Delphine Completed

This has been such an enjoyable project because I have been under no pressure to get it completed in between quite a few summer visitors and social occasions. Sometimes deadlines are the enemy of enjoyment!

"Delphine" (not sure if this is really her name, but it will do for now) is complete and I'm quite happy with the outcome. Just to remind you, I made her to wear the antique baby shoes given to me for my birthday a year and a half ago by my sister Linda. I wanted her to be a bit special, so I painted her head with oil paints - there is just that little added something using oils instead of acrylics. 

"Delphine" is a 22" (56 cms) jointed cloth doll with a sculpted cloth-covered head. I made her wig from lincoln sheep fleece. 

She is wearing the combinations and smocked dress that I posted about previously and I have added commercial cotton baby socks, a petticoat which I trimmed with a crochet edging, a winter coat with stitched detail edging and hand-knitted mittens, scarf and beret. She's dressed for mid-winter, even though it is high summer here right now! A little shoulder-bag with an embroidered hankie inside completes her. 

A SUMMER PROJECT

I usually find that summer gives me some spare time to work on a special project or two. This summer, I decided to make another large oil-painted (head) doll to fit a pair of antique child's shoes that were a gift. I made one a while ago as a special order and thoroughly enjoyed the whole process. I'm now retired so I can make things at my leisure and as I choose. This doll will have a jointed cloth body and will probably end up being around 21" (53 cms) tall. 

                                                               The antique child's boots

I sculpted a head from air-dry clay after working out the approximate size it needed to be, using the boots as a guide. 

                                              The head sculpt. 

The sculpt was covered in cotton knit fabric, which was sized, sanded, gessoed and under-painted ready for the oil painting process.

The prepared head, ready for painting.

Oil painting takes quite a while, because it is done in multiple layers, which require drying time in between.

The first layers of oil paint.

                                                                  Subsequent layering

While I was waiting for the layers of paint to dry enough to continue, I drafted a pattern - hopefully it won't need to much adjustment. I've also been working on the wig. And thinking about clothes and finishing touches. 

Naming A Doll

Naming a finished doll can be difficult - I seem to run out of names I like, so sometimes I leave the naming to the new owner, as in the case of this recently-completed doll, Claire-Louise. I really like the name and it might have been one I chose myself! This is the first doll for 2019........she is a one-of-a-kind cloth doll. She has a linen fabric body with painted lower limbs and jointed hips. The upper arms are loosely filled and jointed to the body in such a way as to allow a great deal of natural arm positioning. Her legs are firmly stuffed, so she is able to stand easily. The head is also jointed to the shoulder-plate so there is neck mobility. Her wig is wispy-fine blonde Suri alpaca hair, hand-knotted and her clothes are linen, cotton with merino wool yarn for the knits. She has little custom-made leather sandals. I hand-smocked the front of her linen dress.

Meet Claire-Louise:

 

A New Doll

 

This as-yet nameless doll is nearing completion...........just a few more details to be added over the weekend. She's quite small - around 14" with jointed hips and knees (so she can sit without her legs stick straight out!) I'm planning to make a chair for her. She has loosely attached arms, so they can be placed in any pose and her fingers are wired. There is a lot of blue/green in the painting of her face and this colour has been repeated in the clothing, which is made from a really fine cotton knit fabric which I over-dyed by spraying stains onto the surface through some old lace in a fairly random way. Her hair is made from hand-knotted Suri alpaca - a beautiful lustrous, long fibre......my new favourite!

New Work

I must apologize for not posting more often.........getting this house and garden licked into shape takes a lot of my time! At the moment I'm repairing and painting the roof while the weather remains warm and fine. I have broken the back of it - should be done in a week or so if the weather stays dry. You can read about it on my other blog:            http://www.fourteenstepstothebluedoor.blogspot.com.au  

Meanwhile, I AM working on my artwork - I'll have work in an exhibition in Adelaide next month - I'm busy completing the pieces so I can send them next week. The exhibition is called "The Doll Redefined" - should be an interesting diversity of work!

Here is a selection of work I've completed recently:

 

Mr Foxx Out Strolling - jointed cloth with a sculpted cloth-covered head. Painted and embroidered.

 

 

"Cirque Des Enfants" No 8 in a series.

 

"Transmutation - Mor-Rioghain"

 

"Spiritus Loci 2" w.i.p.

 

 

 

 

Little Garments

Before I sent off my Izannah Walker 200th birthday celebration doll to her new owner, I decided to give her a "second skin" body covering, similar to what the originals had. 
I think I've worked out why Izannah Walker gave her dolls this second skin - it was to cover up where she'd accidentally splashed paint on the doll's fabric body. Maybe. Or not.

Anyway, that meant I had to undress the doll in order to fit the second skin. That presented an opportunity to take a photo of all the garments the doll is wearing: drawers, petticoat, dress, jacket and bonnet. I'm not counting the boots, because they are sculpted directly onto her feet and are not removable...........she is destined to forever sleeping in her boots!

When I make a doll like this, the genesis of which is in the "play-doll" form, I make the clothes like miniature versions of full-sized garments, with proper fastenings and closures, so they are easy to remove. 

Here she is before her second skin was added, with all her garments laid out.

Harriet Completed

The second Izannah Walker-inspired doll I made last month, whom I named "Harriet" is now completed. Her underwear is trimmed with crochet lace, which I worked onto the garment directly, she has long drawers with a drawstring at the waist and a red woollen cape finishes her off. She was such fun to make. Both these "Izannahs" have found new homes. :-)

I really enjoyed making these two dolls and I'm so pleased with how they turned out.

Harriet

When I recently made a doll in celebration of the 200th birthday of Izannah Walker, I became entranced with this style of doll all over again! It's been quite a few years since I've made any dolls like this, so it was lovely to become immersed in the process again. I jumped right in and immediately started a second doll in the same style: Harriet.
Izannah walker dolls typically have a "second skin" that fits over the actual body - I decided to give that technique a try with this doll. It took a few tries, but I eventually got the shaping right (I needed to make some tucks to accommodate her rather full derriere!)

So here is my dear sweet Harriet - she has a blue print cotton dress, silk shoes and a knitted cotton apron. Still to come, a cape with a hood and some pretty underthings.