Tag Archives: art

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

Whee!

Coasting down a hill, pigtails blown back, feet off the pedals.  That feeling of childhood freedom is what I was trying to capture with “Whee!” There is something charming and sculptural about the form of a bicycle itself that adds something to a piece like this.  I have a feeling that a few more such figures are in my future.

Whee!

Whee!

 

I knew that I wanted to create something different with my second bicycle piece, a challenge of Whee was to try to catch a moment of a figure in motion.  My first doll with a bike, simply titled “Bicycle” was a larger turn-of-the-century attired rider atop a vintage styled bike.  I’m not too sure, but I think that Whee is having just a bit more fun.

Bicycle

Bicycle

New and a Redo

“Night Queen” is the newest addition to my art doll figure sculptures.

Night Queen

Night Queen

Occasionally, I let a piece design itself.  More often than not I create from a detailed sketch that has been reworked several times until I know not only the look, but also the way and order in which I will approach the piece.  Perhaps it was because I was also working on a larger commission sculpture at the same time, where I was refining, and working according to the patron’s vision as much as my own.  So for this doll, I hammered a face, enameled some nail heads for eyes, and created a basic body. From there I added and subtracted until I found I had a doll that felt like she was complete.  I must admit that working this way takes me a bit out of my comfort zone, and probably takes longer as well.

Lacing II

Lacing II.

This second doll might look familiar to some.  It is the same “Lacing” piece that I created several months ago.  One of the challenges to working in mixed-media is that materials sometimes do unexpected things.  The original version had a strange little smudge on her face that I cleaned off.  Though I worked very carefully with a cotton swab, it seems a bit of cleaner touched the edges of her then light colored felt hair.  The edge looked just the slight bit dingy, so “Lacing” came home from the gallery, and received a new coiffure.

I guess sometimes the artist is controlled by the work more than he/she knows.