Art Dolls Only Traveling Doll Project

I'm thrilled to be featured today in the Art Dolls Only Traveling Doll Project Blog! I sent them a self-portrait taken in my kitchen with a couple of my dolls.

My digital camera has a little screen that flips around, so I can set up the picture field. Then I put it on timer, reach over and click the shutter, and have 10 seconds to compose. A remote control would probably make it even easier.

I'll be exchanging dolls to work on with Waxela of SpiritMama and Nicole of Mealy Monster Land. We each start a doll and send it on to the next artist, each contributing to the final project and ending up with our own doll again after it has been in the hands of other artists. It will be fascinating to see what we come up with! 

Corazón

Corazón is the Spanish word for heart. Our physical hearts are inside us, but our spiritual hearts can be touched by others.

Does she hold her own heart in her hands? Or does someone else hold it?

Corazón is made from paperclay, cloth, and mixed media, and painted with acrylics. She's about 14 inches high if she were to stand.

She sits on a little wooden shelf that hangs on the wall. She is in For the Love of Art, the Creative Albuquerque (formerly the Albuquerque Arts Alliance) fundraising exhibit and auction from January 15 – 29, with a closing reception on January 29 from 5-8pm.  The starting bid is low, so stop by and place your bid!

Creative Albuquerque is located at 1100 San Mateo Blvd NE, Suite 10, and their phone is 505-268-1920.

Paz

Finished my first doll for 2010!  I'm calling her Paz, as she has a dove and a little olive branch painted on her.

She's small - about 13 inches high. I originally made her to be a cloth doll, but really didn't like painting the face on cloth, so I made her head of paperclay and sculpted her face.

She's got lambswool hair, a little net skirt, and button joints so she can sit comfortably.

Her boots are painted copper and have little swirly designs on them. I forgot to photograph her back, but she has white wings painted there.

Three more dolls are in the works! One is going to the Arts Alliance (now Creative Albuquerque, a local nonprofit) fundraising auction tomorrow. One is going to be part of the Art Dolls Only Traveling Doll Project, to be unveiled February 1. The third... probably on Etsy.  And more will be on their way soon.

Review in the Albuquerque Journal Arts Section!

I was thrilled to open the paper this morning and see a review of the Valley of the Art Dolls show that specifically mentions my doll!  Here's my favorite part of the article: "With wild and crazy red hair, striped tights and clockwork digestive system, Mock's girl wonder could easily show Alice a few untrammeled trails through Wonderland." The critic, Wesley Pulkka, also called my doll "beautifully rendered" and "masterfully built."  Wow - what a compliment!  

First, there is an image on the masthead of the Arts section:

Here's a link to the article in the Albuquerque Journal Arts Section. And I'll post the article itself as an image, although I'm not sure how readable it is (click on the image to get a larger version). 

 And my friend Leighanna Light is also mentioned in the article. 

What a wonderful way to start the new year!

Almost done, half way there, and just begun...

Three dolls in progress.

Little one is almost done, middle is in the works, and the third is just begun! The first one is kind of child-like, or perhaps elf-like, with large eyes that are set a little lower on the head, which is a little larger proportionally for her body. Lots of painting on her (including her back).  I'll take more photos when they're done!

Creating Dolls

I'm working on two new dolls at the moment.

They're sculpted, stuffed, mostly assembled, and just need to be painted, wigged, dressed, and finished!  They're made of paperclay and cloth - I'm experimenting with tinting the clay for a flesh tone. More photos soon! 

Timepiece

Tick tock tick tock.

Most clocks are no longer made with big brass cogs and gears which wind up with a key - they're little bitty things that run on batteries. But the insides of old clocks are so fascinating that I decided to make a doll with old clock movements. I can think of all sorts of expressions using the concept of time or clocks.  Time after time. Out of time.  Her clock is ticking. Once upon a time. Time and time again. Quiet time. Time flies. Time is of the essence. And so on.

First I visited thrift stores to search for old clocks and watches, but  the pickings were slim - I guess other artists have had the same idea!  I've heard that steampunk has been around for a while, but has only recently become popular.

I started with an air-dry clay and made the head, hands, and boots. Body of cloth, button-jointed arms and legs, and bead-jointed knees and elbows. I created an indented box in her torso and covered it with paperclay.

I filled her chest with clock parts, and small watch parts line her bodice. She even has clock gears in her hair! She's about 18 inches tall if she were to stand.

She sits on a little shelf which I painted purple and added more clock movements. The shelf is 14" x 12".

Here's a view of her back.

And her boots.

Timepiece is currently in a show at Dreamscapes Gallery here in Albuquerque called "Valley of the Art Dolls." There are around 20 artists in the show with lots of wonderful work. Many of the dolls are created from found objects and are far from the traditional doll form.

The dates of the show are December 4 through January 31, and the gallery is just north of downtown Albuquerque at 1523 Fifth Street NW (telephone 688-3190). Receptions on December 4, January 1 & 15 - 5:30-8:30.

 

 Timepiece was inspired by a challenge issued by the Art Dolls Only group (of which I'm a member) to create a doll with "foreign objects."