House Doll

My House Doll has been finished and delivered to OFFCenter Community Arts Project for their fundraiser! They're a community artmaking place, and open their doors to anyone who wants to come make art.

Their fundraiser is in conjunction with their Albuquirky House Tour where people can tour several local art houses and folk art collections. The tour was recently featured on a local TV station, and includes the famous tile house, completed by ceramic artist Beverley Magennis. From their web site: "the Tile House has over 130,000 pieces of tile covering all 4 exterior walls, plus  the patio, sidewalks, and the entire living quarters inside, which is embellished with bottle caps, pennies, matchsticks, golf balls and much more."

Back to my doll - the call was to make a piece of art out of a little house. I decided to make a House Doll - the opposite of a doll house. I was given a little wooden house, and my husband built a little porch on it. I added her paperclay sculpted head and stuffed cloth arms, and legs, and painted all with acrylics. 

I forgot to measure her, but I imagine she's around 16 inches tall if standing. She's got hair made of burlap strands, and a blackbird painted on her neck.

She was great fun to make, and I can't wait to start another house doll! Just have to talk my husband into making me some more little houses...

 

If anyone's interested in bidding on her, it's a silent auction at OFFCenter near downtown Albuquerque on Saturday, May 1 from 1-4pm. Don't know if they'll take phone or email bids, but I can ask if anyone's curious! Bidding starts low....  

Erté, Cactus Wren, and Kells

Erté, Kells, and Cactus Wren are the three little dolls that I've just finished. I've listed all three of them in my Etsy shop (and you can click on the photos to go to their listing). Each is about 7.5 inches tall, or 19 centimeters, if standing.

I called this one "Erté" because she was inspired by the great art deco artist and designer. I've painted an abstract design on her torso.

 

Her face is barely sculpted - definition and depth is achieved by the paint. 

 

As most of my dolls, she has wings painted on her back. 

Kells is a little doll inspired by the great masterpiece, the Book of Kells. She has an entwined dragon-type image painted on her torso, with a Celtic knot twisting around her shoulder.

I thought I'd do something Irish-inspired for the month of March. She's more sculpted than Erté - her nose and lips are fully defined, and her eyes are quite green.

Her wings are also inspired by images from the Book of Kells.

The cactus wren sings the most lovely song perched atop a cholla or prickly pear cactus. This doll has a little bird painted on her torso. 

 

She is also more sculpted than Erté, and her hair is made from strands of burlap. 

Wren-like wings are painted on her back. 

The small dolls were new for me - I  discovered it is rather difficult to sculpt such tiny parts with paperclay, and took much longer than I expected. But I love to constantly challenge myself through my art, always trying new things and experimenting with ideas and techniques. 

Next I plan to make more of the larger, more intricate dolls. I still have a bag full of watch parts with which to experiment, and lots of ideas.... Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think! Which is your favorite, and why? What would you like to see next?