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!

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.

Needle Felted Wall Doll

I am in the process of designing a needle felted wall doll. There will be many challenges to this,  the first being the larger size of this doll compared to what I normally make. I think it needs to be larger to have a presence on a wall. It will be an elf or more specifically a shore elf because I plan on incorporating some shells and beach stones that I have been gathering this summer.  I needle felted the head already- as you can see it is still bald and need a little more height in the forehead - but you get the general idea. It is a bit over three inches high with an eight inch circumference at ear level. If I follow the rule, 7 1/2 heads tall then the finish doll should be about 23 inches. But I'm not sure if the human proportion rule applies to elves??? In any event, I'm on vacation this week so I hope to get the body parts completed and put together so I can move on to costuming.