Peregrine Falcon

May I introduce Peregrine Falcon my most recently completed needle felted wall figure. Often I am inspired by music and that was the case for Peregrine. The piano of David Lanz  "The Enchantment" from his Painting the Sun album started this journey and along the way I was accompanied by other pianists- Michelle Mclaughlin, Rick Seaton and Joe Bongiorno to name but a few.

She is approximately 27 inches long from the top of her antlers to the tips of her toes.
She is my first forest creature but certainly not my last- so fun to create!
Her antlers are made from paper clay which I painted some brown highlights on and then varnished. Her head and arms are needle felted wool, her torso is stuffed cotton and her legs are stuffed cotton skinned with needle felted wool.

I picked up the material for her skirt at my last Tart's meeting. Often members will bring fabrics from their stash to put out for the taking. I picked up this piece and a second somewhat similar piece that I plan on using for a second forest character in the future.  I think it is a polyester blend but it has the feel of velvet. Her cowl is actually a piece of velvet. Her blouse is sheer nylon that frays very easily making it quite nasty to work with but I wanted to give her a bit of a frayed look which is very difficult for me as I tend to tailor everything- even when I don't want to somehow it ends up tailored.
Her hair is  pure wool yarn that is loosely felted. The falcon is perched on a black leather protector made from part of an old glove. All the ribbons are pure silk. Her satchel is wool with a rawhide strap. Inside it I've enclosed part of the poem- Walking Through the Woods on a Snowy Eve by Robert Frost.

Nefertiti: Fairy Queen of Strength

Love the back- curved wings

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.