Art Doll 101 - Sky Dancers, Wall Dolls

I've been a doll maker for a number of years and the dolls I choose to make are usually inspired by real people, entertainment, books and stories, fiction and fantasy, places I've visited and art by other artists. Someone asked me one day about my 'art dolls'. I had never really thought of my dolls as 'art' and was curious to know what an 'art doll' really was. 






The consistent definition covers two main points: An art doll is a piece of art and is meant to be displayed and viewed as art and not intended to be a toy but as an item that is collected by adults rather than for children. The dolls can be realistic or abstract, fantasy or science fiction, human, humanoid or alien it's all up to the creative mind of the doll maker. The materials used for art dolls are limitless and can range from traditional materials like porcelain, ceramics, wood and cloth to industrial materials and found and recycled objects.

My first doll class this year will be an easy art doll workshop. The class will be a quick three hours and we will create a basic doll with lots of possibilities for decorating it to make it your own OOAK (One Of A Kind) design. Being a doll maker means that if you can imagine it you can create it. My doll making journey has made me challenge myself to make things that are out of my experience.  
 

This new inspiration comes  from images I found on the Internet of Cirque du Soleil's beautiful acrobatic sky dancers. I got a chance to see one of their shows many, many years ago and I was so fascinated by the way the dancers flew above the stage on long strips of silk. As soft and graceful as this performance appears, you know that these women are strong and in perfect physical condition. 

This is a great beginning project for first time doll makers. The sky dancers are a decorative wall doll that can be hung from a chandelier, mobile, headboard or the wall. 

The first Inner Diva, Alter Ego Doll Workshop (IDAE) of the season will be 5:30pm to 8:30pm, April 17th at:




Capsity
2572  21st Street
Sacramento  CA  95818
Just off Broadway and east of the Tower Restaurant..

For more information about the workshop, materials list and to register online with PayPal go to the Inner Diva Alter Ego (IDAE) blogsite at: http://innerdivaalteregodolls.blogspot.com/

This first class is limited to eight students, 18 years and older but other classes will be added as needed.

March is Women's History Month so please hug your favorite lady and tell her you appreciate her. Also, if you have a chance you can visit two of my large 33" dolls at the Brickhouse Art Gallery until March 17th. They are part of the Sojournor Truth Exhibit honoring African American Artists Charles White and Charles Alston.

 

 

 

 

Fiber artist instructor, Jan Hollins will introduce a class that will challenge your raw edge applique and silhouette art experience. For those enjoying a taste of the exotic, batiks and cottons in shades of yellow, gold, red, orange and black will be used.  The project will be quilted in threads of similar colors, accented with gold or silver metallic thread.  Provide your own working sewing machine and basic sewing supplies.  Some African fabric will be provided at a cost. The class will be held Thursday, April 17^th, at the Capsity Building, 2572 21st Street, Sacramento, CA 9581 (Near Broadway and 21^st) from 5:30p - 8:30p. Class Fee is $45.00. For more information and supply list please contact Jan Hollins, 916 613-7401 or email -- jhquiltsandmore@gmail.com

 

Creative Energy and the New Moon

I have a long term project that I am about to begin for a friend. It will be a series of 36 inch, soft sculpture dolls that will be created over the next several months. After talking to my friend and working out the beginning details I am intrigued and excited to be a part of this creative adventure. One of the special requests that my client had was to begin each new art project on a new moon. I have never had that request asked of me before but I agreed. I looked into information about the new moon's creative energy and read that it is potent and useful for projects that require you to tap into your emotions and subconscious thoughts where the best art is made. It is a time to fuel intuition and connect to your body. This creative period is at its strongest from the three days before the new moon through the three days after the new moon. The next new moon will be March 1st and the creative cycle begins on February 26th and ends on March 4th.

I have always loved and been fascinated by the moon and it has been a key part of a lot of the artwork I've done in the past. One of my favorite things to do is to watch the sky in the evening especially when the moon is full. I lived in the South Bay Area for most of my life and moved to Sacramento about six years ago. There is so much more flat land here with views unobstructed by buildings, trees or hills and the moon seems so much larger and closer. When I'm restless or troubled or trying to work out a problem, I spend a few minutes watching the moon, I have a good view from the window in my room. It always settles and calms me and refreshes my thoughts.

If any of you have had a creative block in your art, business or problem solving lately try approaching it again tomorrow, February 26h on the next new moon cycle.

Stay tuned for my next post. I'll share with you my latest dolls. I created 9 new dolls inspired by the Cirque du Soleil silk acrobats. Any of you who were kind enough and patient enough over the last few months to listen to my story about my car being broken into and 30 of my dolls being 'kidnapped' before Christmas. I had just done a holiday faire a few days before and hadn't had the energy to get my bag up my stairs. After four years of living in my apartment complex without a single incident and I left stuff in my car for months at a time, my luck finally ran out. I grieved about my lost dolls for a few days and then prayed that they were in a good home with someone who would love them and take care of them. My promise to myself was to make 30 new dolls to replace my lost ones although I can never duplicate them. More about my Sky Dancers in my next post.

I was so glad to meet new people and see old and new faces at the Brickhouse  Holiday Faire, the Third Annual Sisters Quilting Collective Quilt Exhibit and Sisters Quilting Collective's Day at the Crocker Art Museum. I will be sending out information about new doll making classes for this spring and summer soon. Thank you for signing my book and coming by to say hi.
  

 

Old Fashioned Rag Dolls 2014 Page Two

 These are three more of my old fashioned rag dolls, I love them because the are so simple. These are the kinds of dolls our great, great grandmothers played with. I love my art dolls but it has been a nice break to go back to basics and create these simple 'Prim' type dolls.

 

 

 
 
 
 
 

 December

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is January.

 

 

          

 This is Carmela

 

Mother Courage for the Sojourner Truth Gallery Exhibit

My latest project was to design two dolls for an exhibit for Black History Month for the Sojourner Truth Gallery in Sacramento. The concept was to choose two paintings from two African American Artists Charles White and Charles Alston and to recreate a work of art of our own inspired by their work. The exhibit will debut at the Sojourner Truth Gallery, 2251 Florin Rd., Sacramento CA, on February 1st and then reopen at the Brickhouse Art Gallery on February 17th and run until March 16th.

I am a doll artist so I thought it would be interesting to take the subject of a two dimensional painting and recreate it in a three dimensional soft sculpture. It was kind of like working in reverses since most painters paint three dimensional objects and turn them into two dimensional paintings.

I chose Charles White's "Mother Courage" because she makes me think of working women from the past. When I was a little girl I used to see these ladies all waiting at the bus stop ready to leave their own homes to go and take care of someone else's home. My mother got up five days a week and caught the bus rain or shine and went to work. She put in long and hard hours. I was inspired by my mother because she made the decision to change her life so that she didn't have to clean other people's houses and went back to school and got her degree and became a nutritionist.

This is my "three dimensional" interpretation of "Mother Courage".

 
 

Old Fashioned Rag Dolls 2013 Page One

I've been making art dolls for a number of years. This year I challenged myself to try something different and I've been making some old fashioned rag dolls. I went online and found some images of vintage cloth dolls and I decided to create my own updated versions of them.

Cordilia                                                              

     
Cordilia was inspired by cloth dolls from the late 1800's. Antique Black dolls from this period are hard to find today. A lot of them were literally "loved to death" by their owners. She is dressed in an old fashioned dress and apron. The red print fabric used for her dress was very typical for little girls dresses of the period.













Her yarn hair is "plaited" into several braids and tied with
blue ribbons. I hand painted her face using a vintage photo
of a child from that period.

Missy

Missy is a one piece doll and dress combination. She has a flat, bean bag bottom to help her sit.

She also has a hand painted face and plaited yarn hair.

Pancake Dolls, Work in Progress

My latest project for the holidays, a really easy doll called a pancake doll because she's flat and in one piece. I will be teaching this doll workshop in December. I'll show you the finished project tomorrow.

Creativity

 

 

 

I love this quote from Maya Angelou. A few months ago I was doing a show and I had all of my dolls and some of my fabric art pieces displayed and ready to sell. A woman came up to my table and really liked my work. She oohed and ahhed and picked up several of my dolls and had wonderful things to say about them. I thought that she was interested in buying a doll or maybe that she would be a potential customer in the future. She said "Oh no, I can't afford to buy one of your dolls but I hope you won't mind, I want to steal a couple of your ideas". I could have been a little angry, I have to admit that I was definitely a little annoyed. I told her that if she thought she could do it I couldn't stop her. I said that she would be using someone else's creativity instead of finding her own and the work she would be copying would never really be her own. God blesses me with a never ending supply of creative ideas that are all mine and mine to share with the world and  people like her. I could choose to keep my creativity to myself, safely tucked away in my head safe from thieves and copy cats but what would be the point of locking it away? As the quote says "The more you use, the more you have."

 

Negative People

 

 

I saw this poster on  Pinterest. It says so much in just a few words. Recently, I have had a few negative people pass through my life and cast shadows. Negative people effect creativity and your ability to dream and imagine. Even when you have a strong self image and you are well grounded in your beliefs, someone else's dark spirit can slow you down and hold you back. I wanted to share this with you and hope you can take this advice. I certainly am.

Michael

This is Michael he is the third of four of my new large dolls. He stands about 33" tall and he id Verlene's dance partner.

Verlene

This is my second large doll. Her name is Verlene which was my mother's middle name. She's about 32" tall. Her dress is made from real African fabric and she has a fully poseable body. She is a dancer and you can see her with her dance partner Michael in some of the pictures. More about Michael later. 

 

Grandma Reisa

I've been working on something different for the last few weeks. I've been making 22" dolls for a few years now and I decided that I wanted to make something different to display at a show I did yesterday. I enlarged my basic patterns so that I was able to make dolls that were 30 to 34 inches tall.

Grandma Reisa is the first of my large dolls.