternoon, and she was sold within the hour! Homage to my friend, Catherine Zacchino (aka Junker Jane) for the design of the stitched "X" mouth. I totally love the super old coral pink button. I bought that button at an antique store a few years ago for 25 cents, just because I loved how worn it was... the only thing I bought that day.

Punks in progress... more to come!

Gimme some Love Punks

These are the Valentine version of my Voodoo Punks from last fall.

Cutter quilt with felt and buttons... and some uber long faux fur hair.

THIS YEAR, I RESOLVE....

...to make fewer commitments.

Last year was very full of many wonderful things. Weddings, reunions, events of all kinds. This year, I bought a blank calendar with very large spaces. And I like it that way... all that open space. Yes, I know it will fill up despite my wishing it wouldn't, but right now I'm appreciating the open road ahead. No deadlines, no Monumental Events. What this means, my friends, is that I am committed to saying "NO" a lot more. Don't take it personally.

...to use what I have.

In 2013, I am not signing up for any classes, workshops or retreats. I already have enough skills, techniques, supplies and ideas to keep me busy for the rest of my life. The trick is.... to DO it. And so, there will be less dabbling. Less going in a million directions. Less acquiring of yet more *stuff* that I don't have room to store. Less dreaming. More doing.

...to shut my mouth.

In 2013, I want to blog more and talk less about it. In other words, despite my penchant for writing, I resolve to record more of what I see and do in image form. Last year, I discovered that I really REALLY enjoy that part that comes at the end of creating a doll, a piece of art or jewelry.... photographing it. I want to do more shutter snapping and less typing. More wandering around my world with camera in hand... less sitting on my ass in front of the computer.

...to let go.

Lastly, I resolve to unearth one thing that I've been carrying around with me for a LONG time. Unwrap it, dust it off, and let it go. Not sure what that will be yet! 

May 2013 gracefully bless your life and grant you opportunities to leave the world a better place.

Time Travelers and Goddesses

I was invited to participate in a collaborative doll making project last summer with Pamela Hastings and six other doll artists. We're doing it "Round Robin" style, each starting a doll and mailing it to the next person in the circle for them to add something to and send on. We've been through five exchanges now, taking one month to add our contribution to each doll. Our original dolls will come back to us next spring, as the circle is completed. Each doll has a journal that accompanies it's travels, in which we document what we've done and add to the story. Below are the two most recent pieces I've been working on.

First is the spectacular "Gears of Time" doll, begun with the clockwork torso by Lori Grassette. I've been calling him "Time Traveler Steampunk Dude".... aka, "Time Traveler" or just "The Dude".

After Lori, Lynne Sward added the wired cloth arms, then Mary Klawetter did his sculpted paper clay head and heart. Thea Roy did the marvelous spindle, wire and sari silk legs. We just go with what unfolds and let the dolls suggest what they have in mind. I think this is the first doll in this project that has taken on a male persona.

For this round, I added black wire hands. They're sculpted from old plastic-coated telephone wire and attached to Lynne's cloth arms by wrapping around some beads she added at the wrists. I tucked the wire ends up neatly under the blue-green quilted cloth "cuffs" that Pamela added, along with a majestic Aztec-ian headdress.

I also added this old key.... which allows him to be the "Master" of his very own Universe.

Time Traveler has a "winged companion", which I decided to attach at his left shoulder. She is a little fairy spirit that gives him some much needed divine guidance.

Just learning how these new hands work!

This is the journal The Dude carries with him. I added a cover today, to rescue the poor thing which was falling apart a little.

Here is the "Sacred Porch Spirit" that started with a seriously amazing two-sided head done by Lynne Sward...

The bodacious body was done by Mary Louisa Klawetter... the legs by Thea Roy. Thea picked up the bird theme in Lynne's porch spirit's face and gave her long heron-like legs. Pamela was next and added the whimsical bird feet.

From there, how could I go with anything else but.... WINGS? With each design element, we're not only challenged to work with the pieces and parts that have been added before us, but must make sure it will be durable enough to survive packing and shipping... and fit in the box! These wings are made from painted Tyvek mailing envelopes. The top edge is wired for strength and shaping, so they could be flexed and curved slightly forward around the body.

Inspired by Eric Carle's wonderful textured collage papers, I dragged a comb through the wet paint to created the feather effect. Each triangular snippet is glued in place with heavy gel medium. I pulled the end point of each feather between my thumbnail and finger... like you do with curling ribbon, to make them swoop up on the ends and stand out, adding dimension. 
The wings are secured to the back of the doll's body with C-lon cord, threaded through punched holes. She has a face in the back, too... so it might look like her wings are on backwards. Confusing? Ahhh... but that's by design! Evil spirits beware as she protects Lynne's screened porch next summer!