I enjoyed sharing some of my art dolls with friends at the library. A big thanks to my friend Shirleen Reinhardt for taking the photos!

I

Marvie is a cloth and clay doll I created.  After finishing the doll, I decided she bears a strong resemblance to my Mom. Pictured is my Mom in her senior year of high school. Marvie the doll measures 17 inches in length.

Leora

    

     Leora is the bearer of light.  She brings the light of hope and compassion to fight the sadness in our world.  Leora is constructed from an old lamp piece mounted on a wood base. Her head and arms are sculpted with paper clay and painted with acrylic.  Leora's skirt is created from an antique child's dress.   She stands 17" tall.

Meet Rachel Wall

     Rachel Wall is considered by many to be the first American lady pirate. She was born in 1760.  Not only was she the first American female pirate but she was the last woman to be executed by hanging in the state of Massachusetts.  
   Rachel fell in love at sixteen to a man named George Wall who saved her from a group of girls bullying her on the waterfront.
     Rachel and George married and became pirates together. Pirate life developed a deep love of treasures for Rachel and this led to her demise.  When arrested, Rachel pleaded to be tried as a pirate but instead was tried as a robber.  She was sentenced to death by hanging in 1789.
     Rachel Wall is sculpted from paper clay.  She stands atop a brass ship anchor and is 12

inches tall. Rachel is dressed in vintage fabrics and trims. She anxiously  holds the keys to her treasure box. 

Work in process

Here is my messy worktable as I work on a piece for a quickly approaching deadline.  Misty is attempting to help clean up my mess!

Brigid

     Brigid is an enchantress. She listens to the dreams and longings of your soul and weaves them into your reality.  She hears your heart's whispers and readies  them for the upcoming season of growth. 

Fractured Fairy Tale

     Alas, who shall I be to greet the King's son?  Shall I greet him with my young, beautiful Rapunzel persona or shall I receive him with my ancient, enchantress side Dame Gothel? After all, who does he think he is to call upon me whenever it strikes his fancy?
     Rapunzel/Dame Gothel is a two sided sculpture standing upon a tower which is a piece of burl wood. The ladies are sculpted on a wire/foil armature covered in paper clay.  They are painted with acrylic. Their clothes are fashioned from vintage fabric and trims. Rapunzel's hair is crafted from sheep wool.  The ladies are 9.5 inches tall and an overall height of 14 inches with the burl wood tower.

Rapunzel

Dame Gothel

Full view of Rapunzel's side

Full view of Dame Gothel's side

Haunted Fairy Tales

Pics of my work in progress for the ART DOLL QUARTERLY CHALLENGE "Haunted Fairy Tales."

Upcoming ART DOLL QUARTERLY Challenge

  The next ART DOLL QUARTERLY Challenge is HAUNTED FAIRY TALES.  The challenge is to put a haunted twist on a fairy tale character.  This challenge has me excited as fairy tales and Halloween are two loves of mine. As an elementary teacher, I always enjoyed fairy tales with my students.  The deadline is March 15th, so I feel I have plenty of time to be creative!  Today I started my first haunted fairy tale character. 

Saint Nicholas

A Christmas creation I made for myself!

Edith Flack Ackley

          I treated myself to a wonderful Christmas present.  It is a book written by Edith Flack Ackley titled DOLLS TO MAKE FOR FUN AND PROFIT.  Edith wrote the book in 1938.  She writes in a simple delightful way with her love of dolls abundant throughout the book. 
     In her book, Edith provides patterns for dolls ranging in size from eight inches, thirteen inches, fourteen inches, and fifteen and a half inches. Her cloth doll patterns are basic and the size could easily be adapted.  She also provides some simple costume patterns.
     I love to collect doll books and Edith's book is a wonderful addition to my collection.  Her love of doll making speaks to my heart.  Perhaps I will use one of her doll patterns and adapt it with a clay face.  Or maybe an Edith Flack Ackley doll is just what my little granddaughter Eliza needs! 
     Pictured below is a photo from the book featuring Edith and some of her doll creations.