Peregrine

I am close to completing my 12th wall doll so I thought I would photo just a tiny bit today...

It's a Peregrine Falcon that sits on the arm of a very lovely forest creature. Her name will be Peregrine following the tradition of using the letter P to begin each wall doll's name. This little falcon is just 4 inches tall from the very tip of its blinder feather to claws (which I will be cutting back once I determine how to attach it). I initially made the bird without the blinder so it actually does have  eyes but then didn't think it looked formidable enough so I attached the headgear. I like it better now.

Pacifica: A Mermaid of the Pacific Ocean

Here is my second mermaid- Pacifica.  I used my same pattern as Pearl (Atlantic Mermaid). Pacifica has a needle felted head with a Styrofoam armature, a stuffed fabric torso and tail and needle felted arms. Her torso has a needle felted overlay. Her hair is hand-spun dyed wool with a metallic thread interwoven. Her headpiece is painted lace. The fabric of her tail has a fish tessellation on it.
Here she is:

Shell in her Hand

Water Droplets on her Tail

Pacifica
Pacific Ocean Mermaid

Pearl
Atlantic Ocean Mermaid

I did change the cut of the top of her tail and added side flukes to Pacifica but otherwise they are the same pattern.
I like to put these wall dolls on interior doors as well as walls. Very inviting.

I have now made 6 wall dolls. Four are elf creatures and two mermaids. The weird thing is all their names start with the letter P which was not  initially planned, but now I seem committed.  They are: Periwinkle, Pansy, Pebbles, Paper Crane and Pearl all named after whatever they are holding in their hands. Pacifica is holding a pearl just like Pearl, so to distinguish between the two she is called Pacifica because of her golden sunny color scheme  in contrast to Pearl's cold blue. I have plans for one more mermaid from the Arctic Ocean. She would naturally be called Polar. It just never ends! At least the mermaids are pretty creatures unlike my little dwarves!

Paper Crane

Please welcome my latest doll: Paper Crane!

I was inspired by the origami doll the Textile Tart's group made last month to create this needle felted wall doll. I will be bringing it to our meeting today to share. If I can get better photo's taken I will replace these but for now these will do. The first photo looks like one leg is longer than the other but in reality one foot is extended a bit from the wall- they are the same length. Also I find it difficult to take clear close-up shots of the face without a bit of blurring. I'll work on that.  But, I do like her. The ornamentation in her bun was once my grandmother's earring. The large button on her wrap also came from a bag of buttons I got from my grandmother. I have had the fabric I used on her kimono for a long time, just waiting for the right figure. I lined the kimono with gray satin and she also is wearing a pair of linen pantaloons that are embroidered with a gold leaf pattern. She is 22 inches tall, I used the same torso pattern as my other three wall dolls. Of course, as is also the case with all my wall dolls, she is named after the item in her hand. It is an origami crane.

Pebbles

I made it!! I finished my third needle-felted wall doll for the  Hampton Art Walk with a week and 1/2 to spare! Now that's what I call timing! This one I call Pebbles because she is holding two pebbles in her hand (not very original naming I must admit). Trying for variety between each of these three elves, this one's skin is pure white wool. She has color in her eyes and lips but that's about it.  Her pantaloon's are made from left over fabric that I used on my bathroom curtains. I just redid that bathroom this past summer so the material was new and still in my head when I started costuming. The pebbles are from Hampton Beach. I collect beach stones, varnish them, and display them. Mostly they're granite- very pretty I think, especially when varnished as this brings out the colors. Anyway- may I present Pebbles!

Pansy

I finished my second needle felted wall doll for the Hampton Art Networks Art Walk. The walk is just a month away and I have committed three pieces to be displayed- but have only two completed at this point! Yikes! Periwinkle and Pansy and a third that is just a vision in my mind right now. Well I do work well under pressure so hopefully I will make the October 4th deadline!
In any case Pansy is a throw back to the 1960's with her embroidered skirt with matching caplet  topped off with a pillbox hat. She holds a basket of pansies.

Her hair is light purple braided wool yarn. Her outfit is powder blue felt lined with a patterned blue cotton. She has laced undies that extend just a tiny bit below her skirt. I also made the flowers in her basket from felt. She is the same size a Periwinkle, 24 inches, but both her legs are extended straight. With each of these wall dolls I have tried to use unusual colors or color combinations- in this case- powder blue with royal purple accents. 

Periwinkle

Introducing Periwinkle! I just finished her and currently she is feeling very at home hanging on my living room wall. She ended up being 23 inches tall. It always amazes me how every doll evolves during the construction process.  Originally I had planned to have her dressed more elaborately with some type of skirt over the pants but in the end nixed that idea. Working with the pant color was a big challenge for me-way out of my comfort zone! I collected different shades of green, gray, and cream/tan fabrics and ribbons and pulled from there. I knew I wanted to use that particular yarn for her hair as soon as I felted her head. The yarn was a Christmas gift I had been saving. Is is hand spun Romney wool called copper. The spinner said she dyed the wool using pennies and it resulted in the aged copper color. Very unusual color- sometimes it looks grey, sometimes bluish green. In any case, it is a very soft color that I think complements her needle felted face well. It is also a color that does not really go with the pant color so I had to tie the two together with the use of the other fabrics. A bit tricky.

I wanted to make a wall doll so that I can have something to display during the Hampton Art Network Art Walk which is scheduled for October. I'm not sure what the space configurations for each artist will be so I want to be prepared with dolls that can be hung if that is the only display option available. I hope to be able to show different art doll examples but that would require a table which I am not sure will be an option. In the end I now have a pattern for a wall doll with a needle felted head, hands, feet (not used on this one) and with straight or bent legs/arms.  Her hands, arms, and neck contain a wire armature. Her fingers can be moved. The rest of her body is stuffed muslin covered with costuming. She holds a needle felted periwinkle snail in her hand.