Update..............

a busy week here due to mid year assessment and reporting, but as I have a little play in cyberspace, I am pleased to say that my reports are all completed for this half year.
I have had some time to sculpt and start to try out new ideas. These are the 2 dolls I have in the works:
 
 
I learnt the fabric covering technique at the workshop. Learnt a few things in these experiments: can not have long thin necks or the neck set back too far from the chin ~ note to self for the next model.
I have painted the faces this morning and just waiting for them to dry. I'll take more photos this afternoon.

This is the doll I made in the workshop.

That's all from me at the minute. Hoping to finish my element challenge doll this afternoon and I am off to a Quilt and Craft fair tomorrow..................happy days!!

Hugs........................Leanne

Today was......................

the day Santa died in our house :-). DS informed me that he had looked up Santa in the dictionary and the definition confirmed his suspicions. Still I am thankful that we got to eleven years before the mystery disappeared. We've had a discussion about the magic of Christmas and all is good.

Hugs......................Leanne

A Little Catch up..................

I'm still here. Have been busy, busy, busy, unfortunately not so much with the sculpting. I am enjoying a couple of weeks long service leave and thought I would spend my days playing, but life has gotten in the way!!
I am heading to Melbourne tomorrow with my Mum and Dad to visit with my sister and her family and to do a doll workshop with world renowned artist Susie McMahon. You can see her work here:
http://susiemcmahondolls.blogspot.com.au/
and this is the doll I am going to create:

Despite all that however, I do have few things to show. In paperclay I have these three country raggies awaiting completion:

and I am working on this girl for an elements challenge:

I have made some pieces of fabric using solvy and textile art techniques to costume her.

I do have a confession to make though, I have gone to the dark side and have started working with polymer clay. I have a yearning to work in small scale and found the paperclay too clumsy for the finer detail. I recently completed a workshop with Bobbi Lambert and loved the result:

Currently refining the techniques learnt in the workshop and developing my own style: This is the direction I am heading in:

Love this style, so am going to continue to refine the techniques for this size. Think they will be fairies????
Looking forward to the Wanda the Witch workshop

with the Whimsie Mamma Christy Meyers over at Artful Gathering.

Okay, so that's where I am at, Melbourne here I come, but need yo get off here and pack

Laters...............................Leanne

Time Marches On......................

so quickly. Can't believe a month has passed since I last posted. Have been busy with work and have continued to experiment. Tried Darwi clay recently and love it ~ has become my new favourite and have also given glass eyes a go, jury still out on that one.

Finally decided it was time to stop experimenting and make a doll. The online group Cloth Doll Artistry currently has an elements challenge, so this was the inspiration I needed to get me going. I put all my recently learnt techniques in place ~ paperclay sculpted head painted with acrylics and watercolours, paperclay hands and boots. Settled on
"fire" as my inspiration element. Any way here she is so far:

 

None too elegantly jointed at the moment, a couple of long doll needles so I could get a bit of a feel for her. Have been busily creating a piece of  fabric using the solvy technique for her bodice. Planning a web type overlay for the skirt. Wish me luck, it looks really good in my head!!

Hugs.............................Leanne

Satisfaction.......................

I spent much of today trawling the net for more sculpting tutorials and videos. I found quite a few new ones, but there were 3 in particular that had little tips and tricks that I thought might assist me with getting the doll features just right. Armed with the videos, I headed to the studio this afternoon and started sculpting, and to my absolute amazement it all came together. I have 3 heads nearly sculpted. Two are still in need of eyes, but I have found it is better to add the eyes to a dry head. So, here come the girls:

Next I am going to experiment with glass eyes ~ thanks to the internet they are on order!! I recently learnt to paint facial features with watercolours, and I really prefer that to using acrylics, for a more realistic look, but think I need to give glass eyes a go, before I decide one way or another. Maybe I'll decide to use both????
Back to the studio.......................

Hugs..........................Leanne

Experimenting..............

the creative chaos of recent weeks has continued!! I have learnt so much in the online workshops I've been doing that I am now totally distracted by developing my own style for elegant dolls. This has been a week of experimentation and frustration. I have worked, reworked, tweaked and then discarded numerous bits, but last night after a day away from it all, things just went right and I am cautiously optimistic that I might nearly be there. I am really happy with the heads I have developed, finally got the body pattern sorted and know where I am going with the arms and hands. Only have to tackle feet, but pretty certain of where I am headed with those.

So, today I am hoping that it will all come together and by Monday I should have a doll that I am happy with, ready to be costumed. So, I'm outta here and off to make some hands and feet..........................

Hugs.....................Leanne

Creative chaos.................

is how I would describe things at the minute. This is my workspace tonight:

I love the whimsical look that I have developed for country style dolls, but have been wanting to develop a more realistic style, not necessarily anatomically correct, for a more elegant range of smaller dolls. As a result I have been working on an online workshop with Marlaine Verhelst for a couple of weeks. This class has been amazing as every time a step is completed, Marlaine critiques each individuals photos. I have learnt so much.The next workshop, with Marlaine staring in about a week, is a series of finishing off lessons.  Today I started an online workshop with Ankie Daanen. Both classes are being conducted by A for Artistic. Have started taking bits of what I have learnt and am beginning to develop my elegant style. So, today has been creatively chaotic ~ painting while clay bakes, sanding while paint dries...............................
I am heading to bed creatively satisfied and looking forward to continuing the journey tomorrow. So glad a holiday is looming as my head is spinning with ideas.....................

Hugs..............................Leanne