Stories

art doll driving in reverse

Driving in Reverse

“Driving in Reverse” is my piece for “It’s All About The Story”, the February feature show at the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts. The area in and around Hillsborough is home to a number of acclaimed authors, and we produce a collaborative show with one each year. This year we have teamed up with Jill McCorkle, and have created work based on her Going Away Shoes collection of short stories.

The story “Driving to the Moon” follows 30 years of connections and disconnections between two high school sweethearts, and the car that registered the miles along the way. The female main character is reminiscing while driving to visit one last time. The art doll “Driving in Reverse” is driving forward while keeping one eye in her rear view. She is keenly aware of the passage of time, and obviously has some things locked up inside.

“It’s All About The Story” runs from February 24th though March 23rd with opening reception on Friday, February 28th from 6-9pm, and an author reading and signing with Jill McCorkle on Sunday, March 2 from 2-4pm.

My Art Dolls in a Publication

The new Art Doll Quarterly is out!…

Cover ADQ spring 2014

Cover of Art Doll Quarterly spring 2014

I am reminded instantly of the scene in Steve Martin’s “The Jerk” where he was excited about having his name in the phone book, and that it meant to him that he now was somebody.

I’m not sure what having an article about my art doll sculptures in the new spring Art Doll Quarterly means, but I have it admit it is kinda cool. If you don’t happen to have a current subscription, I tell about how I came to start working on these figure sculptures, and how I go about creating them. I start out admitting to the other doll artists and enthusiasts that I know my dolls are far from traditional, and that I utilize all sorts of materials and techniques they will find foreign. Aside from being exited about this new segment of my work, the uniqueness of my dolls was one of the reasons I wanted to share them with that audience.

Art Doll Quarterly spring 2014 table of contents

ADQ – Table of Contents with Lynn’s “No Rag Doll”, pg. 22.

I was contacted a couple of years ago about including my sculpture work in a coffee table book titled Contemporary Sculptors, but this was the first time I have sent in a query to a magazine. The experience in this case was positive. It happened to be the type of feature they run where the artist writes the article themselves. Much like writing this blog, I found it a useful exercise to think about what to say about what I create, and my design and construction process. It often leads to new ideas, and always helps with gallery explanations.

Here is a link to the page for the issue on the publisher’s website. If you are dying to have your own copy they are available in the magazine section of book stores like B&N, online as both print and digital copies. If you’re local (NC) there is a copy you can peek at when you visit the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts.

A Writer and Some Valentines

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My newest art doll is a seated figure sculpture writing and drawing in a journal. Though not intended to be a portrait doll, she is definitely styled after someone special. This inspirational person was not only a writer, but also a fantastic fabric artist, and she gave me the material used in the doll’s skirt and hat from her private stash.

I have made a couple of other dolls modeled after specific people. I like that in my chosen media they can be reminiscent of the individual without being an attempt to look just like them. The challenge becomes to try to capture the essence in gesture. I think this doll will be named Mo.

On a completely different note, I have also been working on some Valentine’s Art Cards. The holiday ornament cards that I created in November and December proved to be quite popular. So, I decided it might also be a good idea to create some heart themed mini releif sculptures that could removed from their card and hung. I will have them in the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts through the 14th of the month.

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Thinking Inside The Box

In my last post I mentioned that creating a piece for a theme can sometimes prove more of a challenge than expected. Each year we host two themed shows to start off the calendar at the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts. This year’s January show is titled 22 Squared. We installed this show yesterday morning, and there are as many interpretations of that title as there are artists in the gallery.

Now, you’d think that such a non-specific open-to-interpretation title would be easy to create for. But I was stumped. Most of my current work consists of art doll figure sculptures. I didn’t want to just create a doll, and put her into some contortionist pose, place her in or on a frame, or balancing on a box. Nothing stuck me.

Instead, I decided to take a step back, and think on the square. For a 3D artist this would mean a box. So I started by creating a wooden shadow box. Next, came a glass front for the box. Instead of a simple sheet of glass, I pulled out my stained glass stash and made a somewhat steampunk looking front.

For the interior, I thought on boxes themselves. What do we use them for? We use them to carry, to hold, to protect, to hide, or to contain. The box that I had made looked like it would protect something valuable, but also obscure and hide a bit of the contents. The steampunk flavor of the glass front lead me to a clockwork heart. We certainly try to protect and shield our hearts. This mechanical pacemaker needed someone to tend and maintain it. I recycled a simple figure from a previous piece to wind this delicate time piece and become The Clock Keeper. The interior was made complete with the addition of an antique looking paper with a pattern of watch faces that I applied to the back before installing the contents.

The Clock Keeper

The Clock Keeper

22 squared will be on display at the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts from January 27th to February 23rd. The opening reception is this Friday the 31st from 6-9 pm.

Themes and Challenges

I would guess that most often artists find themselves creating from their own ideas, or perhaps those of a patron for a commission.  Occasionally we do create for an upcoming show’s predetermined theme.  For these shows serendipity can sometimes play a role, and when a “call-to-artists” is read there is already something completed and on hand that is just right. Other times you have to sit down with the sketchbook and think of something that perhaps you wouldn’t have.

In general, I like creating for these shows, and the way they force you to stretch creatively.  That is not to say that some do not drive me to distraction.  About a month ago I worked on one such piece.  I’ll share that one in a couple of weeks when the show goes up in the gallery.

Below is my newest art doll “Wednesday’s Child.”  She was created in answer to a monthly challenge that is posted by an art doll group that I belong to.  I hadn’t created any dolls to date that were based on nursery rhymes, though it does seem a natural area for fodder given the medium.  Gesture in these small figures is always a focus for me.  I think her body language says woe, but hopefully she’s thinking of ways to make things better.

Wednesday's Child

Wednesday’s Child

 

The Art of Selling With Out Selling

I added several new things to the site today.  The first is my latest art doll creation, Carnival.  As you can see she is masked and ready to attend a ball in Venice. She stands on her own with the help of her very fancy walking stick, and an interesting pair of metal shoes.  Her face is torch-fired white enamel and metallic paint on hand-hammered copper.

Carnival - $275

Carnival

If you look at her addition to my Art Dolls page you will also notice that she and all my other available dolls now have a price listed beside their title.

I have been researching different on-line sales options lately.  To tell the truth, it made my head spin.  If you do a search on selling art there are literally hundreds of options from the sprawling Etsy stores to small juried media specific options.  Some are free, some charge percentages, others a membership fee and all claim to be able to put your work before millions and millions of collectors.

I decided that I’d first try to see what would happen if I added the option to my own site.  So, you may also notice a new page listed in the menu titled Art Doll Purchase.  I figured that since my dolls really are one of a kind figure sculptures, that I would handle any inquiries with collectors one-on-one as well.

I will be trying to add and keep the doll gallery as up to date as possible, and will be phasing out listing new work on my Fine Art America page, as they are more suited to 2D work, and  don’t seem to show up as high on searches anymore.  Besides, all the double listing and updating, is getting a bit too time consuming.

If you were wondering about my other sculptures, for the time being I’m only going to do this with my art dolls as they are much more shipping friendly.

Happy New Year!

(apologies to the Dragon for the title paraphrase)

And To All A Good Night

I was thinking about giving art as gifts today.    Part of what inspired and gave me the confidence to work on my art full time were the reactions I received to gifts I created years ago.  I heard just enough, “you should do this professionally” to help me think that perhaps I could.  I must admit that it is with much greater anticipation and perhaps just a bit of anxiety that I await the reaction to a piece of my art than anything I will ever purchase.  This is heightened even further when creating a piece specifically for someone special.

Portrait doll for a soccer keeper

Portrait doll for a soccer keeper

I worked in the gallery today.  I noticed that just as much of the conversation was about the person to receive the gift as the piece of art or the artist. To me this made perfect sense.  I always try to select or create that piece that somehow says that person’s name to me.

I had a great experience recently of picking out existing sculptures as gifts for some friends.  I was pleasantly surprised by one recipient noticing the work before I had a chance to give them, and specifically asking about the piece I had intended for them.  That completely made my evening.

Happy holidays, and if you happen to be one of the readers who might recognize the doll in this post… Shhhh

Ornament Cards?

A couple of posts back I talked about the ornament making mini-workshop we were hosting at the Hillsborough Gallery as part of our holiday show opening reception.  It was well attended, lots of fun, and was a successful first attempt at such an activity.  Not to say we didn’t learn a thing, or three that we will change the next time around.

The ornaments I helped participants create were metal foil repoussé (French – push from behind) panels that we attached to a sparkly card stock, and finished with edging tape, a metal grommet, and raffia ribbon for hanging.  These are similar to repoussé panels I make and affix to one-of-a-kind greeting cards.

Susan Hope, one of the other talented HGA artists who was instructing participants in making fused glass ornaments, suggested that I combine the ornaments and my cards for sale.  I thought that was a good idea, so I did…

Ornament Cards

Ornament Cards

Little interactions like this are one of the things I enjoy about being part of an artist-owned gallery.  A collection of creative minds working together is always fertile ground.

Many of us artists add smaller, more gift-able items to our selection of work in the gallery for the holiday season.  So, now I’ll be adding a few “Ornament Cards” as well, a holiday greeting and a small piece of original art in one.

Here’s a link to Susan’s web page if you’d like to see some of her beautiful work.

 

Steam

My most recent art doll, Steam, is dressed in her steampunk finest complete with “leather” top hat, goggles, metal boustier, and knee high boots.  She looks all ready for a trip in a time machine.  I  was challenged by scale of fabric patterns with this piece.  Little beings can easily be swallowed up in a pattern made for the clothing or furniture of us giants. I found a black and white plaid to work into her skirt.

 

Steam

Steam

Sometimes this question of scale requires taking matters into your own hands. This “tie-dye” on my piece Janice, I did with Sharpie markers and alcohol added with a dropper.

Janice's tie-dye shirt

Janice’s tie-dye shirt

A Bit of Creativity for Black Friday.

Last week I promised to share more information about out ornament making mini-workshop at the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts this Friday evening, November 29th.  During the first hour of our monthly Last Friday reception (6-7pm) three of the gallery artists will be teaching customers how to create unique holiday ornaments.  We hope it will be the start of a new tradition, and a fun, low stress, and creative way to spend “Black Friday.”

Fused glass ornaments taught by Susan Hope.

Fused glass ornaments taught by Susan Hope.

Ali Givens, fabric artist, will be presenting fabric collage ornaments on miniature canvases.  Fused glass artist, Susan Hope will provide instruction of kiln-fired ornaments.  I will be showing how to create a tooled-metal ornament.

Each ornament will be $6, and all materials, tools, and instruction will be included.  We will be limiting to three ornaments per customer as this is our first time, and we want to make sure that there is enough for everyone to join in the fun.

Tooled metal ornaments with Lynn Wartski.

Tooled metal ornaments with Lynn Wartski.

Art, conversation, refreshments, and creativity, what fun!