Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Saturday, December 26, 2009
SaTurDaY's WEird aND wONdERfUL....
cLiCk hErE to visit Castle in the Air... a weird and wonderful website.
Neuschwanstein Castle.
One of the most famous castles in Germany. Located in southwest Bavaria. It was built by Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and as a homage to Richard Wagner, the King's inspiring muse.....
Happy Holidays!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Saturday's Vintage Video!
Paddington Bear is a fictional character in children's literature. Paddington is an anthropomorphised bear. He first appeared on 13 October 1958 written by Michael Bond and first illustrated by Peggy Fortnum. The polite immigrant bear from Darkest Peru, with his old bush hat, battered suitcase and marmalade sandwiches has become a classic English children's literature icon.
The BBC television series Paddington, produced by Michael Bond and London-based animation company FilmFair, was first broadcast in 1975. This series had an extremely distinctive appearance: Paddington was a stop-motion puppet moving in a three dimensional space in front of two-dimensional backgrounds (which were frequently sparse black-and-white line drawings), while all other characters were 2D drawings — in one scene, a character hands Paddington a jar of marmalade that becomes 3D when Paddington touches it!
The first Paddington Bear Toy was created by Gabrielle Designs in 1972, a small business run by Shirley and Eddie Clarkson, with the prototype made as a Christmas present for their children Joanna and Jeremy Clarkson (the well known English broadcaster, writer and Top Gear presenter no less!). Shirley Clarkson dressed Paddington in Wellington boots to help the bear stand upright. The earliest bears wore small children's boots manufactured by Dunlop until their production could not meet demand. Gabrielle Designs then produced their own boots with paw prints moulded into the soles.
I am the proud owner of an original Paddington Bear with the yellow Dunlop boots! :O) He was in mint condition, until I moved to the States and his nose got chewed by one of my puppies.... ouch.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Saturday's Vintage Photographs
This weeks images are inspired by Christine Alvarado of Du Buh Du Designs, who has an interest in the Paris fashion, art and film of the 1920's/30's.
Hope everyone has an Nouveau Saturday!
Friday, December 11, 2009
Scented Stain for Primitive Looking Tags and Fabric
Lisa Johnson of Skunk Hollow Country Store
has shared this technique for staining fabric for primitive dolls and paper.
Scented Stain for Tags and Fabric
Is anyone tired of the coffee smell you get when staining your tags or material? This is a great way to change that. Walnut Crystals!
You only need a glass jar with a screw top lid and you can keep this for a very long time. Add about 1/2 tsp of walnut crystals to warm water and stir them until they are totally dissolved. If you want a darker stain use more crystals and if you want it lighter use more water. Then add your favorite fragrance oil until you have the degree of scent that you like. A nice outdoorsy scent or peppermint or cinnamon is great. I have found it also doesn't stain your hands as much.
When using it on paper tags I like to apply it with a sponge brush. Make sure to get all the excess out of the brush first and then apply to your paper. With fabric I do the same thing. It's a great way to stain your muslin before you lay your pattern on and draw around it. That way you can get it as dark as you want. Staining with walnut crystals works especially well if you are going to paint your item and then sand it down.
If you aren't going to paint your doll, a coffee stain for that really primitive look may be best.
I hope some of you try this great recipe for Scented Fabric and Tags!
Thanks for sharing this with us, Lisa!
You can see Lisa's work in her etsy shop:
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Mini Monthly Challenge: Foreign Objects
the challenge for this past month was to use a foreign object incorporated into your doll.
The object could be a bought, found or a borrowed object. Anything foreign.
Here are the end results from the MMC for Novemeber, Foreign objects.
The object could be a bought, found or a borrowed object. Anything foreign.
Here are the end results from the MMC for Novemeber, Foreign objects.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
SaTurDaY's WEird aND wONdERfUL....
(click on images to enlarge)
Lisa Lichtenfels 'The Crazy Horse Saloon' installation. Lisa is famous for her nylon stocking skined sculptures. Her website is an absolute treat... Lisa Lichtenfels - figurative Sculpture ~ Realism in fabric.Happy Saturday to all :O)
Thursday, December 3, 2009
ADO Featured Artist: Christina Meisolle Høi
This week's artist feature is Christina Meisolle Høi, of Simone’s Mother.
Please tell us about yourself. What is your name? Where do you live? What makes you tick?
My name is Christina Meisolle Høi. Meisolle after my mother and Høi after my father. I live in the south of Sweden. Originally I'm from Denmark.
My husband, two children and I moved here in the spring of 2007. One of the reasons that we moved to Sweden was that it was possible for me to work fulltime on my art. It is much cheaper for us to live in Sweden and while my husband still works in Denmark, living here gives me the freedom to work at home, and I can now decide my own working schedule.
When did you start making dolls? Why did you start making dolls?
I remember my first doll... I guess I was 7 or 8 years old. It was made of a little twig, that I found outside my home, I took it home, gave it clothes and a painted face. I've always been interested in sewing, I began sewing clothing for my dolls and for myself at a young age.
I had a tough childhood, and I think the dolls gave me a safe place to be, I made my own stories and they became my happy life, a better life. It is just for the last 2 years that I have been quite active with my doll making, and I love it.
Do you have a favorite doll? It can be handmade by you, handmade by someone else, or even (gasp) mass production.
I don’t think I have a favorite between my dolls. But sometimes when I am done making a doll, I do favor some of them for a while. If I do not like the doll when I am done with it, then I cannot sell it. I want to be satisfied with it before it is moving away from me.
Besides making dolls, what do you do? Job, other creative pursuits, hobbies, etc.
I work fulltime on my artwork. In addition to the dolls, I do lots of other creative stuff. I work with all sorts of materials, and whenever I have time for it, I visit flea markets, hoping to find some old used stuff... Special things from before the 60's. Fabrics, boxes, odd decorations, etc.
I teach ceramic sculpting for adults once a week. I would love to teach more, and I would love to work with children. I think that it is very important for the learning of other things, that we teach our children to find their own creativity. We then teach them that there are different angles from which we can solve a problem.
I am an active person. I love to walk in nature, and with the wild nature all around me here in this small village where I live, is it easy.
What are some of your favorite: movies, books, websites, magazines, foods, tv shows? (Any or all!)
I would say that any movie where Jonny Depp is acting in, is my favorite movie. Many of his movies inspire me in my work.
I do not have much time for reading, but I do listen to audio books a lot. I like to listen to crime stories, or mysteries from the old days.
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
I am happy here in Sweden, but if I could afford it and still do what I do, then I would prefer to live in my birth country, Denmark. I like the feeling of freedom and happiness between the Danish people, the black humor and that they are not judgmental.
Where do you see yourself in one year? Five years? Ten years?
In a year I see myself selling more of my dolls and other things that I create. I bought a
small caravan a month ago. My plan is to renovate it and make it into a rolling boutique. I plan to drive around, from city to city selling my art, sometimes taking my kids or my husband with me.
20 years from now, I see my self educating a lot. Old and happy... creating.
Where can we find you on the internet? (blog, website, Etsy shop, eBay, et al.)
Blog
Etsy
Please tell us about yourself. What is your name? Where do you live? What makes you tick?
My name is Christina Meisolle Høi. Meisolle after my mother and Høi after my father. I live in the south of Sweden. Originally I'm from Denmark.
My husband, two children and I moved here in the spring of 2007. One of the reasons that we moved to Sweden was that it was possible for me to work fulltime on my art. It is much cheaper for us to live in Sweden and while my husband still works in Denmark, living here gives me the freedom to work at home, and I can now decide my own working schedule.
When did you start making dolls? Why did you start making dolls?
I remember my first doll... I guess I was 7 or 8 years old. It was made of a little twig, that I found outside my home, I took it home, gave it clothes and a painted face. I've always been interested in sewing, I began sewing clothing for my dolls and for myself at a young age.
I had a tough childhood, and I think the dolls gave me a safe place to be, I made my own stories and they became my happy life, a better life. It is just for the last 2 years that I have been quite active with my doll making, and I love it.
Who or what influences you? Inspires you?
People inspire me, different faces. I often see a face and think,
"Wow, that face should be on a doll"
Strange buildings or other details in the nature inspire me too. I like to give my dolls a used look or to give them details that are kind of steam punk like.
Tell us a little about your dolls and your process for making them. Materials, preliminary sketches, inspiration, etc.
I have to be inspired for making dolls, the day I create. I actually just get started, and along the way, the personality starts showing in the doll. While I am working on it, I imagine a little story about the doll. That is how it comes to life.
When the doll is done, hanging or sitting for sale, I always hope that this special buyer will see its story and get touched by it and buy it. That is my purpose with my dolls, they should inspire people, give them smiles on their faces and get under their skin.
Like my balloon captains, I would love to hang them in a room for children to see. I imagine parents sitting under them with their kids, telling the story about the balloon captain Anton on the move, how he flies over the city of old Copenhagen, looking for a nice place to eat his lunch. I would love that. My own kids love it when I am telling those homemade stories.
Do you have a favorite doll? It can be handmade by you, handmade by someone else, or even (gasp) mass production.
I don’t think I have a favorite between my dolls. But sometimes when I am done making a doll, I do favor some of them for a while. If I do not like the doll when I am done with it, then I cannot sell it. I want to be satisfied with it before it is moving away from me.
Besides making dolls, what do you do? Job, other creative pursuits, hobbies, etc.
I work fulltime on my artwork. In addition to the dolls, I do lots of other creative stuff. I work with all sorts of materials, and whenever I have time for it, I visit flea markets, hoping to find some old used stuff... Special things from before the 60's. Fabrics, boxes, odd decorations, etc.
I teach ceramic sculpting for adults once a week. I would love to teach more, and I would love to work with children. I think that it is very important for the learning of other things, that we teach our children to find their own creativity. We then teach them that there are different angles from which we can solve a problem.
I am an active person. I love to walk in nature, and with the wild nature all around me here in this small village where I live, is it easy.
What are some of your favorite: movies, books, websites, magazines, foods, tv shows? (Any or all!)
I would say that any movie where Jonny Depp is acting in, is my favorite movie. Many of his movies inspire me in my work.
I do not have much time for reading, but I do listen to audio books a lot. I like to listen to crime stories, or mysteries from the old days.
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
I am happy here in Sweden, but if I could afford it and still do what I do, then I would prefer to live in my birth country, Denmark. I like the feeling of freedom and happiness between the Danish people, the black humor and that they are not judgmental.
Where do you see yourself in one year? Five years? Ten years?
In a year I see myself selling more of my dolls and other things that I create. I bought a
small caravan a month ago. My plan is to renovate it and make it into a rolling boutique. I plan to drive around, from city to city selling my art, sometimes taking my kids or my husband with me.
20 years from now, I see my self educating a lot. Old and happy... creating.
Where can we find you on the internet? (blog, website, Etsy shop, eBay, et al.)
Blog
Etsy
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Wordless Wed....
Grace's too cute Vampire!!!
You can find more of her work here Little Black Crow Studio and
here Little Arty Crafty Crow Studio
Blessings,Flora
You can find more of her work here Little Black Crow Studio and
here Little Arty Crafty Crow Studio
Blessings,Flora
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