WOYWW

She's finished!!  My copycat goosie...... with tips and advice and even the wool !! from my friend Gretel... a world class felter, artist and now... published author of a children's book... Mrs. Mouse's Cupcakes... for which she felted all the characters and even the cupcakes for the photos in the book!
If you live in the UK... ... you could even get in on one of her in person felting workshops!!  And, I'll be green with envy!

If you want to see progression photos from the balls of wool stage to this..... ... just backtrack a few posts... cover your eyes at the bloody one.... hehehe........ ...it happens..... occasionally, if not often ...
Gretel's goose in the background photo ...mine in front.  Think I will name her Gracie.
She is seven inches tall at the top most part of her neck/head area.  How tall is yours Gretel? .

My little guys were impressed by her sheer height..oh, and also her feet.......

Tuffy was hoping she didn't decide to get up and go anywhere........

From Ruggles' perspective .... view of the situation.... and little Buttercup just looks on in awe of the long, lean model on the runway....

Here is how a needle felt begins....  a bag of wool... and there are many types along with a huge array of colours (or you can dye your own ... I've even used Kool-Aid to do that) .... from various breeds of sheep....
Here is the wool Gretel sent me back when I began my project.  She declared that the stuff I was using was never going to work.  hahah....thanks Gretel... for taking pity on me.  I love it.  It's like having a second sister...

You also need some barbed needles to stab, gather and shape the wool into various parts before assembly.  A pen holder like this one is a good idea instead of trying to hold the tiny ends of a needle...just too hard on hands and wrist.  This particular one will hold up to 3 needles... you can also use only two for the smaller pieces or even go down to just one for tiny things or for the finishing ...

This 'copycat' mentality is what got me started on needle felting in the first place several years ago.  Could I make a little bear as cute as Norm was making? the first ones I'd seen .. .. and that I just had to buy on e-bay?... because after the first two I bought  .. the third one got into a bidding war and I paid waaay too much for him.  When he arrived in the mail, I carried him around for a day just looking at him... totally in awe... he was so cute and so tiny ... well, ...that was it.  I was hooked before I even found some wool and needles and tried to make one for myself.  Hahaha... and the first was pretty funny ... looked more like a monkey than a bear..but I finally got him to look sort of okay and was pretty thrilled that I had made my very own little guy.  However, I have to say.....I still want to own at least one of Gretel's creations... yep...I do.

For the WOYWW we are supposed to keep our posting short...but, eh..... just wanted to also tell you about my doll making start.  Almost the same thing.  For months I had wondered if perhaps I could make a doll.  One just like "youknowwho"....  and.....  had to give it a try.  Turned out I could.  I did.  She worked out beyond my wildest dreams for a first....and from an online course actually.  How I loved the little personal challenge of the attempt.   I don't think I have much imagination of my own really ...but, I love to try making some of the things I see others doing.

Here's my first doll .... Echlin... from a Sherry Goshen pattern.  Wow... back in '07 already  .... hmmm...time sure flies....

The painting of the faces was the most intriguing part to me.  I'd never tried anything like it in my life.  But, there were about 18 pages of pics and instructions... you just follow along and all of a sudden...a face appears... absolutely amazing to me!  We also made the little chair.  It was supposed to be made by cutting and cleaning a big dirty old gourd.... I just couldn't bring myself to use one.  Instead I just made a paper clay shape over a shallow bowl and went from there. ... lined it with silk and made some flowers from paperclay as well... and voila.  My first doll!  Pretty darn thrilling to me.

If you want to check out blogs of others participating in WOYWW....go to Julia's blog and see our list of bloggers...wow...it gets longer each week....

little angels...

a bear and doll making buddy came to play on the weekend and we decided to make angel ornaments. We covered some pretty small buttons ( only 1 1/8 inch) with crepe/satin.... crepe side out. She has only done a couple of faces...but, look at this sweet little gal... what a great job.. and on such a tiny surface.

We wondered when we began if we would be able to get any detail at all...but...... were very happy with the results. They turned out great.

Watercolour pencils worked beautifully on the fabric...but.... the Pigma pens definitely needed a very light hand, with very little hesitation, as it seemed there could be a tendency to bleed if a person dawdled mid stroke.

Some little Ecru doilies... coaster size.... should make cute dresses. We may or may not add some trim to them.... A piece of thin gold wire makes a perfect halo....














Hair is Tibetan Lamb.... a bit tricky to work with once it is cut from the hide... but, this piece of hide was stiff and bulky...which would have made it unwieldy on a tiny button.... so, cut it off we did.. ...got some sticky fingers, but managed to get it glued on neatly. Now... some backing and a "neck/body" to hold on her dress... perhaps something for little arms.....I have a vision of mine holding a mini music sheet or a tiny candle..or... .....

Now, I want to make more little faces... using some pale shell pink covering this time... and as you can see, mine is not very "angelic"...must try for something more cherubic.....

making faces....

Delta took a beating and got a bit muddy... but survived the rain and hail.... still looking beautiful ... looks like a sun bonnet dropping over a little face.










How can delicate flax look so perfect after a blustery day?

Today we golfed (my old guys and me) ... we had a small opening in the weather ..not perfect but at least we didn't have to wear earmuffs. I even took my coat off on the third hole. The wind picked up on the 9th...but by then...we were done. Only a small 9 hole course for us on Wednesday. It's plenty. Can't afford a 5 hour day right now.... had to come home to play gopher for the carpenter. You know... get me the stubby in my toolbox? ... oh, I need the vice grips... where's my Phillips?... can you see the hammer? .... I need the plumb bob...
Only today he was dismantling even more, so I was a burro part of the time and then the gopher. It does save him a lot of slogging up and down steps and I get some exercise. Not enough..but some. Then, I made the mistake of saying about choosing a piece of nice coloured arborite to match the green paint... and there was still a piece of soft blue gray mottled arborite on the sink side... .... I say was because it is now in the garbage pile. If I am having green on one side... no use having blue on the other.. but..to get it out...the sink had to come out...then...the toilet almost came out... (my laundry room is also a bathroom) .... for now the toilet is the only thing he hasn't taken out. And..if it is too much trouble to paint around it... well, it too will become history. sigh.... he is all excited and said..you are getting a new sink! I was happy with my old sink. I was happy having a fairly nice working laundry room. When will I be able to wash clothes?
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Okay...I'll play dolls instead.










I managed to find an occasional half hour and did finish a Button Babe. I forgot to take one before I got this far... next time. These pics have been posted before.....but just to show the progression...here they are once more ...










A self covered button. Any fabric that is a nice flesh colour... and one on which the Pigma pen doesn't run or isn't too deeply ribbed to wreck a very delicate nib. Then, I lightly pencil in features and use watercolour pencils. Some outlining around eyes, lips and nose with .005 Pigma pen..some brown..some black. A spray of Krylon fixative to protect and hold the colours.













Then, I play with different fabrics for hats...or decide on yarns, fur or wool for hair.... it's lot of fun.













The rhinestone "jewel" on her black velvet hat is a vintage earring found in Mom's jewelery box... I bet she would giggle to see it used for this. I imagine she wore this pair a few times... "bling"! It needs daylight ..or perhaps candlelight to see the true sparkle.
Katerina may eventually have some ribbon or a small ruffle at her throat. Still might just need that little bit extra.... we call it OTT (over the top)... and it is almost a must for our dollies...

-35C tonight !!!!

Oh, help ! Who ordered that? plus wind... seems the windchill will be -50C ... my brother the mountain man is even sending e-mail saying he is worried about me. Hahahha.... okay..I won't go outside. But... oh, yes...just remembered...silly me volunteered to shovel for the little old lady across the street for the next 6 weeks while her son in law is on holiday in sunny Vegas. The clever old weatherman is also saying there is big probably of snow as well. Great. Get out the balaclava, the long down coat, the Sorels, and ..oh, yeh..scarves, toques and earmuffs all at the same time. Nobody cares if you waddle around looking like a Stay Puffed marshmallow in this weather.
















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Did manage to get in a bit of sewing today... the FME took me much longer than I though it should...and I was actually sweating by the time I finished her tail. How silly is that? It is not as expertly done as Judi's...but for my first go round...I am pretty happy with it. I practiced for a bit and then figured I was wasting thread.. better just get on it. So I did. It seemed to be going along just fine 'til almost the last 4 rows of scales; then the thread really was causing problems. I did buy something called Sewer's Aid and had put a few drops onto the spool of metallic thread as suggested on the package ...and also a special needle... perhaps it helped. Near the end perhaps I should have applied some more... but just wanted to see it finished. I clipped off some of the bundled thread of the last tiny row...if it loosens I will just redo them..if not... good.










Also got sleeves and the parka hood done.. ... am awaiting some lovely fur from Alaska .... but in the meantime .. I still have to place some wire, then do a bit of stuffing...attach her head... and, oh, yes...hair..so plenty to occupy me for a bit yet.

The big debate rages on...and on... ad nauseum... .

Dolls are art. Hmmm
Bears are art. Hmmmmm.......

Personally? ... I don't get it. The bear and doll makers of the world seem to be protesting all the time that nobody takes us seriously (well, okay... they mean"them" not me and I mean "them" too...not me) ....that nobody calls what they do "art"... that they don't include them in juried art shows and galleries. So what? Who cares? As a matter of fact somebody yesterday on Doll Street suggested to another that she spit in the person's eye that told her she was not a "real" artist.. because she "just makes dolls". Brother...... what next? I can't figure out why it is such a big deal.

Others were talking about what is art... and why. This debate has been around since, well, ..... forever. If you check a dictionary, there are about 11 different meanings...including this one.. "cooking, sewing and housekeeping are household arts"..... mmm... yeh..... Maybe I subscribe to the one that says: "any form of human activity that is the product of and appeals primarily to the imagination" ...but that doesn't mean it should be juried into an art gallery showing.

Many of the doll makers in the discussion decided that art must "speak" to them; must have an underlying message or something.... huh?..... are they saying that dolls must only be made to carry or convey some special cryptic message? To whom? and why? Maybe I just don't understand what these people are saying. Most of them have some idea of what their own message is I am sure...but when others look at their dolls, how on earth are they supposed to figure it out? I think it goes beyond ridiculous when they then put up their little sign that explains what the doll symbolizes and what it is "about". It is not saying much on its own if it needs a hand written sign is it? Honestly, I just don't get it. Maybe they just mean that the dolls should be made for a reason and it can be as simple as Mingus ... he was made for a challenge on the doll site... they wanted a dungeon keeper... someone to also keep the rowdy jester dolls in line...so I made him look .. uhm... well, you know.... as if he could handle the job. Actually he looks a lot like my Dad used to look. Really...I can show you pics.... He didn't get the position. A felty cute little animal did. There ya go...the right guy for the job is in the eyes and mind of someone else...

But the real thing about making this doll was that I wanted to try my hand at sculpting. He is the third one I have done with polymer clay...and I was trying for more features in a face. Trying to figure out how to do different lips... wrinkles and cragginess.. even a scar.... and I like him a lot. That is what counts for me.

My feeling is.....they really are just bears...they are just dolls. (alright, maybe with the exception of creations by Lisa Lichtenfels and a few like her) So what? Why can't people simply enjoy making them instead of being upset that nobody views their "stuff" as art?

I love to do mine simply because I have discovered that I can. I love making bears, dolls, ( I especially love doing eyes for some reason).... paper things, etc... ...and just want to be able to use new techniques every time I see one... want to learn new techniques every time I even hear about them .... to prove to myself that it can be done perhaps?... I have to confess...I don't really know.

Perhaps as simple as to be able to see how it turns out.....to see for myself and to show a few other people what I am able to accomplish.


This particular face has been shown on my blog before.. but just to illustrate a point... this is a technique that I was learning by taking a class. Cloth over cloth. It was very tricky... took about 5 hours to get that cloth overlayed onto the sculpted cloth face under it. But, I did it!! I was ecstatic to be able to accomplish it. The lips are formed with a tiny iron so that they have substance and do not just sit flat. Absolutely amazing to me! The rest of the doll is sitting, waiting to be finished...she is to be a Harpy... a mythological creature; part woman, part bird. She certainly will get done too...as there are more techniques I have not yet tried, but real life intervenes.. other things need doing at the moment. Like tiles and plumbing etc...

My family and friends like to see what I have been making..but for heaven's sake...if I try to convince them it is art or it has some deep inner meaning...or should be viewed with an eye to interpreting something world changing or earth shattering...... ...well....

Why can't people just enjoy what they do? Enjoy the comments; be happy that anybody even bothered to stop and look at our small creations? .... enter them into challenges or competitions if they are inclined...but why worry if people in "art circles", or whatever they call their little cliques these days, don't accept dolls as art? Who cares? I don't........perhaps because I also don't happen to think welding some bolts and nuts together is art .... nor is the slapping of one big stroke of paint on a huge white canvas... nope..not to me.

I am more a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants type of person...no deep analytical thought processes happening here about bears and dolls. I hate analyzing things to death...like to get on with the business of living, and if, in that endeavor...I find some fun things to do.....I do them. Yup... dolls and bears.... and.... so much other interesting and fun stuff that I guess I just don't have time or inclination to ponder deep and disturbing things.... things like why is making dolls not considered art............lol..........

Okay...Laundry and Dusting are calling my name.....


...... same day...hours later............

Hahahahha... I was talking to my sweetie about the doll artist thingy... and he looked me straight in the eye and said... "Well, I think you are a doll artist"....... oh, no.... now I am in a total quandary ..hahahhah.......