Gallery

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Facing Disasters Head On

Today nothing seems to be working out well. Actually it started yesterday. I spent hours needle sculpting a head. Did I say HOURS?! Only to have it run (the overlay is a nylon blend), I was working on the mouth, the last feature of course. Completely ruined! So my only option was to take off the entire outer layer and start over. I did start over, only to face a similar problem when I was once again hours into the process. So last night after almost two full days trying to get a face completed, I took off  the two attempted overlays and shut off the lights to my studio reminding myself that "This is suppose to be fun!"
Today I start all over. Sew a new overlay and begin needle sculpting. This time I used brand new needles in my machine and hand-needles. I completed one overlay then began to color in the facial features. Once again nothing seems to go well. Finally I decide to stop adding insult to injury and paint over a layer of textile medium to set the colors. Of course somewhere a bit of black wasn't completely dry or something but as I brush on the medium I see a streak of black form across the cheek. I rub it out the best I can and decide I will have to start over once again. Then I change my mind, again telling myself "This is suppose to be fun!" and try a second layer of colors over the first. That seems to take care of the streaky problem but the eyes begin to get bit strange looking. So I took a few pictures- usually I can see mistakes better in a picture. Now I'm not sure what I should do. I think the best thing would be to wait until tomorrow and look at it again with fresh eyes.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Time for another Vintage Spirit!

The first day of vacation- is there anything better? The entire week stretches before me filled with so many possibilities! I've decided to focus my attention on creating another Vintage Spirit. I've prepared three bottles- neck supports in place and hardening. I will work on making two heads today and then decide which bottles to start with, although I am obviously drawn to the blue one. I did not put a label on it yet because I may want to use lace on this bottle-still thinking it over. I do have a lovely blue/gold vintage label that I may ultimately use.  Also, I really like the Moligne bottle. I think it has an art deco style that I am interested in exploring. The Covey Run bottle is not vintage (2007) but I did not remove this label because it is so pretty. I think it would be fun to pick up the bird image in the costuming.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Needle Felted Elephant

I kept track of my time on this one- 19 hours for the adult elephant! Yikes! Thank goodness I like the results! I did not use an armature in the legs but did run a wire through the trunk so it can be repositioned. The tusks are made of wool that I dipped in clear nail polish to harden them. The eyes are black glass beads. The adult elephant is 5 inches tall and the baby is a mere 2 inches tall not including the raised trunk. The wool is a combination of different shades of grey with a touch of white mixed in. I covered grey felt with wool for the ears so they would not become thick. It worked out well.



I'm on vacation next week so I plan on working on another Vintage Spirit bottle doll. I'm leaning towards an art deco style but I never really know how it will turn out until I get into the construction. The one thing that I do know is that it will be fun!

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Needle Felted Giraffe









Another needle felted animal emerges from the wool. I think the biggest challenge of this piece was the spots! So many spots! And of course I was running low on the wool for the spots and I had nightmares of getting this close and not being able to actually finish him. But in the end I just made it. He stands about 11 inches tall. I think I will try to time how long it takes me to complete the next piece- just curious.