Colorless World

Is the title of my new sculpture.She is taking longer than I thought. She has no hair or soft elements. I even sculpted her eyelashes and a small braid in back. She wears a full black clay suit with gothic incised patterns, embedded vintage ink stained rhinestones and an aged ivory Lorraine cross emblem in front.
I really love her expression and this style. The framing effect of the costume clay versus the painted skin colored clay. Id really like a buffed gloss finish to the black and then with some corrosion and aging effects on the surface.



I think she still needs gloss on lips and around eyes. I dont know if I should paint her eyebrows black. Maybe soft brows make her eyes pop...What do you think? :) I feel really good about my work this year. Really stoked about some really special ideas I have.

Hard Candy

1st day of my bust. no inkling whats coming except that I wanted a lollipop in her mouth.






2nd day of working on my bust. Shes really turning out to be a cutie! Today it popped into my mind to make her theme "artifical sweetner" After hearing the No Doubt song of the same title. This is because I feel split in two. I often have to sweeten my works to make it saleable. Much more with my fairy work than now but, being a doll artist part of it is making something appealing, pretty and sweet for others,but I also have a very dark surreal side.Thats not always easy to stick with and feel loved doing. its more like sticking your neck out! I take a lot of joy in my dark surrealistic play but, its tempered a sort of balance I suppose of beauty and danger.




3rd day: I worked on making her appear a touch older. More like a preteen. I juggled a few sweetner related names in my mind. Stevia, Saccharine,Faux Sugar, Splenda. Finally I decided "Hard Candy" was a nice compromise. It goes with her biting the jolly rancher so to speak..,but also the metaphor nuances Im fussy about.


Today was hoping to have her in that oven and painted ,but I spent most of the day smoothing and pecking around the eyes to get just the right amount of expression. Added ears and more work to her shoulders and back. A bit of pastel on her lips and cheek livens her up.

Boycott Dollfair!

Sticky wickets children! Another rant for the new year! Im posting to warn BJD artists and doll collectors to avoid Catrina Sanders and her company like plague.
Dont buy Briar from her as I will not see any of the money.And you will be gambling on to getting your doll.
I have a new caster and we are discussing casting elf ear Neo Briar. Hopefully I can offer that to you later this year.

In Aug 2009 I sent a master Briar (elf ear version) to Catrina Sanders. It was never molded nor was it returned to me. I was told that the company was relocating , then that there was difficultly matching new resin. Things never went great with the company.
Every couple of months Id write did anything sell? Oh yes some things sold... I was never notified for some reason when anything sold. Sometimes Id ask for a check to be cut and more weeks would go by before Id query again and would get some excuse or lameass remark like .. you wanted it now? UUUhhhh YES! Along with excuses like I broke my wrist, secretary is out sick or Ill cut a check after the dolls come back from the face up artist.

You might remember my other post about Briar at IDEX and how I had lined up talented and well known BJD costumer Vallerie Zeitler to dress Briar but, I was cut out of the loop and she was instead dressed in hideous last minute make do gunny sack looking things.

I was never sent a doll to check before final casting. I sent Briar unfinished I had become sick while making her and was told to just send her as is. Later I saw that the hands and headcap were left terrible and it was never addressed by Catrina. It was carried by me that my doll was imperfect.

You can read online the trouble Bimong and Rachelle known as Lilycat had with her.



from what I hear Batchix has also had difficulties. If you also had some problems feel free to post here your links and information.

Interview at Eclectix etc

"Secret of Plum" last doll of 2010

Ive been busy with secret projects and sooo you might have noticed few blog postings lately. I am having a BJD cast that hasnt been seen yet.. be patient yall! I hope to have limited edition busts available soon in a 250-300 price range.

If you want to read some whatnot about me.I got a really nice interview and feature at Eclectix.com

The sculpt Kush: Gold ,Iron and blood featured in the show Nightmare before Christmas"
Im so honored that she is also owned by photographer and art film maker John Santerineross. I hope to do some collaboration with John. Perhaps a doll he uses in one his shoots. its a grittier venue for me but, I am interested in photos of figures and dolls as an art form unto itself.

John sent me 2 beautiful signed books! "Dream" and "Fruit of a secret god" Romantic,challenging, gritty,iconoclastic nudes. Hes a master of this edgy style that has influenced many art styles and photos. I had another piece in mind black fountain shrine with strange goddess,but Kush ended up being a good match! I guess I will have to re visit the previous idea. I think it was a good rich soil for creation. It reminded me of an OTR" "Temple of the vampires"! A 1940s broadcast. One of my favorites. Tropical, exotic, ancient and fetid with alluring evils. heehee

I also got a small photo published in the Christmas issue of "dolls" magazine within an article about Kat Soto and her fabulous work. Cant seem to find a thumbnail of the cover. let me know if you see a jpg! My bust Leacothea got in and its the first time for my OOAK sculpture in a magazine.

New York Comic con2010 Custom Gordo show

Im delighted!
My customized Gordo "Flying Yeti" of the Flying Yeti Brigade showed at The "my plastic heart" booth at comic con and sold right away!! I was a bit worried this was my first time tricking out a designer toy,but it was so fun and different than what Im used to. Lots of Dremel work, and some fitting of parts, big glass eyes, some epoxy clay sculpting of claws and twisty horns and wings.
This blank Gordo came to me care of Brent Nolasco Very talented customizer whos makes his own toys too.

Anyway I have some more wacky toys to play with so, well see what develops.

Syncronicity

I havent been blogging lately cause things have been happening too fast! For a while now Ive been creeping back into the desire to paint. Not too activly pursuing but, feeling old wounds had healed and I was interested again. One small step I gessoed a wood panel.
While on FB I discovered the art Of Dino Valls and saw such a kinship in our vision... only his of course is flat out masterly! maybe an echo of what I could be. I felt even more inspired to paint again. I even read up on his medium egg tempera.

Not liking the acrylic gesso finish of my wood panel I began again to read about what was needed to make traditional gesso or gofun. I bought the whiting and calcium carbonate and read about how you must heat rabbit glue..sounded nasty. I hesitated to buy that. Was it really that important to make my own? Dont I have enough on my plate?
Well , I got a sweet message from a stranger through Esty. My work was admired and did I need some supplies?
I thought this was odd. Well I got to talking with this person,Annie and she asked me if I knew what black oil was.. I didnt. I found she is an oil painter and uses traditional methods to achieve luminous glazes. Grinding her own paint, painting on wood grounds and had also been researching gesso and gofun. Annie sent me rabbit glue she happens to have,piments and medium and promised to teach me Maroger's methods she learned from her husband who learned directly from Maroger.

Im very honored to be a sort of descendant of this knowledge! Marogers hands touched and restored these old master paintings and saw with his own eyes what Ive only seen in photos.
Mixing the pigment the smell of linseed oil was like an old friend gone a long time. Im looking forward to seeing what I can do different now.

Up above is "Secret of Plum" a WIP. Im planing on trying to paint her with these old paints as well. Shes an experimental piece.

Matilda & Scarlet

Heres my girls Matilda and Scarlet together. Its so rare that I have two kids together I had to take this chance to show them snugglin:D Im really fond of these two and proud of myself churning away to get things done for a change! Im still at work on Camille and a new one... maybe a boy this time. Matilda gets a tiny real acorn in her nook too. Not shown.


Matilda has been adopted by a new mom. So, the lil dears have to be seperated but, I get to hang on to Scarlet a bit longer ^-^ I got my pink leather,but oy ve! its not patented so ,researching what you apply on leather to get the patented look!

OMGoddess I am in Luv!

Set the pigeons loose!Sound the trumpet's! At last the ulimate love my my life has walzed in. This is what Ive been searching for! I have been studying Polish and French Monstrance, I have been oogleing metallic vestment laces. I have been sculpting dear child martyrs with holes in their chests containing relics and I have petted the memory of my teenaged admiration for the bust of King Charlemagne!
this heavenly relequary bust is via Morbid Anatomy! I take it as blessing Woot!

Im finishishing things up. Scarlet is nearly ready and Ive decided not to included the body this time. Ahhhhh rats! Buuut, it will happen truly. Ive sold my book and used that to bid on pink lambskin. I see you lamb=( My body to grow the grasses that your children's children eat.As soon as I can I will replace with reclaimed leather.

This is a closeup of Scarlet's unusual birthmark. I dyed some nasty greenish blond hair I had into a brown to use for scarlet,but it still seems the wrong tone for her.
I thought you might like to see her nitch has a diamond studded door this time and can be opened easily on a hinge to reveal the content. A faux baby tooth.
Scarlet was a child born blind and with a unusual birthmark and showed unusual talents. A kind child, wise beyond her years.

Camille

Dear starlings! I am presently working on 3 child busts,but none of them are finishing up as quickly as Id like or need! I await some exquisite reliquary pendants from Aus that Im dying to use!!! Im further exploring the insides of my dolls poor flayed chests and need windows and ways to hold the hollow clay space open.
Camile is so sweet! I love her,but who knows what the muse has in store for her and me! Im thinking a cameo choker and of sepia tones for her old fashioned hazel eyed look,but I like it if each of my girls has a surprise dark streak in their sweetness.

I am nearly out of mohair, nearly out of clay, one of them got moonies I had to repair and Id so love to hold her back to be molded for a limited edition in resin. I need to sell one to afford the leather for bodies I want to begin making.delays,delays, le sigh. In the mean time Im having a sudden flush of drive to sculpt and ideas like nobodys business! I like this!!!:D


Also I have a book I am thinking of selling to fund my supply needs. Learning to be a doll artist by Martha Armstrong hand. Its in demand right now for BJD making techniques. And Susan Oroyan "designing the doll" most doll artist have this but oh well.

I also have June Goodnows vhs on making molds and casting dolls in resin and a lutz girl body with clothes and wigs. Ill throw in a Briar torso to play with and edit if your a blossuming bjd sculptor that could be helpful..
The body is un-moded ,unaltered, second owner. Im willing to part with.. I will sell say 300 or trade for supples. Like patented leather. I prefer in pastel pink, cream,buff, parchment or any dusty pastel.Quality angora mohair in the palest blond and clay. Flesh clay even the brown in puppen,prosculpt,premo or fimo classic.

Kush :Gold,Iron and Blood

So, I finished my sculpture today! I hope you like her. She is a fantasy based on the ancient civilization of Kush.
She is the ghost of a lion dancer that haunts the desert. She met some tragic end so long ago even her name is lost. Maybe if your brave enough to put her by your bedside she will whisper it to you in your dreams.@-@

Originally I started her for the Frida Kahlo challenge,but I had a hideous face that wouldnt obey. I finaly let her do as she would! I'm so glad I did.She is a strong piece! She changed so much! After I baked her she darkened. She had very white kinda bucked teeth but, those darkened too. I thought of painting them,but do ghosts have pearly whites? Shes on Etsy right now.

Creepy eyes and goodies make me happy

Im stoked today.. I discovered very cool glass eyes! They are made in 1912! Usually I love to drool over vintage supplies of every kind and I get ideas just looking,but this time I just had to buy up all I could afford! They come in 2 parts the white sclera base and the clear glass cornea! You can paint the iris,but Ill have to think on that the dead white is so incredible!
I am going to make some big eyed children with these!:D

So, also my mind has been milling a lot on improving my productions and my figures. I wanted soft bodies. This is a sneek peek of Scarlet tested on a leather body. I made to look old. I think the worn leather body and strange white eyes will just fit together for someone.

I also got this nice metallic lace on Etsy. I adore metallic lace and I think its key for getting a quasi religious look for my martyred child warriors and waifs. But its hard to find in small scale or really nice stuff that doesnt tap me out.

Oh also quick add.. for you Bev this green eyed girl. I havent forgotten!

Mistweaver

This girl turned out really lovely ,but is so hard to get good photos of! She turned out very graceful and sweet ,but light in mood this time not so dark as my other pieces. I had fun draping her dress to look floaty and like you see in classical paintings.


I also discovered it's not so easy to attach a clay figure to a glass base! To solve the problem ,I filled the candle hole with clear resin and drilled that so the wire of of the doll armature fit down inside. Then, I also had to permanently glue the figure with epoxy to keep her from leaning. The candle hole wasn't quite a deep enough hole. Anyway I fixed it!^-^ but, OOAK doll making a problem solvers dream!

Mistwalker WIP

Im in the middle of dressing this piece ,but Im so proud of her so, far I had to share.
I'm sticking with a very classical style for her.Even her face is like a prim Victorian woman. Her head is about an inch in size and her eyes are like a sunlit misty day over clear waters. I used a slightly darker shade of aqua for the pupil instead of black. I want a wispy, light look for this piece. She will have a whiff of pastel blush and not much more paint than that.

The wire laurel she holds is because Ive fallen hard for the beautiful metallic lace jewelry of Edera!http://edera-faerie.blogspot.com

I cant hope to get the same look on such a tiny scale,but I wish with all my heart I could dress an entire figure in a gown of spider web silver, teensy baroque pearls and moonstone! Since the economy has dampened my supply splurges Ive begun to looooong for decadent luxury in my work even more as if this ole real life stuff cannot touch my fairy realms!
I think I will save up for something extra special where it will make a super impact.

Shylita's are done

I was so out of my element with these two girls. Once their little hats were on and the soft bunny hair they were just so darned sweet!Like bundled up for snow play. I decided to give them plump little hands even though theyre just a bust,it seemed to really animate their expression.


Ok so you might be perplexed about my previous post with no comments enabled Ehem.. I was fooling around with settings and wasnt aware I had done that then later I tried to come in and fix and the blog would not load. I finaly figured out Id go to another blog,sign in and come in through the dashboard.
So, I had decided to go ahead and post my naughties right along side my cuties and to hell with decorum,but Ive changed my mind again and will censor the doll nudity here. Maybe little bars or stars.. You can still see them uncensored on deviant art. Im satisfied. No more warning pages like my art is something aweful!

A matter about maturity filters.

I put a maturity filter on my blog when I started on account of dolly nudity such as my zombie fairy. I tend to forget about nipples and some are offended by nude barbies! I dont see nudity anymore only sculpting potential heh heh. That penis may as well be a vase!

However, I wondered do people who might come to my blog not visit on account of that annoying ugly warning page? Cause they would miss out on my sweet dark children and my felties or beads ,true? Hands up my little starlings who thinks I need a seperate site for the nudes? See Im priveledged to be sculpting a peice for John Santerineross soon too and it will be hot stuff probably and of course I wanna share. I want to see just how out of the box I can go.

Anyway.I hate the idea of having two blogs theres hardly enough about me to fill one,but if you say so Ill do it!

Of course I added Blaspheme pics just because she seemed fittingly OT .

Peace freinds^-^

Shylita's splinter

I've been sculpting something I've wanted to do a while now,but now was the right moment. I've seen some really neat interpretations .. you know how those can stop you in your tracks wondering if you have something to bring to the table. Also I always avoid a big trend unless its something that goes along with the already estabished goals of my work. If it sticks and nags you over 2 years go on and make it I say!

Its conjoined twins! Well... my pair are less about the actaul physical conjoined twins and more about duality. The "splinter" in the title refers to a shizm in Shylita or an absorbed twin. Kinda facinating that many of us are meant to be born twins ,but absorb the weaker one in utero! I longed for a sister too and have an imaginary freind/shadow sister "Rosa" maybe she could be a remnant of that?

I happened to be lucky enough to meet real conjoined twins when I was age 11 and I thought they must be the luckiest girls ever! They were curly headed blonds about age 5. Perfect little girls who happened to be joined at the shoulder and torso.

Arnt they pretty nestled together?:D

These are about finished except I want to felt some caps for them and had to order the right pale soft color.Anyway enjoy the wip photos for now;)

Mooneypearl

Its been a while since Ive posted cause I havent had much good to talk about and my work has been at a crawl. But something shifted at 3am yesterday and I feel healthy pink returning to my creative cheeks!

MP sitting in my felting basket:)
I thought Id post some photos of an side project. This reprents my slow tentative journey into felting.

I names him because his face is chock full of dreaded polymerclay bane called the "moonie">:( *crosses self* and also cause the color of the face looked so moonlike and yet Mooneypearl defies you to say his moonies are flaws!

they are freckles an elegant accent! So see he is also a "pearl" of great beauty like fellow artist Pattee whom he's made for http://odd-dolls.blogspot.com/

Ive discovered that this felting thing requires a diffenrt state of mind Im not used to but, have been craving. Felting says "Im cosy and okay just as I am"..sculpting says "not good enough" try harder, your no michelangeo! At least for me. With sculpting I feel such a gnawing drive for excellence that I get no peace! Felt is like cloudfilled bliss.

I glued Mooneypearls cabochon face into the felt which some glue ended up showing Hrmm... Im thinking of buying that cd Karen on clayalley sells that is just for adding polymer clay sculpted parts to feltwork. Have any of you readers got that one? Im not confident with the process of armature,weighting and adding the parts.

Some muse is whispering to me there. Id like to see if I can combine sculpted female parts with furry felted animals parts for shape shifters.

By the way this singular peice of feltwork is what drove me to try combining felt and clay . Its a bag by Irit Dulman & Tal Cohen. I cant resist how unmade it seems. Like weathered by storms or grown that way!

Last moon of 09

Ho eager newyears revelers! Isnt this pretty? its the veiw out my window right now its the last moon of 09. I wish what my eye sees was captureable but, anyway Ive recorded the moment. I thought it looked fit for a spooky fantasy land. The clouds were drifting slowly like grazing sheep.Ahh!

Art and life wize nothing interesting has been happening and I havent been in the mood for blogging or speaking or seeing humans. Not that anybody reads this. >:P Im settling in my new place. For a while I had a weird sence of freefloating . Unable to concetrate. The supply I need is always at the bottom of the last box I check. So, everthing has been turned on its ear. I have a new downsized studio. A cosy chair with a nice little pull cart on wheels full of supplies. I rather like this, no fuss no muss. Here's my pus-pus Sprocket keeping my spot warm for me.Im finaly getting commitments out of the way to make room for new projects. And Im excited for the new year . Today is the first day I fealt a little bit jazzed.

Happy creating to everyone!

All dolled up at Eclectix

Eclectix site has been updated with images in the mini side show "All dolled up"

Show includes yours truely... Nita , Kerry Kate, Sheri deBow and JennyBird Alcantara!!!! How very cool! ^-^

Click on "current exhibit"
http://www.eclectix.com/

Sorry I have not been posting but, Im almost moved into my fresh new house.

a lil change

You might have noticed Ive been MIA (missing in action) what has happened is we cant keep up payments on our home so, were letting it go and gonna rent a smaller place. Im not too upset about it . I think its a good thing realy since my art has been in a semi slump. I say semi cause Im still sculpting,just at the rate a snail tiptoes through a salt flat. Being in a new environment and new perspective..something else to focus on will help Im sure..and I have my eye on a place that has a wisteria arbour. *hopes*

A coworker a few years ago dropped me off at the house. We both were vollenteers . Martha had 85 yrs and has since graduated to the next plane. I had just moved into this old house and I was content with my basic little life I told her. She said " just remember things change" Ayup! they did. I started to sculpt shortly after that.

Were packing our stuff. Im leting go of junk I should have filtered out a long time ago.. Like I got rid of my big teddy bear pillow cause I am a big girl now uhuh.^-^ I crave blessed simplicity. lack of clutter and clean open space- to wave my arms franticly.

Even though things seem backwash right now I think the universe must be trying to throw some good my way. I keep meeting people who want to send me gifts. its perplexed me why all of a sudden?

Recently I had my hubby drop off beads in person to a buyer on etsy who happens to live in my town. She gave me some of her sterling silver art as a gift. This large pendant in particualr isnt it gorgeous! I had a blast setting up pictures using our birdbath as a nature set. They looked to me like fairie treasure and offerings. She's plainspirit on etsy if youd like to see her other stuff. Besides the lovely gifts she is also a wonderful down to earth person and I hope this will turn into a longterm friendship.