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Dolls
These dolls are from porcelain molds and I've simply chosen them and then Christie (my wife) and I finish them the way we please. Many doll artists and hobbyists prefer to do reproductions - that is try and do the doll the same way the original artist did. For example Eve was supposed to be a blond wearing a Victorian lacy see through sort of robe. However, we preferred her as a red head with the garland and a sparkly dress.
A Christmas tree angel with papier mache wings.
The same tree angel done differently and with a different wing treatment.
This is Emily. She was my first painted eyes doll. For most dolls you "open" the eyes during the cleaning process. That is to say you cut out the eye holes before firing and then after you've painted the doll inset glass or acrylic eyes. I attended a wonderful seminar on dimensional doll painting where the technique of painting eyes specifically was covered. It's a very time consuming process since the doll must be fired between layers of china paint, but the finished effect is superior to glass eyes :) Emily is holding a teddy bear that was given to my first daughter when she was only days old.
Estella This is a wonderful doll, originally intended (by the sculptor) to be a formal Victorian lady in a form fitting evening gown of the period. I did this doll for my mother and Christie and I wanted a softer look - so we chose a wig of longer hair and Christie styled it back and let it fall in long ringlets. Christie does all the sewing for the dolls and redesigned the pattern to have a fuller skirt and lots of lace :) She also beaded the pearl necklace the doll is wearing. Estella has painted eyes.
This is Eve, the very first doll I ever did. She has an all porcelain body and was intended to be a Victorian fairy by the original doll artisan (with no wings). I don't know if you can make out the wings I've designed, but they are of opalescent laminate and modelled after queen bee wings :) Christie did all the sewing, beading on the dress, and also chose the hair and made the garland. I hot glued silk leaves around the doll stand to add a touch of atmosphere. Christie also managed to find material to match the soft green eyes that our Eve has.
Hilary is a little girl doll by the same artist responsible for sculpting Emily. She has a lovely serious face, and was originally intended to be dressed quite primly. We let her be curious instead, making her barefoot in a bed of leaves and in her outstretched hand is a tiny butterfly of the same colours that make up her dress.
This little fellow is such a character! He was originally intended to be selling newspapers - dressed in the style of the 1920's but his happy eyes encouraged us to modern him up a bit :) He's got a tie-dyed shirt and a duck hat (which I gave up on and finally commissioned from a professional haberdasher!) His sneakers are all untied and he's just looking for another ride to go on!
This is Estella again - the same porcelain doll mold as the first except here she's been dressed as the Lady of Shalott, based on the poem of the same name. If you don't know the piece, it's the tale of a maiden who is trapped in a tower, and under a curse that she may never look directly out of her tower room. She spends her lonely days looking at the world reflected from a mirror and weaving a tapestry of all she sees. One day Sir Lancelot goes riding by, and he is so beautiful that she must see him directly. As she turns to look out the window the mirror cracks from side to side, and she realizes she has brought her doom upon herself. She goes out of her tower at dusk and lays down in a boat which is magically waiting there for her, and dies. The boat sails past Camelot where Lancelot is able to see her and wonder at her beauty and mystery. Christie researched 9th century costumes to get her gown designed properly, and I painted the small picture of Lancelot behind her, and then chopped it up and skewed the pieces to simulate the cracked mirror. This doll was a gift for a friend of my mother in law and while I know she has a good home it was very difficult to give her up! :) Someday we'll make another for ourselves.
A very stylized angel - dancing in praise of creation and God. This is a papier mache construct with a copper faux finish.
Duby the hottub gargoyle :) He was a gift for my sister in law after they renovated their house and added an extra room with a hottub in it :) It's nice to have relatives with a hottub! He's named Duby because that's their street name, and I was just following Disney tradition ;)
Lt. Worf nutcracker I like to make nutcrackers and a local craft house sells blank ones to paint yourself. It occurred to me how suitable a Klingon would be (big teeth, big shoulders and a beard!) so I chopped off the top of his head and remade it with polymer clays. I'm not sure how happy Worf is to be a nutcracker though....
A wizard nutcracker with a big ol' Gandalf hat! :) I had tobreak his arm and reattach it to hold the staff, but that's just part of the challenge! :)
Snow Queen Originally meant to be a flapper from the 1920's named Coco, I saw a something more magickal in the clear calm expression of this doll. The Doll Emporium, where I was taking workshops, were great help in helping me figure out how to paint her to achieve the best effect. We finally commissioned a proper display case for her and made a gift of her to some very close friends.
Cyperpunk Nutcracker. This was a present for a friend of mine who isn't really all that fond of cute stuff. Christmas can be especially trying for one of that disposition, so this nutcracker ought to help.
