Evelyns Masked doll

I am trying to get all of the talent from my doll club onto this site little by little....so here goes!

I mentioned my friend Evelyn...she is the one that i had for my grab bag person...I made her Eva. Well, making a doll for her was like taking a doll challenge...it was kind of like knowing that the doll would be magnified under a really good microscope about a million times!!! Not because she's picky or rude (actually she's pretty quiet).....no...its because she is a perfectionist sewer and ...well you know how it is!!! so here is one of her newest creations.....I love him...and I love his mask....actually I asked her to do a tutorial on creating the mask....

Using plastic or glass eyes

I really wanted to start using EYES ...instead of drawing/painting them in (even though i love the control i have with this technique...) I feel like the real eyes help the doll look a little more real life than whimsical....If thats the feeling i"m trying to get across when i create the doll...
I want the flexibility of either look. well.... I find out its not as easy as it looks....(for me anyway!!!) The first doll i did was totally cross eyed...I threw her away!!! i cant even show her because she's in the garbage!! ... The next one i did....I feel like her name is CELESTE...well her head got very big...because i needed to bury those eyes...so they were'nt popping out of her head! well..i ended up making her body bigger..and i was happy when she finally "pulled together..." haha

I'm using plastic eyes while i am learning so i dont blow a ton of money on glass ayes....I am using paper clay...so i dont have melting issues. But i did run into the plastic losing its finish by the time i was done sculpting and skinning the face. To try and correct this ..i was able to add shine by applying Ranger gloss to just the eyeball color...it really worked well!

I am also seeing that I have a woderful blank stare going on with this type of EYE...but its the journey!!! RIGHT?? because now i will concentrate on facial expression...instead of a nice "stare" !!! well ...we will see...haha

Here are Celeste and my last doll....EVA....she was my christmas grab bag doll for my friend evelyn....Evelyn is by far the best doll maker....She has fantastic imagination..and her work is precision with a needle and thread....I try and learn as much as i can from her...as well as every person in my dollclub!! Each woman in the club has a stong and inspiring gift to give the rest of us...ok...i'm really rambling....here are the pictures........

As I continue to take many inspiring classes with amazing teachers....EPB, Gloria Winer, Sherry Goshen, Patty Culea and Arly Beryhill....I am now really appreciating this form of art. I am finding that any medium I learn to work with could be used within the doll form.

The other thing i quickly learned is this....I CANNOT needle Sculpt!!! It just doesnt wotk for me (I kind if "rig" things with needle and thread...nothing is precision with me) ....but i did find my way to CLAY! I love clay....I can get lost in it for hours! I tried complete dolls out of clay...but they feel too "statue like" to me so I settled on cloth bodies with clay heads, and a mix of either cloth or clay hands. I did paperclay and then "skinned" them with cloth...and i love smoothness of the cloth but the precision of clay features!

Here are some completed dolls with painted eyes.....

Beetle Babe challenge

Last Year after making my first two dolls,i decided to enter a doll challenge. It was called the beetle babe challenge. I really had a tough time with this doll ...and i tried so hard...but after not winning I realized how much i really did learn in the process.