Doll Maker Feature: Paula Connolly of prkc

This week, we are talking to Paula Connolly, of PRKC Corn Husk Dolls.



Please tell us about yourself. What is your name? Where do you live? What makes you tick?

I’m Paula Kermiet Connolly, and I live in Boulder, CO in the foothills. I’m married with 2 sons, one in college and one in high school. My family roots are very much steeped in the folk arts. For 28 years, my parents ran a folk and square dance camp in Colorado, and I grew up dancing, learning and loving everything about traditional cultures around the world.

When did you start making dolls? Why did you start making dolls?

My mother grew up in Viper, Kentucky and was sister to folk singer, Jean Ritchie. Folk singing as well as other Appalachian folk arts were very much a part of our family. I learned to make corn husk dolls from my aunts, several of whom were very accomplished doll makers. My aunt, May Ritchie Deschamp, even has several of her dolls in the Smithsonian collection. Whenever we visited relatives in Kentucky, they were always making corn husk dolls, and I was always encouraged to make one. I probably made my first doll at about age 12. By the time I was 18, I was making and selling my own dolls. I’ve been making corn husk dolls for about 40 years now, and I’m proud to be carrying on the family tradition. However, I also enjoy experimenting with and creating my own unique styles.



Who or what influences you? Inspires you?

Besides my family influences, I’m inspired by fantasy characters and have made witches, wizards, fairies, elves, and my first mermaid. I’m also inspired by challenges to make dolls out of corn husks that are very unusual. Some of the more unusual ones that I have made are Darth Vader, the X-men character Nightcrawler, and Indiana Jones. Dancing influences have produced a couple dancing the Tango and clogging dolls. I also have made many wedding cake toppers to look like the married couple. In one of these, the man was dressed in a Scottish kilt, made out of husks of course.

Tell us a little about your dolls and your process for making them. Materials, preliminary sketches, inspiration, etc.

To begin with, I dye all my own husks as well as the raffia that I use. The husk are wet when you work with them and you can then shape them into the way you want the doll to look. The tricky part is finding a way to tie up or hold the doll in this shape until it dries. When dry, the husks harden and keep their shape. Then I glue all the layers of husk, add details, hair, and make any extra items. I make braided husk baskets, crocheted hats and baskets out of the raffia, miniature flowers, etc. The final step is the face. Due to the natural oil in the husks, a permanent drawing ink needs to be used. Mistakes can’t be fixed, so if you mess up on the face the doll is basically ruined.



Do you have a favorite doll? It can be handmade by you, handmade by someone else, or even (gasp) mass production.

I have several favorite dolls. The ones that are most special to me are the corn husk dolls that my aunts have made, the one and only doll that my mother ever made, and one of my grandmother’s dolls. They have all passed on now, so these dolls are extremely precious to me.

Besides making dolls, what do you do? Job, other creative pursuits, hobbies, etc.

Besides making dolls, I work part-time as a caregiver to the elderly who want to stay in their own homes, I call traditional square and contra dances, sell vintage items on Ebay, do scrapbooking and stamping, help with fund raising for our community volunteer fire fighters, play button accordion and penny whistle (at least I try), and I love to garden and read books.




What are some of your favorite: movies, books, websites, magazines, foods, tv shows? (Any or all!)

I love fantasy books, looking at art magazines and surfing the web for ideas, a hot cup of tea and cookies with almond butter on top!

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

I love living where I do in the Colorado foothills! Mountain living yet close to town with lots of sunshine is the best! However, I’d love to travel and see more of the world.



Where do you see yourself in one year? Five years? Ten years?

In one year, I hope to see my Etsy shop doing very well and to have my own website. In five years, I hope to be very successful in selling on the internet. In ten years, I hope to be able to retire and travel the world.

Where can we find you on the internet? (blog, website, Etsy shop, eBay, et al.)

My Etsy shop is prkc.etsy.com

Handmade Portraits: Black-eyed Suzie

thanks to Etsy handmade blog for sharing this video and posting a great article

How to Make Polymer Clay Hands

by Waxela Sananda aka SpiritMama



We use our hands to gesture, accentuate, and emphasize our speech and emotions. Hands tell us so much about a person; what kind of work she does, how important grooming is, does he have a nervous habit (a nail biter)? The firmness of a handshake, and the caress of a loving hand tell us things that can't be expressed in words.


Hands are significant. As a doll artist, my doll's hands are something I do not cut corners on. I used to dread making hands. The fingers, the palms, the knuckles, and how do I get them to stay in place and not break off during shipping?

Now I've grown to enjoy making hands. I love the expression they add to my dolls. I'm far from mastering the art of sculpting hands, but I have come a long way, and now I want to share what I've learned with you.

The technique I show here is influenced by Wendy Froud.


Materials:
Flesh colored polymer clay (I have mixed two colors for this set of hands)
A flat edged tool (I use wood but metal works too)
A rounded end tool
Optional- wire, an Xacto knife, baby powder



Step 1: Make two balls of clay the same size. The balls will be the palms of the hands, and the palm is equal in length to the fingers, which means the ball you make will be half of the full hand length. Tip- an open hand will stretch from the chin to the hairline.






Step 2: Flatten the balls into a square shape that is a bit smaller on one end than the other. The smaller end will connect to the wrist.






Step 3: Make tube shapes for the fingers, a bit pointy at one end, flat at the other. When you make the thumb, include an extra length that will be the fleshy ball that connects the thumb to the palm.






Step 4: Bend the fingers into the position you want them in. A normal relaxed hand has slightly bent fingers. Form knuckles by pulling the finger apart gently, then pushing it together. Use your straight edge tool to put creases in the clay under the knuckles.





Step 5: Use your rounded end tool to press into the fingertip creating finger nails. Use your straight edge to put creases on the knuckles. Tip: The larger knuckle in the middle of the finger is curved on top and bottom, so make semi circles instead of straight creases.





Step 6: I use wire for added strength in the fingers. The wire is optional, however if you will be shipping your doll anywhere it does provide extra protection from breakage. Make a hole with the wire in the hand first, so that when you push the fingers into the hand the wire won't poke through the finger. Attach the fingers, making sure you have a right and a left hand, not two identicle hands.




Step 7: Use your tool to smooth out the fingers and add the thumb.

Step 8: Create knuckles on the hand by rolling small balls of clay and smoothing them onto the hand with your flat edge tool.

Step 9: Mark lines on the palms with your straight edge or Xacto knife. Use your own hands as a guide.

Step 10: Your hands are ready to bake. It is important to support your hands so that they hold their shape while baking. I use a piece of pre-baked clay to support the hands in the oven. Use a sprinkling of baby powder on the pre-baked support piece so that your hands won't stick to it.

That's it, your hands are done, and you deserve a hand!

Much ADO about Shakespeare?

we have started a new team challenge here at ADO
Shakespeare
it is open to any character from any of William Shakespeare's works.
take a look at the beginning stages of some of our members challenge pieces...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anne Boleyn
work in progress
by Natalie Johnson

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Queen of the Fairies Titania and Bottom the weaver
work in progress by Kaerie Faerie

Puck
by Waxéla Sananda

"Lord, what fools these mortals be!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

one of three witches from Mcbeth

work in progress by Caroline Jones

" Double, double toile and trouble
Fire burn and Cauldron bubble."

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just writing this post, I am getting excited to see all the wonderful creations all together!
check back for more works in progress, this challenge runs from now until April 6th.

Doll Maker Feature: Wooded Woods

This week's interview is with Kamila, of Wooded Woods.

Please tell us about yourself. What is your name? Where do you live? What makes you tick?

My name is Kamila Mlynarczyk, I currently reside in Kitchener, Ontario with my husband and a small band of pets. We have two cats, Oscar and Pickles, and the sweetest brown lab named Sam. I am married to my very best friend, Martin - we are still newly weds. My husband and I settled in Kitchener because of his work . What makes me tick is being bored, it makes me feel very guilty so I often occupy my time and my idle hands with sculpting while I watch tv or listen to music or anything else that requires one to sit still too long.

When did you start making dolls? Why did you start making dolls?

I discovered art dolls one afternoon (about 3 years ago) while browsing the Internet. I fell in love and was coveting a very expensive OOAK mermaid when I suddenly got the idea to try to make one myself. Being a poor university student at the time my only resource was the Internet, so I tracked down every useful tutorial I could find and started sculpting for the first time in my life. I started making art dolls and from that day on, there hasn't been a day that went by where I wasn't consumed with ideas for my dolls.

Obviously when I started I thought I was going to end up with very pretty figures, but what came out was often a bit creepy, a bit funny and very pathetic looking characters. There was no escaping it after a while and I realized that making pretty things bored me, and I could never resist giving my dolls a little extra something that made them more human to me.




Who or what influences you? Inspires you?

I am often inspired by searching out other doll artists, just seeing all the different styles, ideas and craftsmanship really inspire me to experiment with my own dolls a lot. I think that everyone I have encountered as a doll maker has given me something to think about.

My influences are often wonderful bits of fabric I find, antiques, old Victorian photographs, and beautifully illustrated children's books. I am most inspired when I am doing mundane tasks and let my mind drift, I usually keep notepaper around me so that I can jot down ideas and pictures in my head so I don't forget. This all goes into an idea book I keep, so I have never really found myself without an idea because I can always go back to the many ideas I haven't yet used. Its my greatest resource.




Tell us a little about your dolls and your process for making them. Materials, preliminary sketches, inspiration, etc.

I usually have a very rough sketch, but my ideas evolve a lot as I'm working on them. I use Prosculpt for the arms, legs and bust. I sculpt all these separately, then put them together once cured on a wire armature. The midsection is wrapped in cotton batting. I paint with acrylics, I do a couple of layers of washes to add depth to the skin and then I dry brush the details of the face. After that all is left is the costume which involves a lot of layering, aging and trimming. Most of it is just an instinct the artist acquires about what feels right and what doesn't work.




Do you have a favorite doll? It can be handmade by you, handmade by someone else, or even (gasp) mass production.

Believe it or not I never played with dolls as a little girl, I was more of a tom boy. But I do remember the church I was christened in as a child in Poland, we had a 16th century wooden chapel in our village. The front wall was beautifully sculpted out of wood and painted with bright colours -- it was overwhelming to look at and perhaps helped influenced my love for art and sculpture.

My favorite doll that I have made is Vincent and Pieter. Those were the kind of dolls that were magic and almost made themselves. With Vincent I couldn't stop- I worked through the night to finish him and I went to sleep at about 6am when we was all finished. Now that's love, lol.


Besides making dolls, what do you do? Job, other creative pursuits, hobbies, etc.

I do have a full time job as a graphic designer/typesetter at a small local print shop. When I'm not sculpting I'm reading at night or watching scary movies. In the summer I enjoy the outdoors but in the winter I'm pretty much a hermit locked away in my basement studio with my husband and pets --hibernating. Oh, and I love to cook and make crazy new foods to feed to my poor poor husband :)




What are some of your favorite: movies, books, websites, magazines, foods, tv shows? (Any or all!)

My favorite books are Enders Game by Orson Scott Card, Dune by Frank Herbert, and anything by George R.R. Martin. I also love to read anthologies, I've just finished reading "Living Dead" an anthology full of zombie stories.

My favorite things to watch are any kind of cheesy horror movie, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, The Office and 30 Rock.

As for food, I am currently obsessed with Chai tea and blueberry pancakes.



If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

I would love to live in Spain for the wonderful seafood they get. But I'm very content in Canada, its a huge majestic country with so much to see and visit. One of my favorite places in Canada is New Brunswick, right by the ocean. I wouldn't mind visiting NB many more times over the years.

Where do you see yourself in one year? Five years? Ten years?

I know I'm never going to stop sculpting. Eventually I would like to quite my day job and just sculpt full time, maybe have a gaggle of children to teach and inspire... that kind of thing.



Where can we find you on the internet? (blog, website, Etsy shop, eBay, et al.)

My blog

My website

Etsy

Ebay

Doll Maker Feature: Barton Originals

Sue, of Barton Originals, is the very first subject of our Doll Maker Feature! I'll be sharing different members' answers to the following questions each Monday. Enjoy!

Please tell us about yourself. What is your name? Where do you live? What makes you tick?

My name is Sue Barton, I live in a quaint little Victorian era town about an hour northeast of Toronto, Ontario with my highschool sweetheart hubby. We have two daughters, one who lives in Toronto full time now, and the other who is in her last year of college and at home for part of the time. We have a lovable, spunky Wheaten terrier, Finley and a little terror kitty, Juno. What makes me tick? Hmmm, anything that gives me a sense of wellbeing. That can be a song, a story, a beam of sunshine, a smile, a piece of chocolate, a gorgeous piece of antique lace, an email from a friend, etc...I could go on and on. All just little snippets of the day that contribute to a positive energy and spirit.



2. When did you start making dolls? Why did you start making dolls?

As a young girl I would draw paper dolls and make cloth dolls from patterns. When I had my first daughter it was around the time that cabbage patch dolls became popular and I designed a similar style fabric doll. That spurred me to design different cloth dolls, from a simple cookie-cutter pattern primitive, to more complex fabric figures. I loved painting the faces and the warm textile nature of cloth. In the 90s I was making Father Christmas figures with needle-sculpted faces which were gesso'd and then painted, when I started playing with polymer clay and fell in love with the freedom of expression that the clay afforded. Woodsy Father Xmas figures led to wizards, to shaman and goddess figures and faeries. I believe I started making dolls to satisfy my childhood love of dolls and also my love of art. It was a wonderful way of creating something that I had a very keen interest in.

Who or what influences you? Inspires you?

So much! Music, photographs, found objects from nature, films, antique fabrics and trims, other artists' work and more, all inspire and motivate me. I have recently started a blog and I find that very inspirational and motivating too. It has enabled me to meet so many talented people on the internet and just the act of blogging your thoughts, work and WIPs [works in progress] is motivating to keep on going. As far as 'who', several people have influenced me. My dad is number one. He is retired now and his career was as a commercial artist. He has lived and breathed art his whole life. Even now at 85, he always has his camera and sketchbook with him and belongs to a weekly art group. He lives on his own with his dog and has a real knack of living life to the fullest. Another person that has had an influence on me, is Marilyn Radzat. I first discovered Marilyn's work about 20 years ago and was enchanted. About ten years ago, I contacted her by email and we began an internet friendship. Marilyn is one of the most talented artists I know of, and perhaps the most giving and beautiful person, both inside and out. You only have to look at her work to see this. I continue to be inspired, motivated and awed by this incredible woman.



Tell us a little about your dolls and your process for making them. Materials, preliminary sketches, inspiration, etc.

My clay of choice is Prosculpt. I have sculpted with air dry clays, however I like the faster completion time that the polymer clay gives you. I also have better luck sculpting details with the polymer clays than I do the air dry ones. I don't usually sketch my ideas out beforehand. I usually have an idea in my head before I start (quite often I will get an idea just before I fall asleep at night). I start with a tightly hammered foil egg for the head armature and sculpt the head first, minus the ears. I then will construct a wire armature body, wrap it with white floral tape and usually pad it out a bit with more foil, and then wrap with tape again. I like to bake in series. After the head I usually do the torso and bake it. I then have something to hold while I am sculpting the legs (and bake) and then the arms. The last step is sculpting the ears, the back of the head if necessary and attaching to the body by sculpting the neck.

I cure all the stages in a roaster oven and check it periodically to make sure the temperature is right on 275F. I also make sure that I cure each stage for the full amount of time. Going back to having an idea when I first start to sculpt, it is interesting that sometimes as I am working on creating a piece, it seems to develop a personality of its own and I end up with something that isn't even close to my 'idea'. This can be good and bad. LOL


Do you have a favorite doll? It can be handmade by you, handmade by someone else, or even (gasp) mass production.

I have several favorites. Two are from my childhood - one is a monkey pj bag that my uncle gave me when I was 6 just before he died in a car accident. The other is a Baby Dear doll that I received from Santa when I was 7. I have a beautiful piece of Marilyn Radzat's from a few years ago that still inspires me every time I look at it. It is a piece that speaks to me in many ways. The one other doll (and I don't know if I would call it a favorite, but it is one that I could never sell) is one I made 12 years ago. I had just finished a show and started a figure which was to be a little girl. That night I received a phone call from Vancouver, BC that my mother had passed away suddenly. Several weeks after I returned from the funeral I picked up the head of the little girl and she somehow didn't look like a child anymore. I continued working on the face and when I was finished, the child was a kindly faced older woman.
I ended up with an elderly woman angel sweeping up stars. I called it "Woman's Work is Never Done". All I remember about sculpting this piece is that my thought the whole time was to create a little girl. It didn't happen. Somewhere this beautiful elderly woman appeared. [ed. note: this piece is in the picture directly above this section]




Besides making dolls, what do you do? Job, other creative pursuits, hobbies, etc.

I also collect and sell vintage clothing, something I kind of slid into through my doll making. I only use vintage/antique fabrics and trims on my work and in my quest for this material, I discovered the wonderful world of vintage fashion. I have a passion for history and a love of textiles, so it is a perfect mix. I collect vintage/antique photographs of people - great reference and they also feed my bent for nostalgia. As do vintage magazines. Estate auctions, thrift and antique stores.... love to explore and hope to unearth a special treasure. There is nothing more fun that discovering a long discarded item that can be used on a piece that you are making. Hmmm, I love reading. To me there is no better way to relax than reading a good novel and being transported into the pages.

What are some of your favorite: movies, books, websites, magazines, foods, tv shows? (Any or all!)

Movies: Romeo and Juliet (1969)
Books: I've read so many that I can't pinpoint any one favorite
Websites: I have so many in my favorites, although one that sticks in my mind at the moment is Shorpy.com. It is a wonderful blog of vintage photos. Interesting, always informative and often humourous.
Magazines: Reminesce, Vanity Fair, ADQ, and vintage women's mags
Foods: chocolate, and Italian
TV: I hardly ever watch tv.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

Wow...there are a lot of places I would love to visit (Italy, France, England), but I would want to stay living in Canada. I would love to live on either the west or the east coast though, near the ocean. My town has a small lake, but it can't compare with the Pacific or Atlantic!



Where do you see yourself in one year? Five years? Ten years?

Great question and hard to answer. Where would I like to be in 1, 5 and 10 years?
1 year.........more organized and hopefully finished with the battle of the bulge.
5 years.......more organized and not so ready to give into myself. (I'm a Taurus and definitely have the self-indulgent traits)
10 years.....healthy and living life to the fullest

Where can we find you on the internet? (blog, website, Etsy shop, eBay, et al.)

My Blog: http://bartonoriginals.blogspot.com
My site: http://www.bartonoriginals.com
Etsy: http://www.bartonoriginals.etsy.com

QUOTES AND THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK

I have always loved beautiful quotes and thoughts..and they seem to fit so well into our art doll blog...hope you enjoy them and use them..a new one will be posted each Sunday...donna

"We are all angels with one wing..but we can fly high embracing each other"

Broken Hearts...

means something different for each individual, a thought, a event, a death...

as a brand new team our first challenge was left open to a wide interpretation of what a broken heart means to each member. Together as a team we started this challenge and ended with some incredible art work. What a delight to see each finished piece and the wide range of interpretation of a simple thought...broken hearts.
take a look...



Frontenac's Heart
by Sarah Jade

Madame de Frontenac received a special delivery:
her husband's heart in a lead box.



Barry the Heart Breaker
by Eva

She trusted him with her heart, even though...

Sarah lost her Lover

by Waxéla Sananda

nothing but a box of memories

Little Leilee and Cora

by Danielle Davis

Little Leilee clutches her dear heart Cora
ever so tightly...

Heart Attack
Knot By Granma

She's just waiting for you to hand her
your heart...

Adelle

by Colleen Downs

Yet Another Broken Heart.



Departed
by Michelle Schafer

Departed is holding an antique key
to unlock the door that awaits him.



Guardian of Broken Hearts
by Sue Barton

keeper of the broken hearts..



Death's Company
by Nicole Johnson

happy time for a mother to be...
not when death has a say in this sad tragedy



Duncan and Jude
by Kamila of Wooded woods

"Darling, oh darling take this my still beating heart!"



Broken-hearted
by Ky Eliza

tangled up and twisted
and doesn't know where to turn.


Remembrance
by Nat

my broken heart began over a decade ago...


Bella with a Broken Heart
by Dolores Marple

Little baby Bella carries a broken heart


Jacinta
by Paola Zakimi

broken and lost the only thing she have is an empty cage.