Going to The Land of Dolls...

For more than three years now I've been making art for a living. And by art, I mean acrylic paintings, mixed media collage, circus themed assemblage, boardwalk style knock-down dolls, modern vintage-looking rag dolls, paper clay dolls, upcycled jewelry from flea market finds, and a few other things I'm sure!

And while I love every single one of these creative endeavors... I felt I needed more focus. I wanted to fine tune my own personal style. I thought maybe I should concentrate on one type of art. But which one? I love them all! I wanted to showcase the multitude of ideas in my head... but at the same time I wanted to utilize all the skills I've acquired in all the disciplines I love.

I thought for a very, very, very, long time. I reached into my brain... and then into my soul. I weighed and measured each of the creative categories with my head... and with my heart (and maybe a little bit in my gut too)! And came up with... Art Dolls!

I've dabbled with paper clay figures in the past, but they took hours and hours to make. But... they were also some of my favorite creations to date! I do love to make art that expresses emotion... and what better way than something with a face!

I also love that my Art Dolls allow me to utilize all my favorite materials and skills... working with clay, paint, repurposed flea market finds, sewing and fabric creations, adding collage elements, assemblage... heck, even some of my jewelry skills come in handy! It's really a mixed media paradise when you think about it. Hooray!

And so I have made the decision to concentrate my efforts this year on making Art Dolls! I've already started a few and can't seem to keep my hands off of them! I have more ideas than time, but I put some things aside like laundry, cleaning, shopping, fixing the bathtub faucet and even getting a haircut... just to work on these fun creations!

As a creative person who loves several forms of art, I have to say that it was not an easy decision to make... focusing on one discipline. However, once I made the choice, sat down and started to make these little creatures come to life... well, there wasn't one ounce of regret in my own little body. Playing with dolls. Yeah... pretty much a dream come true for me.

So, off I go into the land of dolls. If you don't hear from me for awhile it's because I'm busy creating. But you can keep up with my adventures on my Facebook Page and Twitter. Or sign up for my newsletter and be the first to know about all the good stuff!

I'm looking forward to sharing this new journey with you! Thanks for tagging along with me. You're a real doll!

xoxox

What Does A Deer Dream Of?

I had this idea to create a painting featuring a deer girl character and needed something to fill the open area over her shoulder. I put out a Facebook poll and got lots of fun answers like: clover, butterflies, romping in the sun, ancient elk, bejewling their antlers, several eating-the-flowers-in-my-garden references, and few deer-hunts-people suggestions, including a twist on the old "Hunters Stew"! But in the end, I decided that my cloven-hoofed girl was dreaming about a pair of pink Mary Jane pumps. Sometimes we want what we cannot have!

I began by creating a two-toned sky using a funky number stencil. I figured she'd be dreaming about numerous pairs of fun shoes.

I created the impression of flowers, grass (and clover) by using layers and layers and layers of all shades of green paint, applied with foam stamps from Claudine Hellmuth's Studio collection (my all-time favorites!).

Then I transferred my image onto the completed background. I confess that many times I'm still not brave enough to draw directly on the canvas. I don't want to mess it up! This method suits me just fine though, and now I have a template to create lots and lots of deer, dreaming of lots and lots of other stuff.

A layer of white insures that whatever cheap acrylics I paint over top will keep their color integrity without a lot of wrestling with tons and tons of layers.

The faces always intimidate me and I end up working on them somewhere in the middle of my painting process. She was the first girl I did in this style with her eyes closed and it really came out very dreamy looking. Hooray!

My favorite shoes are Mary Jane's and they make an interesting-looking illustration as well. Making them obnoxiously pink... well, I couldn't resist!

A few swirls of pink in the flowers to pull it all together and a few dots of white on her body to create more texture and the painting is complete. I'm totally in love with her. And hey... if I were a cloven-hoof girl, I'd be dreaming of high heel shoes too. And maybe a few bucks. Oh, deer!

Right On Target...

Nothing like another gallery deadline to get me in the spirit — and get me moving — to finish a piece of art! But this time I was right on target!

My goal was to finish up with my "deer" little project... to be entitled Wounded. I found her a home in the most amazing vintage drawer.

I papered the inside with a printed brown bag I received with the purchase of some antique bits and bobs awhile back. It was a good match with the shading of the wood and I wouldn't have to age it with paint or stain. Sweet!

The drawer was long and skinny... ideal for the arrow I wanted to add, aimed right at my poor little deer. I wanted the sub-theme to be that... she always felt like the target of their hurtful words. I couldn't find a vintage arrow at the flea market, so I did a little searching and found this amazing blog post on how to make my own. I aged mine to look old, and I was on my way to driving the point home.

I burnt a saying into the sides of the piece (I must admit that I LOVE that burnt wood smell). Then I added a little paper target to my deer and placed her in just the right position in the box... okay, I'm fibbing. The deer only fit in one way, and at that angle because of the position of the antlers. But who would know, right? This was the perfect box to use for this piece... and I was going to make it fit, dammit!

As with many of my pieces, this mixed media assemblage was an accident. It wasn't planned. It just kind of made itself. I wholeheartedly believe that the things that need to come up... well, they just come up. I made the deer on a whim... just playing around with face structure and torsos using paper clay. When I was finished it looked like a deer. When it was painted, it looked sad and wounded.

The Shakespearean reference to slings and arrows always reminded me of how all the cruel things other children said to me throughout my youth really stuck in my heart and caused me great pain. I paired these elements together to create this piece. And I have to confess... it's my new favorite.

I know that in my art making, part of it is to get out my own personal emotions... even if they are based in hurt and pain. But in my art sharing, my goal is to show that there is beauty in sadness. And that it's okay to feel these feelings. It was the sadness that caused us to be the beautiful creatures we are today.

Wounded...

For a long time now, I've been creating works that are... well... kind of sweet and pretty and colorful (a.k.a. pink!). And I think it's time to work on some pieces that relate more to the sad and difficult emotions I've been experiencing of late. They need to come out and manifest themselves into wonderful pieces of art too!

This piece I'm working on now is called Wounded. She's kind of a statement about how I felt growing up as a child. Having moved around a lot, I was always the target of bullies and mean girls in the new neighborhood. It left me feeling kind of wounded.... even to this day. I'm going to paint a target on her belly to drive home that point, and make some kind of woodsy assemblage to put her in. She's still sad, but happy to have made it through the forest.... almost unscathed.