Doll #9 - Zelda Zebra

When you find a knit top in black and white stripes, there's not much choice but to make a zebra!  Zelda started off with a different set of eyes.

 

These eyes are buttons and, even though they went with color in the hair, I wasn't happy with them.  Still, I had taken the first set of pictures before I decided to change the eyes from buttons to pompoms.

 

Early stage - all of my dolls, except Gilda, have the head and body cut in one piece.

 

Her hair is yarn that I crocheted, hooking to long running stitches on her head.

 

Zelda, from a couple more angles.

 

I sewed joints into her legs so that she's be able to sit.

 

Lastly, front view that shows the convergence of the stripes.

 

Seven Words

It's been a while since I participated in Photo Art Friday, but this week's theme interested me:

 

This week you can use the prompt to compose a seven word sentence that describes your life or experience or process as an artist (be it a photographer, painter, mixed media artist, digital artists, whatever ...) and marry your sentence to a piece of photo art that somehow illustrates your sentence.

 

This must be my favorite picture of myself - it keeps showing up in my art!  I didn't think long before "Art opens my eyes to the world" popped into my head.  Below are the two photos I used to build my image:

 

Lighthouse along the Portuguese coast, taken from Tropic Moon's deck

Me, on the island of St. Maarten in the Caribbean, circa 1980

 

Doll #8 - Pink Possum

I thought this doll looked a little bit like a possum.

 

While it looks like her head and body are from different fabrics, they actually came from the same blouse, with some judicious cutting.

 

Here's a piece left from the original blouse.  Not something I would have worn myself.  :o)

 

I love these socks!  They're from the Wal-Mart infant department.

 

The hair is crocheted yarn, and the eyes are buttons.  Her legs are jointed, and I used buttons for attaching her legs and arms. 

Book Spine Poetry

 

Being home, creating a charmed life,

Spirited stillness speaks.

God is at eye level.

 

Have you heard of Book Spine Poetry?  I'm learning about it for the first time, through my Beyond Layers class.

 

Book Spine Poetry is both a visual and literary art form that is created by stacking books so that the titles on the spines, when read out, make a poem. Poems can range from very short to epics. The only limit is your imagination and the size of your book collection. ~Lloydminster Public Library

 

Needless to say, this retired librarian headed right to the books in her studio and started hunting for useful titles.  The poem I came up with is pretty much on target for my life these days.  Can't ask for much more than that!

 

Here's the original stack of books, before I did a wee bit of Photoshop magic.  (For example, authors and subtitles disappeared.) 

 

And there are lots more bookshelves in other rooms....

Come Walk With Me

I walked out onto our back porch this morning and savored the cooler temperatures.  Three cheers for September!  Would you like to join me for a walk on the golf course?  If you look way back down our yard, that little green spot, sort of on the right, is the golf course.

 

Passing the magnolia tree on the way through the yard.

 

One of the fountains on the golf course - always picturesque, under any conditions.

 

Some trees reflected in one of the water hazards.  It wasn't quite totally calm, but it sure looks it in the photo!

 

A closer view of the reflection in the water.

 

Some paw prints in the concrete path.

 

I was passing under a tree when a small piece of bark fell, almost hitting me.  Then I heard the tapping of a woodpecker.  I couldn't get a good picture - this was the best of the lot.  He was busy at work, so his head was in almost constant motion. 

 

Here's a picture from the Internet.  It always surprises me how small these birds are, having grown up on Woody Woodpecker cartoons.  Wikipedia claims that red-headed woodpeckers are 8-10 inches in length. 

 

Now back to our walk....  I liked this pattern in the cracked concrete.

 

A shot of the pampas grass across the fairway.  My walk on the golf course is a little over a mile.  Are you tired yet?

 

Here's the little bridge that leads from the golf course back onto our property.

 

Standing on the bridge and looking up toward our house, just visible through the trees.

 

Almost there!

 

Home again....

 

A final shot of me reflected in the glass on our back door.  Hope you enjoyed the walk!

 

Doll #7 - The Patriot

I nicknamed this doll "The Patriot" for obvious reasons.  This is how he looks on one side.

 

And this is how he looks on the other side.

 

The fabric for this doll came from this top that I found at the thrift shop.  I made the doll from fabric taken from the back of this shirt.  I may get another doll out of this front piece, though there are three large pockets that would limit my cutting area. 

 

Here's a head-on view.  I decided not to add eyes since two stars, totally by chance, fell into appropriate spots.

 

This picture shows the joint I sewed into the leg so that the doll would be able to sit with its legs extended out in front.  My technique is to sew the leg, stuff it up to where I want the joint, sew back and forth across the leg, and then finish the stuffing.  If you look closely, you can see the button I used when I attached the leg to the body.

 

I planned it so that I'd have the red & white stripes fall on the outside of each leg.

 

Portrait shot.  :o)

 

And, lastly, the requisite rocking chair shot....

 

Dolls #5 and #6

This doll's body is a velveteen fabric, and the arms and legs are cotton batik.

 

The hair is a bright, pink yarn that I crocheted.  The eyes are buttons, and you can see the buttons used for attaching the arms and legs.

 

Close-up. 

 

Now they all want to do "Power to the Plushies"!

 

Yes, this one too....

 

This doll's body is a batik flannel - soft to the touch.  The legs and arms are batik cotton, and the feet are ultrasuede.

 

After the fact, I'm not happy with the eyes on either of these dolls.  I've decided that eyes that are pale, or even just pale in the center, give the dolls a zombie look.  Something to keep in mind for future dolls!

Doll #4

The fabrics for this doll are cotton batiks from my fabric stash.

 

I made the feet to match the body fabric.

 

I used a fuzzy blue/green yarn to crochet the hair.  The eyes are pom-poms.  After I sewed them to the head, I used a black magic marker to paint in the pupils.  Do you see the button on his shoulder?

 

I have a collection of long needles used for sewing dolls.  To attach the arms and legs, I used embroidery floss and one of the long needles.  I'd sew through the body, through the arm, through a button hole, then back through the other button hole and pass through the arm, the body, the other arm, and the other button, and back again - many times.  I wanted to make sure the arms and legs were never coming off!  The interesting thing is that I found it meant that I could change the position of the arms and legs.  This fellow looks like he's raising a fist in the air.  I gave him a little history lesson on the 60's.  His motto?  Power to the Plushies!!