One World One Heart

This year I am participating in the One World One Heart (OWOH) blog event. This is an International link-up of bloggers and it looked like a lot of fun last year, so I thought I'd participate this year, sadly, the last time it will be held.

So, to new visitors to my blog - WELCOME! I am an artist living in Tasmania at the bottom of the world - a kind of afterthought to Australia - it's smallest, but most beautiful state.

One aspect of OWOH is a giveaway "door prize". Pictured above is what I am offering to one person who leaves a comment on my blog on this post from today until the 17th Feb, when I will draw a winner using the very scientific random selection method of a number drawn out of a hat! This is one of my hand-made Zozie dolls - "Tweet"

Good luck everyone and have lots of fun on your OWOH blog crawl - I'll certainly be visiting lots in the hope that I might be lucky enough to win one of the door prizes being offered by generous bloggers all around the world!

Click on the OWOH logo in the sidebar to go to the OWOH site and connect with other participants. Big thanks to Lisa for organizing such a great event - it must entail a massive amount of work!

In My Studio Today

Here's what is on my studio table today. I started this piece a while ago and have just got back to working on it. It is almost done - just a little more painting, gluing the bust inside the box and doing the outside of the box. The figure is kind of spilling out of the box and into the space in front. I made a "Mona Lisa" piece similar to this some years ago, but I forgot to photograph it before I sold it (can't remember who to, so I can't even beg for a few pictures of it!) I used to do that all the time.............thank heavens for digital photography - it has revolutionized my life.

I had great fun working on this!

I've Been Featured!

Dixie Redmond is a wonderful selfless artist, dollmaker and researcher who does so much to promote dollmaking, especially re-creations of the cloth dolls of the past, through her website, blog and Ning group. She has been running a series of "interviews" with dollmakers who use antique cloth dolls as their inspiration. Today, she posted an interview with me on http://www.maidatoday.com/. So if you want to read a bit about what makes me tick, head on over there and have a look. While you are at it, check out her blog, (http://www.northdixiedesigns.com/) where she often features techniques and works-in-progress and maybe you might even like to join up at http://www.maidatoday.ning.com/ for a great forum about antique-inspired dolls. You can even take an online class there.

One of Dixie's faithful Izannah Walker style dolls made from patterns she produced after painstaking research on original dolls.

Mary's Prize

Here's what is on the way to Mary as her prize in my recent giveaway. This is Starchild #4 and he keeps his heart in his little pocket when he's not playing with it. Hope you like it Mary!

      Notice anything new about my blog? I thought it was about time for a change, because   I've had it looking the same way since I started it. I had fun changing it around today and giving it a facelift!                                                                                                                                         

Wintermoon - My Muse

Well, here is my latest art piece "Wintermoon : My Muse - I thought it was finished, but now I'm not so sure - I may add a little more of the floaty fabric, but not much.  Occasionally, I am quite happy with the way something turns out - in other words it comes close to what I had envisioned. This is one such piece.

I suppose it seems a little strange to be making something with such a wintry name, when it is high summer here, although the strange weather we have had lately has had me wondering where our summer went............the last three days it rained non-stop, so it was like summer disappeared. We were getting the dag end of what has devastated the state of Queensland  and by noon yesterday we were marooned in the middle of a lake, both studio and house sprang leaks - I had pots everywhere catching drips. But today a big bright sun is shining out of a flawless blue summer sky and there is a pleasant, warm breeze blowing, so all the water has just disappeared!


In case you missed it, Mary Mangini won my giveaway. Thanks to everyone who entered, (and entered, and entered!) You all made it fun. If you want another chance to win something, I'm participating in the One World, One Heart blog event at the end of the month. Click on the link in the side-bar for more info about the event.

ANNOUNCEMENT! You're A Winner

Mary Mangini - You're  a winner!




Thanks everyone who entered - you all made this so much fun and I was overwhelmed by the response. If you didn't win this time, there will be another chance shortly, because I am taking part in the "One World, One Heart" blog event at the end of this month - (click on the little thingy on the side bar to see what that is all about).

Progress

My new sculptural piece is coming along.........here are more progress shots of it assembled and the painting started. I tend to work in multiple translucent layers of paint, rather than putting it on thickly in one go. That way I can achieve more subtlety in tonal variation. The merest hint of the underneath colours show through subsequent layers adding a greater degree of depth. As you can see s/he now has arms, as well.

Also, I finished off "Essie" as an evacuee child of the London Blitz, 1939. She's waiting on the platform for a train to take her to the safety of the countryside. She now has a little suitcase, her gas mask in it's container, her toy monkey and she's well labelled with her name and destination. She has a look of apprehension and her eyes are a little watery - after all she's only five and she's being separated from her parents for the first time, but she's trying very hard to be brave.