Dolls on Exhibit... a Torche' Galerie Opening Nite! Saturday, July 12th...

After the great success at their Anniversary Show, I am thrilled to announce that 9 of my newest Folk Art Dolls have been selected for exhibition at Torche' Galerie in Belmar, NJ. In fact... I'm squealing with delight!

Their Summer Exhibition features a whole host of talented artists in all genres including sculpture, photography, charcoal, watercolor, acrylic, collage, mosaic, mixed-media and so many more categories of intriguing contemporary art. Torche' Galerie is like a little slice of an upscale New York City gallery with a friendly and inviting atmosphere... right here in NJ! And the opening night reception will knock your socks off. Good thing it's Summer!

Torche' Galerie Summer Exhibition

Opening Reception 

Saturday, July 12, 2014

7pm - 10pm

500 Main Street, Belmar, NJ 07719

So come join me at the opening reception and view my latest selection of whimsical Art Dolls as well as the work of more than 50 artists! If you can't make it to the Opening Reception, the show is up for two months, and you can also get a sneak peek of my dolls in the Artist section of the Torche Galerie website.

Hope to see you there!

Ain't She A Doll...

Well, it took a little longer than I anticpated... but I finally finished my first official collection of folk art style dolls for 2014. With 10 little babies to create from paper clay, I ended up letting them discover who they wanted to be as I sculpted away. I did have some very specific ideas for personalities in mind before beginning... but the creative thoughts that came during the process made it that much more exciting. They just came to life in my very hands. I'm such a proud momma.

From bunnies in tutus, to moons orbiting earth, to cotton candy personified, to an underwater sea creature, and more... they were such fun to watch unfold before my eyes! I loved getting lost in the process and finding myself again in the tiniest of details. It was fun. It was frustrating at times. It was even a little scary. But mostly... I enjoyed the unpredictability of this journey.

So, let's take a look at some of my new art dolls...

This is Hope. No matter where she goes, she always feels at home. She's kind of a homebody.

Here is Mother Earth, with the orbiting moon as her head. She's got the whole world in her hands. The scarf was a last minute addition, but it does get cold up there at the North Pole!

Leonardo — a.k.a. The King of Cats — is a real sweetheart and a romantic. I actually used my kitties' naturally shed whiskers for this doll. And yes, I've been collecting those whiskers for years for just such a purpose.

Ain't she sweet? This is Miss Cotton Candy in all her pink glory. With an inverted cone as her off-the-shoulder ball gown, she's ready for a night on... the boardwalk.

Crustacea is Queen of the Lobsters. But it wasn't easy. She had to pinch her way to the top, one arthropod at a time! She's all dressed up for the Coral Cotillion, aboard the sunken pirate Ship Destiny. I wonder what great treasures await her.

And this little angel is Aspen. Made from parts of an old teddy bear (yes, that awesome bow belonged to the bear), she won my heart and will become part of my own personal collection. Now to carve out some time for the next round of dolls. Hmmmm.... where shall I go from here?

You can check out my entire collection of folk art style dolls in more detail in my Etsy shop.

Me, Owww...

There are some times in your life where you just feel like being snarky.... but you still want to look cute doing it. Meow.

Let's Party!

So I was painting my little heart out these past few weeks... having been invited to be a featured artist at a local Asbury Park gallery next month! I was so ecstatic when a graphic design client of mine came over to pick up a job I did for her... and was enchanted by my most recent slew of paintings. She said, "these are awesome... now paint more!" And I did.

This week I'm busy getting all my art together, creating some marketing materials (that graphic design background really comes in handy!), and coming up with ways to promote the event. And I have to admit... I'm getting kind of excited! We're still working out the exact opening date, but I can tell you that it's right around the corner!

Shut Your Flap!

OMG... so how cute are these!! Part of her new line of printable 3D things, these gift-giving wallets from Claudine Hellmuth are way cuter than store bought money or gift card holders. I got my hands on these just yesterday and my mind is reeling over how clever and adorable they are.

The kit comes with 17 pages of printable wallets and instructions, with plenty of designs for everyone in your life... boys, girls, tweens, moms, dads. It even comes with printable coupons you can fill out and give for all kinds of holidays. And if you think you'd never be able to figure it out, she's made videos on how to assemble them step by step!

And Claudine's talents seem to be endless when it comes to 3D printables! She's got tons of party favors like... cupcake holders that are ovens, colorful popsicles, retro cassette tapes. She's got birdies and trains, entire villages to make and so much more... all for instant download. So check out her Etsy shop if you want to impress your friends and family with your mad folding skills and some pretty darn adorable paper accessories!

Sweet Little Sweet Cake

I'm not sure what possessed me... my love of sweets? My recent vacation doodles? My restricted sugar diet? But whatever it was, I certainly was possessed! My desire to fill an entire 16"x20" canvas with cupcakes... and cotton candy... and donuts... and ice cream... and candy apples... and more... simply overtook me.

In fact, I was so in-the-zone that I never replaced the lightbulb directly over my work table. I was practically painting in the dark! I just didn't want to waste one moment. And, all along I knew I wanted to photograph the background before drawing out the cake shape... but I finished that part in the evening (when there's no good light for photography) and just couldn't wait to move forward. The curiosity was killing me!

So, I just did it. I kept drawing and painting and painting and smearing... and loving every single second of it! Masking the outer area with a light seafoam green acrylic just made me giddy with success.

Then for the inside. I wasn't sure if I was going to leave the colors graduated, but I stared at it for a while and felt an obnoxiously bright pink would tie it all together and make the candy pop! And when all was said and done (around 11:30pm!), I sat back and reveled in my sweet little creation. And that was the icing on the cake.

Okay... what's next?

Courage, Grow, Discover...

In the months before my recent vacation, I spent most of my time preparing for an art show... so I didn't have a lot of time left over for fun painting play. Arriving home from Colorado... I needed to paint and this is what came out of me.

The lion originally was just a simple flower, but it told me it wanted to be a lion... so I complied.

The details are the fun part. Now that I've learned to play when I paint, I just paint what feels right in the moment, and worry about the composition as it creates itself.

I find that I am drawn to symbols like circles, swirls, stars, dots, clouds and raindrops.

And I'm still working on my faces while at the same time trying to find the perfect set of eyes. There are just so many ways to illustrate them in acrylic. Perhaps I'll make a whole painting of eyes to see what I like!

Sometimes You Just Have To Sever The Ties!

Oh no! I'm cutting off her arms! Yes, that's right... poor little Giselle is getting a bit of a makeover. She was the very first paper clay doll I made with real-looking eyes... and I truly did love her. Really!

I mean, I was there the day she was born... you know?

And I was there when she blossomed into a fine young woman.

I even made the dress for her first Cottilion.

But alas, the novelty wore off and I kept finding things I didn't like about her. So instead of keeping her around looking all at once pretty and sadly pensive... I took things into my own hands. Literally!

I cut off half her arms so I can make them jointed. I painted them pink and stripey, along with her already-jointed legs. I shortened her dress into a ballet skirt... and there are more changes to come. I'm going to place her — puppet-on-a-string-style — into an assemblage to be entitled... Twisted. In my own whimsically ironic way I am turning things around and using her sadness to my advantage. And I'm looking forward to the journey...