Saturday's Vintage photographs.....

A couple of images of vintage dolls from my new book "In the Palm of One's hand' by Florence Theriault.
Click to enlarge.

Happy Saturday everyone :O)

ADO Featured Artist: Cynthia Toy

This week's artist feature is Cynthia Toy of The Fairies’ Nest.

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

My name is Cynthia Toy (Yes.. really. My parents named me after Cinderella but that's another story) and I live in Greensboro, North Carolina..right now a very hot and sticky spot. I’m mother to 3 young men, wife to an amazing and patient man, an avid gardener, devourer of books, believer in fairies, knitting enthusiast; and owner of 3 cats, 2 fish, and an ancient corgi...or maybe they own me. I’m not sure what makes me tick but I do talk to trees and crows so it must be something odd.

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

I grew up in a family where sewing was second nature. My maternal grandmother was a professional seamstress and my mom was always making or altering clothes for us…with 4 kids that sort of frugality was a necessity. So I learned to sew at my mother’s side and made my first doll when I was 6, a simple cookie cutter shape with yarn hair that my sister and I started playing with before she was even finished. The poor thing never did get more of a face then one button eye.

Many years later when my sons were small I started making little dolls for them to play with; knights, kings, princesses...fairies. It was so much fun that I just couldn’t quit. Later, I tried a few patterns by other doll makers, but I couldn’t find a style that fit the dolls I saw in my head. It was after reading Suzanna Oroyan’s wonderful book, Anatomy of a Doll, that I was inspired to develop my own designs. Making dolls lets all those characters that have been living in my head find their way into the world...good thing ‘cause it gets crowded in there! It’s been very much a process of trial and error, but it’s certainly been fun along the way...and there’s still so much to try and learn that I don’t think it will ever become routine. 


Who or what influences you? Inspires you?

I have always loved all things Fairy. As a child I spent hours reading the Andrew Lang fairy tale books and in the world around me I believed I saw the work of fairies everywhere. Dandelions in the spring grass were put there by fairies, the twisted roots of trees were fairy houses, and the frost patterns on the winter windows were obviously fairy work. To this day I find Nature to be one of the greatest inspirations for my art, there is nothing like a walk in the woods to bring out visions of fairies... and the occasional two headed rat. There are also many wonderful artists out there now whose works are very inspiring; Brian Froud and his wife, the amazing doll artist Amy Froud, are two of my all time favorites.

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

Well I can’t draw worth a hoot so my preliminary sketches are pretty much stick figures with lots of arrows, instructions, and squiggly lines that would be completely meaningless to most people. My materials are as natural as I can possibly find. I use cotton knit extensively as well as silk, wool, and other cotton fabrics and I mostly stuff my dolls with wool. Both my small and the larger dolls have a steel wire armature inside but the smaller ones are made from the inside out with no patterns so they are a bit different. I do use a small amount of poly fiberfill for difficult areas like hands, ankles, and knees and also use polymer clay in small amounts...though I’ve been switching to paper clay recently. Natural fibers like silk, cotton, and wool are not only better for our environment because they are renewable resources, but they are also lovely to look at and wonderful to touch!



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

Now this may be a seem silly, but remember I am a bookworm extrordinare, so I’d have to say that my favorite doll is probably Miss Hickory from the book of the same name. I adored this book as a child and I still love the thought of the tiny hickory nut doll living in a forest nest. I think she may be the inspiration for all my tiny dolls.

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

I’ve been a stay at home mom raising my sons for the past 25 years, the youngest will graduate from High school next year and I will be out of a job! I am very big into gardening and spend most of the time that I’m not making dolls playing in the dirt. 



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

I love wine, roast duck, and chocolate, don’t watch much TV or read many magazines, can listen to Alan Stivell’s “Ys” over & over, and I LOVE to read. I devour books of all types but particularly history and fantasy. My favorite authors are too numerous to name but Guy Gavriel Kay, Patricia McKillip, Michelle Sagura West, Elizabeth Bear, Alice Hoffman, and JoAnne Harris are a few I always enjoy.



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

I live in the hot and sticky Southeastern US, in the middle of a city and I dream of living in the mountains where I could walk out my door and be quickly in the wild. I lived in a place like that as a child and I still miss it.



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

It’s kind of hard to know what I’ll do next, I have a tendency to go where my inspiration takes me and try to figure out the techniques I’ll need along the way. I’ve wanted to do some fantasy beasts lately and I’m always trying to achieve a greater level of detail in my dolls. I’ll probably end up combining the two in more mixed media type dolls.


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

I have an Etsy Shop , a Blog,

and a Deviant Art Gallery ...the best place for a comprehensive look at my work...

You can also find me on Twitter and Facebook.

Going on vacation..question early

If you were asked to make a doll with a vacation theme...what would it be?

I would go to New Orleans and make a beautiful masked doll..beads..feathers and jewels.

New Member Spotlight - Constance Dillon

Well it's another Sunday and once again time for the New Member Spotlight! Today's spotlight is on Constance Dillon of Darcy Arts Handmade. Constance dolls are so much fun! She has given the traditional button eyed, rag doll a wonderfully imaginative and contemporary spin...check out her versions of such iconic figures as Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Frida Kahlo...I think you'll be as enchanted as I am. You can see more of her work in her Etsy Shop, on her Blog, and in her Flickr stream. Welcome to the team Constance!

SaTurDaY's WEird aND wONdERfUL...

I think we are all familiar with packing tape....

The Packing Tape Installation by For Use/Numen at the DMY 2010 Berlin's International Design Festival, held in June.

Happy Saturday :O)

A Girl Can Never Have Enough Shoes!

The July Collage was inspired by Nat's Doll

 "Never Enough Shoes" (in center)

How True!

~Credits~

1. Grace

2. Du Bah Du

3. Nancy Perennec

4. SpiritMama

5. Nat

6. Robyn Wilson-Owen

7. Michelle Sylvia

8. Loopy Boopy

9. Abi Monroe

10. Olivia

~collected by Kandra of Wee Peeple Doll Constructions~

.....................................................

ADO Facebook Fan Page Photo Feature!

Thank you so much to Debbie Staggs Ritter of Uneek Doll Designs for our very first Facebook Fanpage Photo Feature(say that fast 5 times!). Debbie has created The Wicked Queen of Snow White for Grimm's Fairy Tale Challenge. She was created from a wooden clothespin, hand painted and her costume was hand designed. Thank you so much Debbie! CLICK HERE to visit Debbie's Etsy shop!

Want to have your doll featured on the ADO blog? Take part in our MMC or our Quarterly Challenge! Create a doll inspired by Frida Khalo or Grimms Fairy Tales and post it to our Facebook wall and you may just find your doll featured on the ADO blog! You do not need to be an ADO member to be featured.

CLICK HERE to visit our ADO Facebook Fan page!

New Member Spotlight - Julie Blanchette

Today the ADO new member spotlight is on Julie Blanchette. Julie, who lives in Australia; makes the sweetest little needle felted dolls out of all natural, eco-friendly materials and ( as you can see) they are just adorable. You can find more of Julie's work in her Etsy shop . Welcome to the ADO team Julie!

Saturday's Vintage Photographs

1/6 Plate daguerreotypes, C. 1850 (thank you again Mirror Image Gallery)

These ladies are fascinating...

Hope you all have a great weekend :O)

QUESTION TIME

Ooops I'm a day late!..my apologies to you all...so here is our fabulous question of the week!

If you could only give one tip,hint or trick to a new dollmaker,what would it be?

ADO Featured Artist: Helen Fern

This week's artist feature is Helen Fern of Helen Fern Originals.

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


My name is Helen Fern. I live near Salem in Oregon with my husband, Dennis, and two cats, Bucky and Boudicca. I think I may have been a mermaid in a previous life - I love the Ocean. If I need to relax and get away, it has to be at the beach. My "quiet place" when I meditate is the coast, waves crashing and no one there except me and the birds. Life gets so hectic for me sometimes I need that quiet place to think.

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


I started making dolls when I was a little girl. First with paper dolls and then I tried cloth. I was 12 when my niece was born and I made her a large cloth doll complete with a wardrobe. It wasn't until I was in my late twenties that I rediscovered dolls. I learned to make porcelain dolls and really enjoyed giving them each a personality. It didn't take long before I wanted to create my own, from sculpt to finish. So I jumped right in. My first one was, well, quite like the alien - you know, the one from the movie? Not quite what I had in mind, but I kept trying. When I discovered cernit and fimo I was on a roll! I had so many dolls I started selling them. I did a "Doll and Teddy Bear Show" in Portland and sold my first doll. The Sprites of Spring - two little sprites hidden among daffodils in a jar. I cried as their new owner walked away with them. It wasn't until that moment that I realized how much of myself goes into each of my creations!

I tried to do "pretty" faeries, but they rarely came out pretty. I applied to the Professional Doll Makers Art Guild, but my work was not realistic enough. Fortunately I have learned that is not what makes good art. Fascinated by other artists who chose the otherworldly, I kept trying. I sold some on EBay and some at shows. I did special orders and really enjoyed created each piece.

Unfortunately I got busy with life and dropped out of doll making for a while. But I'm back and I'm on a mission this time!

Who or what influences you? Inspires you?

People inspire me. I love to watch the people on the street. I sketch the faces of the folks who really stir something in me. None of them are beautiful, but all of them have character. I love faeries and folklore and am inspired by those stories and the impact they had on the lives of the people. And more than anything, nature is my muse. If I can take the time to lay under a tree or sit on the beach and close my eyes, the smells and sounds almost always stir my imagination. One of my favorites pieces is Driftwood Man. I was walking on the beach and found a piece of wood that looked like a body with the legs crossed. It was laying across a rock and a phrase came into my mind. "Driftwood man got tired of drifting, so he sat on a rock and thought..." I took the piece home and created driftwood man.

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



Most of my work has been done in polymer clay or cloth. Sometimes I start with a sketch, sometimes I just start working the clay. Occasionally I'll have an idea in my head that simply bounces around in there for awhile. The Dragon Slayer was a bouncing idea for about a year. Suddenly one day, it was time. I got out the clay and there he was. The thinner dolls have wire armature and I like to use pipe cleaners in the limbs of the smaller cloth dolls, giving them some flexibility. But it is the doll that speaks to me and I simply try to listen.

I have recently learned about Encaustic painting. It is a technique that has been around for centuries and is having a resurgence now. The paint is made of bees wax, demar resin and pigment. Each coat has to be heated, or bonded to make sure there is no future peeling. As I was learning how to use the medium, I thought, I wonder how this would be on a doll. I purchased the basics and gave it a try. Not as easy as I thought! Three dimensional forms have a lot of dripping and it cools fast. The piece I'm doing for ADO challenge, Alice in Wonderland, is made of paperclay and painted with encaustic paint. I'm convinced I can refine the technique and create some great finishes on dolls.

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



My favorite doll was made by Valerie Van Buren. Forest Fern was the first true artist piece I have ever purchased. I saved for months for this doll! Valerie has been invited to have her work in the Froud gallery, although I don't think she ever did. Her work is amazing!! Forest Fern sits in my studio and supervises my work.

Fern Faerie by Valerie Van Buren

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

I work full time as a supervisor of a head start child development center. We go all year, all day. I have also decided to return to school after thirty years to complete my bachelor's degree. Going to school half time, working full time and trying to be creative can really be challenging at times!! I have to actually schedule time for working with my dolls.

My husband and I also like to cook, hunt mushrooms (a wonderful, inspiring time in the forest!) and go beach combing.

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

Books?

The only books I have time to read are text books!! I do enjoy reading the Art Doll Quarterly. My favorite movie has been the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but that has been replaced with Avatar and Alice in Wonderland! My favorite TV show is American Idol (I used to solo a lot) and I love every kind of music - it depends on my mood. I like to have music on when I work. It keeps me focused. As for foods, unfortunately I like it all! I love to explore new ethnic flavors.

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

I would live on the Oregon Coast. I love the beach and I find the beaches here to be beautiful. Actually, I guess I would live on any beach. As I said before, I was a mermaid in a previous life. For me, the beach is like going home.

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

In one year - hopefully still working on my goals. Five years - graduated with my bachelors and enrolled in a masters program. Ten - retired! Oh lord, please - retired! Then I can work on my art all day!!

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

My blog is Soul of a Doll maker

My etsy shop is Helen Fern Originals

And I have a facebook page - Soul of a Doll maker

My EBay ID is FernsFaeries

And if you're interested in Oregon, check out my AllOregon.blogspot.com!

June MMC: Marie Antoinette

Our mini monthly challenge for June was Marie Antoinette.
Summer is a busy time of year for everyone
but a few members still manged to participate in the challenge.
Here are a few variates of Marie for you!

by Michelle Schafer, The Studio at Crow haven Farm

by Nicole Johnson of mealy monster land

by Skunk Hollow Country Store or Wymzee Art

by Tirelessartist

by PieCake Primitives

SaTurDaY's WEird aND wONdERfUL...

I wonder if Kate Clarks sculptures fit in well with Alice In Wonderland....

Don't foget to visit all the wonderful artists that are participating in our 2nd blog event challenge.  I am late, very very late, but off to do mine now...

Here is a few to get ya going....

TERRIELEE of Rosie Lane

CHRISTEN of Morton-n-friends

CAROLYN of I love Art Dolls/SugarSpun Doll Studio

These amazing dolls were randomly picked... but go see all the blogs and dolls, and don't foget to leave a comment... we all love comments!

Click here to see all the participants.. or click on their names to the right left of this post!! :O)

Happy blog hopping weekend you guys :O)

it's time!

Wonderland Blog Event Participants

• Abi Monroe
• Allegro Melody
• Anthropomorphica
• Ayala Art
• Bonnie Jones
• Bungalow Gals
• Cayleigh's Chatterbox
• Children of Eve
• Clarissa Callesen
• Cloth n Paint
• Darcy Arts Weblog
• Daydream Retreat
• Delfa's Studio
• Dolls by Allen W. Cunningham
• dolls R calling me
• Elf Witch
• Evelyns Wonderland
• Fairies' Nest
• Fantasy and Dreams
• FishStikks
• Forget Me Not Studio
• Goblinfruit Studio
• Gourds and Gatherings
• Halloween Fanatic
• Hoopie's Art Dolls
• I Love Art Dolls
• Inspiring Yarns
• j. str.'s Handmade Dolls
• Jasmoon Butterfly
• Jasper and Blue
• just-me
• Knot By Gran'ma
• Little Bit Wired
• Little Black Crow Studio
• Loopy Boopy
• Lucys Baby
• Mammalfeathers
• Marina's Dolls
• Mealy Monster Land
• Miss Millificent's World
• Misty Moon Creations
• MLB Studios
• Morton-n-friends
• New Age Dolls
• Oak Moon Studio
• OddDollz
• On A Wing and a Prayer
• Once Upon a Moon
• Paint Paper Play
• Papillon Bleu UK
• Paula Nerhus
• Pearl Moon Arts
• PieCaKe PRiMiTiVes
• Radiant Fairies
• Redwood Coast Creative Arts
• Reflections of Myself
• Rosie Lane
• Sititchywoowoo
• Snibblebitz
• Sophia- La La
• Soul of a Dollmaker
• Spirit Mama Art
• Sydney Sloane
• Tattered Rags
• The Briar Rose Gate
• The Doll and the Pea
• The Land of Honahlee
• The Play of Light and Shadow
• The Project Doll
• The Rare Hare Studio
• The Sassy Pack Rat
• The Studio at CrowHaven Farms
• Turtle Child Studio
• Veroalfie
• Wee Peeple Dolls
• Yovanka Black
• Zephyr Dreams Dolls

time to fall down a Rabbit hole!

**if you have entered and don't see your name listed email me at artdollsonly@yahoo.com and I will get you added asap.

SALES QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Happy Friday all...lets talk about Sales for a bit and maybe shed some encouragement for others..we all know its a hard time..so have your sales picked up lately..or stayed the same on dolls..or dropped off..mine have dropped off...way off ..through my own fault though..I don't seem to be working as hard..and my new muse right now is drawing.

I received this quote from a friend and loved it..so thought I'd share it with you..

"Fill a space in a beautiful way...and don't worry about the rules" until next week..bye sweet girls..donna

Treasury Alert! Art Doll Giveaway

Abi is raising much needed funds for her local animal shelter. Please check out her shop for details on how to buy an ACEO & get chance to have the winning number of one of two Art Dolls.

In the meantime check out her latest Treasury featuring Etsy Art Doll Only Team & Etsy Project Embrace Team. And a couple of guests.

Great job Abi!

New Member Spotlight- Cynthia Fordon

Today's new member spotlight is on Cynthia Fordon of Betsy's Boodles. Cynthia describes her dolls as folk art felted wool dolls and I know you will be delighted with her very original and fun characters. You can find Cynthia's dolls in her Etsy shop , she's also a wonderful photographer so check out her website to see her photos. Welcome to the ADO team Cynthia!

...and since I have you here...

Happy American Independence Day!

Saturday's Vintage Photographs & Art Doll Giveaway with a Twist....

Beautiful framed cabinet card of a young boy on a rocking horse (courtesy of Mirror Image Gallery)

Our wonderful Nicole, gave me permission to spout about my Art Doll giveaway I'm currently holding..

I'm raising money for our local Rescue The Animals, by selling $2 ACEO cards of the two giveaway dolls.  Each ACEO has a unique number. On the 10th July (TBC with the rescue Center) two numbers will be picked... those numbers get the giveaway dolls and their horses.

The ACEO cards are approx 3x4" Strathmore cardstock, vellum envelopes and silk ribbon to complete.

You can buy them here: ETSY

here: EBAY

or here: BLOG

Amethyst & Good Fortune

Azure & Harmony

*** Thanks so much everyone***

 

1/4 plate daguerreotype of little girl on a large rocking horse. (courtesy of Mirror Image Gallery)

  

Happy Independence Day weekend.