Join me for another canvas based 3-Dimension Mixed Media Art Creation! Begin by creating a beautiful night sky including stars that actually twinkle and then build your own crescent moon, complete with texture and craters.  Using paper clay students will learn to sculpt a whimsical moon face, and finish the moon with color and glow.  There has to be Moon Glow!

The sweet little 7 inch faerie seated on the moon begins with a poseable wire armature, is constructed of paper clay with minimal details, and sculpted facial details are optional, though basic sculpting will be taught. After painting our Sweet Fae, we’ll dress her in silk we have hand dye in class. Finally we create her organza and wire wings just before seating her with her best friend and a book to read to him. The class is running on Doll Street.

 

I've been trying to decide what my next pattern might be and came across some old projects. Above is the Enchantress, who sat on a throne and read Tarrot cards. I love the tattoos on her face and breast.  She had a great deal of beadwork on her pigskin corsette and hand dyed silk.

 

 Carlotta has a beautiful headdress created from hand dyed lace.  She was a Cirque du Soliel type deal dangling from a silk sheet.  She was loads of fun to make but probably to challenging to get across asa pattern with her pose.

 My cloth Marrottes all had large noses and my typical eccentric and eclectic headdress designs. I initially wanted to go medieval in design but got creative so call the costuming ecclectic.  No one can say I have the style wrong that way!

The Ribbon Master took third place in the Hoffman challenge a few years back.  He's got a wimple and layered ribbon headdress but what you can't see here is his fabulous coat and embroidered silk Shirt.  The Master is a variation of my Wee Whimsies.

 

 Master Ferryman was inspired while watching "Shakespear in Love."  His costuming is ecclectic Elizabethan made of a free motion embroidery jacket, velvet hat and leather shoes. He would be a fun pattern but I'd have to remake him as the original sold about 10 years ago.

Penelope Ponders the Preposterous Proposal of the Pompous Prince Phillip was an early doll that I always adored and still own.  I'd remake her - since I've improved my skills in the last 15 years since I first made her. Her headdress is created out of several  doilies and lace scraps. She actually was a pattern that didn't do too well when I first started designing, so maybe a revision will do better.

Riding the Dodo was always one of my favorite pieces. I'd like to remake this sometime and improve the bird.  The gentleman rider was a very early Wee Whimsie and inspired by James Christenson's art.  He wears a wimple, ribbon headwrap and a cap on top.  The little bitty bird on his hat is actually the rider, because if you dressed like this I'd call you a dodo too.

Who knows which I will choose as my next pattern... we'll just have to wait and see.

Beetle Babe

I'm releasing a new online pattern Beetle Babe. Briwyn is a garden faerie and stands on her beetle buddy Brody’s back holding securely to vine woven reigns as she patrols under the hosta leaves and in between the bluebells and the columbine to make sure things are in order. Her costume is hand dyed and singed silk, draped in fibers and beads and toped with a Free Motion Embroidery (FME) corset but could easily be completed in pre-dyed fabrics and   without the FME for a less challenging project. Brody has a shell also made with FME using different types of fibers. This pattern is full of techniques and options including: a flat face and a needle sculpted head as well as a choice between individually wired articulated fingers and mitten hands. With the added options this pattern will be fun for doll makers of all skill levels. Make this doll with as many or as few techniques as you choose!

You can find her at Craftsy or my Etsy Shop.

Aquarius

 

 

   I was born under the sign of Aquarius which I am SURE is why I retain water so well. But it also helps me to appreciate mermaids, and I designed one years ago and taught it live many times. Now I'm remaking the mermaid, Angel Fish the Mermaid Bride, and planning to make her into an on line workshop.

   Angel fish collects riches from ship wrecks and has embellished her wedding gown with her treasures. This two or three day work shop features Judy’s detailed step-by-step methods to needle sculpt and add dimension to a cloth face with color. Create this elegant mermaid doll to learn free form embellishing techniques including silk ribbon embroidery stitches, ribbon and fabric manipulation and incorporating beadwork as well as creating lace unique embellishments from lace to create this beautiful doll. Additional techniques taught in this workshop include how to naturally pose feminine articulated hands gracefully with the option for individual fingers or mitten hands including fingernails and easy but elegant dolly rings and jewelry.

   I made another version of Angel Fish several times and  embellished her tail even more. Quite a bit of beadwork and silk ribbon embroidery.

 

   A close up of the tail shows some of the embellishment details.

 

Phish Stix!

   My newset class is on techniques to embellish paper and phabric.  Instead of a boring old block of scrap I decided we should make a collection of Phish as we go. When they have a dowel rod added they become Phish Stix! Phunny that! Or you can make them into a sample book, after mounting them, of course.  or you could hang them in your studio as a reminder of how much phun new tecniques (and a few old ones!) can be in a workshop. Why Phish you may ask?  Why not?

   Students will focus on color, texture, fabric manipulation, techniques, add embellishments, eat chocolate and make Phish.  Students may choose to make their Phish flat and decorate a wall or fill a book, or choose to stuff them and stand them in a vase, or on their own, or make a pillow, create a mobile or just go for some good ole traditional Phish slapping.  But why Phish, you ask?  Why not? 

Techniques taught in this workshop include:

• Stamping
• Embossing
• Adding texture to paper
• Layering paper and fabric
• Adding embellishments with a sense of connection
• Machine FME
• Hand FME
• Distressing and fusing

    Phish Stix the class opens January 10 at Doll Street and students can join any time in the phollowing 2 months. I hope you'll join me for phishing with Phish Stix!

Cat Fish

Christmas Exchange

 

Each Christmas our doll club, The Guilded Lilies draws names to create gift dolls at our party.  The party is tonight, first dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and then to our party barn for the gift exchange.

My Doll... I am leaving naming her to her new owner so I just call her Doll, is seated in a wooden chair that I hand painted.  She wears a silk chemise, cotton skirt and cotton over skirt embellished with embroidery stitches and beadwork.  She wears a peyote bead bracelet to match.  The colors are the favorites of the recipient, so hopefully she'll be pleased.

What you can't see is Doll's hair.  It's pulled back into 2 long ribbon braids at the center back and is 8 inches long on her 12 inch body.  The hair is long, wefted mohair so can be combed and restyled and her clothing can be removed to redress her for my friend loves costuming and "doing hair."

Finished At Last!



After weeks of working on my garden wall at last I have finished! Here's a view of the garden with the entire wall.

 

 

The Mosaic was fun to do but tedious one marble at a time.  I did the circles upside down on contact paper then pressed the whole section at once into place, then worked around them with random glass pieces and marble as well as some sea glass. There are also some little polymer faces in the center of most of the circles. The little mosaic alcove is in the shade year round and a couple of chairs and a small table will make this a fabulous spot for sipping iced tea with a friend!

 

 

I'm still transplanting flowers so the garden will be gorgeous in the spring.  I have several iris colors to add yet, in various shades of purple, white, yellow and peach.