Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Worktable

Today was a gorgeous HOT day. I spent a little time this afternoon while the kids were at school tidying up my workroom. After putting everything away I proceeded to bring things out again; old patterns, doll parts, possibly useful junk.

I discovered I had no pattern for a doll part I'd used three times before so I made a form out of aluminum foil covered with stuffing and mummy-wrapped with strips of cotton. After stitching it all down I had the base (the scraggly thing in the center) over which to drape cotton fabric so I could make a pattern from it. I pinned the fabric smooth and then cut it into pieces. I sewed them together, making sure to document and trace each piece first, and got lucky with a workable shape the first time out. I did have to widen the hole a bit. The finished mock-up (left in picture) is now documented and I have pattern pieces finally. I'd been wanting to make another open-heart doll but was not looking forward to reinventing that hole in the torso. Now it's done and the fun can begin.

I don't know why I didn't do that a long time ago. It would probably be a good idea to make patterns from the pieces I use and like. Most often what happens is I draw the pattern freehand and sew it together and stuff it to see if I like the result. If I do, I just want to keep working and I'm too lazy to take the thing apart (you have to un-stuff it first) and copy each piece. So each time I do something slightly different but similar. So efficient! I'm definitely going to change my ways.

Monday, September 17, 2007

First Art Show!!!


I'm beside myself tonight. I opened up an email from the Austin Museum of Art Holiday Art Festival to find I was accepted into the show! Having never been in a real art show I'm pretty much freaking out. Of course I tried to call all my family and no one answered their phone (isn't that always the case when you really want to SHARE) so this will have to be my official announcement: please come to Laguna Gloria for the AMOA Holiday Art Festival December 1 and 2, 2007!

So here's the thing. I thought it was such a long shot that I'm not even sure which three photos I submitted. They were all dolls, but now I wonder if I need to stay on target with the style of those particular dolls or if I can play with some new ideas I have. For example, if I submitted dolls with all fiber heads, should I keep making fiber heads for the show or can I make paper heads? The fact is for the next two months I'm going to be making dolls dolls dolls. It's always what I've wanted to try: just focus on my dolls for awhile -- and now I have a reason to do just that. Dolls are a strange niche. I'm hoping I can represent myself and the art museum in the best light possible. What's really important to me is to do what I'm meant to do and reach the people I'm meant to reach with my art. Whew! I really can't wait to work through these next two months.

Thursday, September 06, 2007

The usual bemusement



After making a doll I often put her somewhere I can see her easily for a few days and every time I enter her room I catch myself wincing with self consciousness. I've really struggled with why I make dolls as if it mattered. I wonder if my time couldn't be better spent.

I've been working on "Monica" on and off for the past couple of weeks. I made the nest first, then I found a head in my head collection and played with that for awhile, painting, adding features with paper clay, sanding, painting over it again, adding layers of paper, etc. While the head was still being made, I made the arms and legs, alternating tasks until all the components came together at about the same time. This is my usual process and the doll (her personality) occupies a good portion of my thought while she's coming into being. While I drive, while I sew, as I make dinner, I find myself (how can I say this without seeming weird?) praying about her and just trying to listen quietly for a way to her completion. I'm often surprised by her appearance when she is finished, like a new mother might say to her baby "well that's what you look like!" The process is what's important to me, the human issues I contemplate during the making of the doll.

Incidentally St. Monica was the mother of St. Augustine, and the wife of Patritius. She was always praying for the souls of her son and husband, as they were bad-asses, both of them. They both became Christians eventually, so her prayers were answered before she died, but not without a lot of heartache. I have a friend who recently told me about Monica and she has captured my imagination for the last month or so. As I was making this doll I considered the struggle of many women who want their loved ones to be a certain way (or healthy, or on the right path, whatever), and all the mental energy which goes into fretting about them. A mom tends to entrench herself in her nest, her family life, the role of a 'good wife and mother', and yet sometimes she can do no more than pray, hope and wish for her people to find their own way and become whole human beings, just as the mother herself is on that same road.

The making of a doll can be like having kids for all the wrong reasons, or playing god. I feel a little bit guilty about that. Here sits Monica, my little nest doll with her two little worrisome eggs in her lap. I feel for her, I wish she could move on and fly away, but alas that will never happen. While the process was cathartic for me, she is forever stuck in the moment. She is a reflection of me and my thoughts during a certain period of time, but I can always go do something else and she can't. Too bad.

Monday, September 03, 2007

Back with more leather bags




















The computers and the router haven't been playing nicely this week. You all know how frustrating it can be to have no access to the web. A voluntary blackout can be heaven for your mind and spirit, but when you want/need to be online, say for example during the first week of school when teachers are emailing and calendars are posted and the general buzz is just starting back up, well, no-contact can be very bad. On top of all that I wanted to post pictures of these little bags I made with the leather Goodwill coat. I used Aunt Nevada's cool purple brooch on the clutch above, and some sticks I painted red on the tiny bag at the top. The white leather coat is pretty much done for now, although I may be able to squeeze out one more little thing if I cut creatively.

I love the new school year. Second only to November my favorite month is September. I find the beginning of the school year (even if I'm not the one going back to school) is a renewal of purpose for me. Getting back to the grindstone, I find I have stores of energy which were lacking throughout the summer. Some people feel that way in the spring, with the rebirth of life in nature all around them. Me, I just want to play and drink margaritas when the weather starts getting friendly in March. (Remember this is Texas.) It's when the heat starts to break and the kids go back to classes that I start feeling new again. I have a lot I want to accomplish this year so I hope this feeling lasts.

I just joined Jazzercise again after about 18 years. They still do grapevine and all the other dance moves, as well as some "new" moves from kickboxing and pilates. The high energy, loud music, and friendly ladies are what I remembered and liked best about the program and all that's just the same. I love it -- such a retro way to exercise. But now with Michael Buble and Rihanna on the ipod.