I've always loved dolls. I used to sit at the dining room table of my grandmother's house and watch her make dolls. I still have those dolls. I keep them in the cedar chest. And sometime in my early 20's I started to make my own dolls. I've made a few soft cloth dolls and I've sculpted a few dolls too. I've also done a bit of sewing in my time. I started to hand sew as a child but I got my first sewing machine at age 12. I made my own clothes in high school and the other kids did not make fun of me!
I love to make character dolls. This is Humpty Dumpty, a pattern from Suzette Rugolo from quite a few years back. It's a soft sculpted doll pattern and he's adorable. I even made him a brick wall to sit on. Another one of my favorite doll artists is Patti Medaris Culea. I have all her books and patterns.
This bride doll is an embroidered face doll pattern I got out of a book from the 70's.
And these little cuties are from a pattern book Cute Dogs by Chie Hayano. They are about an inch tall and all hand sewn with tiny little stitches. I even made a dog bed, collar and leash.
This is a topsy turvy soft doll Country Cat, City Mouse. I got the pattern out of a Woman's Day book.
And these are my second and third attempts at polymer clay sculpted dolls. The instructions are from Apryl Jensen. I don't want to talk about the first attempt. These types of sculpts have a steep learning curve and you really have to have a flair for it. It would take a lot of practice for me to get really good at these types of dolls. Sculpting is quite a bit harder than using a pattern.
So I have a long history of doll making. I often go back to my roots when I need a break from my other hobbies. I get bored just doing one thing all the time. Sewing was my first love and I always like to sew, especially making dolls and doll clothes.
So I'm working on a Pinocchio doll now that I'm almost done with. I never thought to make a doll head with a styrofoam egg... it's amazing what you can learn from other artists!
No comments:
Post a Comment