Lots of Feet

 Every year for the past few years I have made an ornament for my children for Christmas as a stocking stuffer. It started with the stars, last year I made mice, so I am now working on something new. Yesterday I actually had time to myself again (I'm not doing anything on the "to do" list) and decided to mess around with an idea... I ended up making these little feet. I drew a template for the sole and traced it onto cardboard 16 times. Cut dowels 3 inches long and adhered them to the soles using glue and a bit of apoxy sculpt. When that was somewhat dry I created the shoe using paper clay and let them dry overnight. This is what they looked like this morning.

 

                                                           

Step #1 Apoxy Dowels to Template

Step #2  Add Paper Clay

                                              

                                                       A Different Style

                                                                

Here are 8 of the dozen I made waiting for Step #3- Sanding, Painting, Finishing

Today I plan on sanding them, painting them, felting the soles, painting the legs, and adding socks and laces. I still haven't decided who's legs they actually are but that will come in time- I have a few ideas about that too. Nine have rounded toes and three have elf toes so there are options for different "people". Each little shoe is about 1 1/2  inches long. I hope this works out. 

My Tart's Ornament

I just finished my ornament- What do you think?
I ended up combining  essence of Sally Mavor with Waldorf style and created this little heart fairy.  She has a lot of reflective elements so she should really shine on a tree. Her legs are made from icicles that are very glittery, her dress is the metal cornucopia, her wings are tin, and the little heart is gold color metal so there is a lot of shiny stuff going on here. In contrast to that she has a plaid country bow, acorn hat, yarn hair and a needle felt featureless face. I used pipe cleaners for her arms with beads on her wrists. I think she is cute and I hope whoever picks my bag is happy with her as well.

Textitle Tart Ornament 2012

Today I am going to make the ornament that I need for our holiday party. The Tart's decided to make ornaments this year at our June pot-luck gathering. I have had months to do this but as usual I am now just a short two weeks away from the event and I haven't even started it yet. How does that happen? 

Fortunately, I have two ideas dancing around in my head. I think I can create an angel or fairy from this small mesh cornucopia. That will be my first attempt. If that bombs, I will needle felt some more polar bears and string them to a festive ribbon maybe add a bell or two.... 

I'm hoping the fairy/angel will work out. I was thinking of using Sally Mavor's dolls as inspiration for the design or if that doesn't work I will probably needle felt in a Waldorf style. It always amazes me how my initial idea seems to transform during construction to produce a surprise in the end.

Vintage Spirit #8: Witch's Brew

Here is my latest commissioned piece- a witch! Last month I was given this bottle with instructions to make whatever I wanted. Of course, with the Frog Syrup label it screamed witch! So here she is looking very intently at the unfortunate frog in her hand. I wonder what she is thinking?

I will be giving this piece to another doll artist on Saturday and I must say I am a bit nervous. I really hope she likes it. Personally I love it- but that's certainly no guarantee that anyone else will think the same. When she gave me the bottle it already had the Frog Syrup Brew label on it but she also gave me a second label to use in case I couldn't relate or didn't like the frog one. How could I not like it? I was born on Halloween for goodness sake!
I think my favorite part of this doll is the skirt. It is a vintage handkerchief folded to highlight the lace edges. I think it falls over the bottle beautifully and adds a touch of Victorian charm. She also sports a painted lace collar and cuff, a felt inner vest and a black jacket. There is a small bat on the back of the jacket. The frog is needle felted with green bead eyes. The witch's hair is also needle felted wool roving and she has a small wart on her chin although it really can not be seen as it is blocked by the frog in these photos. Let me know what you think!

Hampton Art Walk 2012

The Art Walk is over- I can actually catch my breath now! It was a wonderful experience for me- my figures first step out into the world. I was in a tiny room at the back of a large dance studio and yet many people found me. I shared my space with Carol Whalen, a remarkable painter, so there was a nice contrast between what she was offering and my work. The room also had a window that overlooked the gazebo and green where many tents were set up for artists that preferred to be outside so I had a great view. The outside area had artists demonstrating their craft: a muralist, a pumpkin carver, a weaver, musicians, and historical characters dressed in colonial garb mingled with the crowd. On Thursday night, amid the raindrops, there was an edible art competition and on Friday night the chefs from many local restaurants were offering samples as part of a culinary contest. So much to see. All the businesses surrounding the gazebo area offered Hampton Arts Network artists space to display.
The weather did not cooperate on Thursday- rainy - we had a small turnout. Friday night was spectacular though (temps in the low seventies) so many people came and they were having a great time.
I got a lot of good feedback on my work from other artists as well as the general public. Many people had never seen needle-felting before or if they were familiar with this art form they had never seen figures before only animals. Next year I will have to demonstrate. I did bring my needles and a bit of roving so I could explain the process to people but it would have been nice to have been working on a piece as people came by. Something to plan for the next time.
Besides participating as an artist in the walk, I also was part of the planning committee. My job was to create a system in which sales could be negotiated and catalogued- not an easy task considering it was an entire community event. In the end, twenty seven artists had their work displayed for sale. I created individual sales cards for each piece (more than 100), catalogued the entire show, and developed a easily manageable system for two cashier tables. The one thing I completely forget about was "petty cash". The very first question one of the cashiers asked me was "what do I do if someone comes up with a $4 item and a $10 bill in their hand?" Yikes- a quick run to the bank solved the problem but it was a stupid omission on my part. Well, something to remember for next year. In the end I sold three pieces. It was nice to see a customer's delight was the result of something my hands created.

Part of my display area.

Entire left wall space

Harvest Fairy on adjacent wall

Hampton Art Walk 2012

Hampton Arts Network Art Walk 2012. If you're around the New Hampshire seacoast on October 4th or 5th then be sure to stop by and see me!

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!