Traveling Doll Project: Simone

Simone was my last Traveling Doll Project doll to work on with the Art Dolls Only artists. I joined a small group of three artists, and we exchanged three dolls, working on each one before we passed them around. Eventually each doll has returned to the person who started it. Here's the Traveling Doll Project Blog (Simone's up there on the front page right now but I'm sure there will be others soon). You can see more abut the 28 artists who participated, and follow the journeys of each doll there.

Simone started off in Texas, and her first journey was a car trip to Iowa with Waxela. You can read about it here and see some photos of her beginnings. She then visited Nicole from Mealy Monster Land in New York state (read about it here).  Her third and final stop before returning home to Iowa was Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Simone's Arrival

She came as a roaring twenties gal, who enjoyed spent her best times dancing, traveling, smoking, and enjoying her existence. Life had given her a few gray hairs and some wrinkles, but she still kept her smile - was it cheer or cynicism?

She was set up in her spot on my desk, and she waited. And waited. And waited. She was very patient.  Finally, I woke up in the middle of one night and knew what she needed.

Simone practices flying

Feathers! From flapper gal to a woman in flight. Not to escape, but to soar beyond her limitations. She had a certain crow-like quality to begin with, and it came out in full force. Black feathers flow from her sleeves and a crow hat made of clay sits on her head. She can take on anything now!

Simone - full view

Through her sheer skirt you can see Nicole's yellow slip; Waxela's wonderful purple and red sandals peek out from underneath some fringe.

A crow is painted on her shoulder (and she has a crow tattoo on her ankle if she cares to lift her skirt a bit). A crow is defined as a "black bird having a raucous call" and the term is often used in a derogatory way toward women. They are sometimes seen as a liaison between life and death. But crows are really fascinating and intelligent creatures who have learned to live and thrive among us humans under all sorts of different circumstances.

I read this book not long ago. The author, Lyanda Lynn Haupt, studid the crows in her Seattle neighborhood. Haupt weaves her own observations together with myth, science, and history about the birds. So Simone became a crow of sorts, clothed in shades of black with her crow beak shadowing her forehead. Is she on her way to a costume party? Or is she going to climb to the top of a tree and build a nest, foraging for trinkets in your back yard before soaring off toward the clouds?

Simone and Peregrina

Before leaving New Mexico, Simone posed for a portrait with Peregrina, who also made the trip visiting each of the artists.

It was a wonderful collaboration, and a joy to work with Waxela and Nicole on the project. It was really invigorating and challenging to work with dolls made by other artists, and fascinating to see how they developed through their travels.

Looking forward to next year! – Melody

Art Doll Eyes

A cool collection by Kandra of art doll eyes over at the Art Dolls Only blog! I "borrowed" the image - go over to the blog to see which artists made them. Perhaps one of mine will show up in the next batch...

Primavera!

The apple tree in our back yard blossomed last week, letting us know that spring is indeed on its way. The flowers didn't last long, and the ground was soon covered with white flower petals as the green leaves made their way toward the warm sun. Primavera (which means "spring") has an apple tree painted on her torso.

She's on Etsy now.

She has gold-brown eyes and her black hair is made from burlap strands. She's very small - about 7.5 inches tall (approximately 19 centimeters), has button jointed arms and legs which can be posed, and she sits quite nicely. She wears a white tulle skirt and has striped green & blue legs. She wears clunky black laceup boots.

She has wings painted on her back, and little white apple blossoms fly off the tree and around her neck.

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Search "ADOT" on eBay to find many unique, handcrafted doll art by other Art Dolls Only members!

Traveling Art Doll: Peregrina

I've finally finished my doll for the Art Dolls Only Traveling Doll Project!

 

This is Peregrina, a "blank" doll to be sent on to Mealy Monster Land (Nicole) and SpiritMama (Waxela) on our mini travel doll challenge! 

She's made of cloth with paperclay, painted with acrylics, and stands about 14 inches tall. I debated whether to paint her face, but in the end I couldn't resist. It also seemed that she should have some undies, so I painted them on her as well.

So off she goes with her diary to Waxela tomorrow, where she will spend a month, then she will be sent to Nicole. 

 

Each of these artists will give her their creative touch, and she'll eventually end up back here. 

In the meantime, I've received Nicole's contribution, Payten, shown here posing with Peregrina. I've got a month to work on her and then send her to Waxela, when I'll get Waxela's doll from Nicole!  Some of the groups are as large as six or seven, but I opted to join a mini group of three this time around. I can't begin to imagine how Peregrina will turn out, and I've got my creative juices flowing to figure out how to start on Payton. I think I'll start by getting out the paint brushes.... 

A little more about Peregrina. It's a name that means "pilgrim" and is the subject of a beautiful song composed in Mexico in the early 1920s by Yucatecan poet Luis Rosada de la Vega with music by Ricardo Palmerin. It was commissioned by Felipe Carrillo Puerto, progressive governor of the Yucatán in 1922, for his love, the San Francisco journalist Alma Reed. You can read more about their tragic love story here, and you can read the lyrics to the song. I haven't found an English translation yet, but you see it run through Google's web page translation here.

Here's a video of the famous Jorge Negrete singing Peregrina with scenes from the movie El Rebelde (Romance de antaño) in 1943.  

Of course, I realize that adventures can change in mid-stream and Peregrina may take on a completely different personality, but it's always fun to start with a story!

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! 

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.

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." 

Murina Updated

Murina the Bat Doll got a little more work done on her - I added eyelashes, worked on her face a little more, and painted some little flying bats on her neck (which was looking rather bare).

She's available for sale on Etsy: www.allegromelody.etsy.com

Here are some more photos!

Red and black paisley fabric wings and skirt.

I think her eyes look much sharper with more definition.

 

Her wings are held in place with a purple button just like her arms.

Her boots are painted with a paisley-like pattern to match the wings and skirt.

She comes with a little shelf that she sits on -- can be hung on the wall with a nail.

We created this shelf so that she might be displayed easily. I'm always running out of shelf room for my dolls, so this is our solution -- hang them on the wall like picture frames!

Please let me know what you think, and feel free to message me if you have any questions! I hope you like her.

Murina was made for the Art Dolls Only Halloween Challenge - check out the other lovely art dolls here! 

Art Dolls

As I delve into the world of making my own dolls, I've been looking at lots of other handmade dolls. Art Dolls Only issued a challenge to make a doll based on the elements. I hope my latest doll will fit right in! Images will be posted on Friday, but I'll post a preview image now as a teaser. (More preview available on my Allegro Melody FaceBook page!)

This is Redwing, a doll made from airdry clay and cloth, painted with acrylics. More images to come on Friday.