Thursday, March 31, 2011
ADO Featured Artist: Natasha Morgan
This week's artist feature is Natasha Morgan.
Please tell us about yourself. What is your name? Where do you live? What makes you tick?
My name is Natasha, and I live in beautiful South Wales, UK. I live to be creative, and am always looking to improve my artistic skills and learn. I spent years making nothing at all, but finally realized how happy making things makes me. I’ve worked to nurture this part of my character ever since.
When did you start making dolls? Why did you start making dolls?
I’ve been making dolls for about three years. I started making them after seeing so many beautiful examples in magazines and online. I’ve always loved dolls, and still have the two given to me by my Grandfather on my very first Christmas and birthday. But had never thought of making my own until I was inspired by all the fantastic artists there are out there. I just wanted to have a go myself and see what I could come up with, and see if I could create the characters that I dream up in my slightly twisted imagination, and those I read about that really catch my attention.
Who or what influences you? Inspires you?
I'm inspired by quite a range of different things really. I have a really great interest in old things and old times, anything that most would think had lived out its usefulness, but still has great beauty. And I'm lucky that I have a wealth of the history from all periods that I see every day, as well as having a lot more at a short distance for my home. From the window of the room I work in when making dolls I can see an ancient ruined monastery, old broken industrial chimneys from a now gone pot works all alone in a field, rows of Victorian terrace houses, and a mix of churches and chapels. My favorite park nearby, where my husband and I got married, holds a Victorian folly mansion house full of faux-Gothic details, an Orangery with flagstone floors and an old yew walk and original greenhouses.
Fantasy and legend have always had a big influence on me, and I lean more towards the creepy stuff of witches, vampires and fairy's - Our own Welsh Fairy Legends are not the glittery pink type, but a darker, secretive, sometimes vengeful and normally mischievous type. I also grew up watching a lot of bad (and some good) horror films with my dad that has definitely given me a darker twist to my character, in a good way I hope. I read a lot, and as well books of dark legends, a complete works of Edgar Allen Poe and Mary Shelley , I love Jane Austen, Emily Bronte and others. I read a lot of books on the ancient cultures of other countries as well as my own countries history, my favorite periods are the Georgian, Regency and Victorian as I love the details, traditions and decoration. I'm fascinated with the differences in how the world was viewed then compared to now, and this shows in the design of clothes and underwear, architecture and art, and is shown further still in the pages of the lovely tatty old books I collect when I can find them in local charity or thrift shops. I'm very lucky to have a very supportive husband that loves any and all types of film and animation, so I gain a lot of ideas for my dolls from the wealth of different things he likes to watch, gaining inspiration from the creative minds of many directors and writers.
At the moment I’m very much inspired by the lives of Georgian and Victorian women, and the lives they lead that we don’t normally hear about. Their lives were very different from ours. And while the suffragette movement is well known, the everyday hardships that women endured before this is not something that we really think of nowadays. I’m particularly interested in the lives that are out of the mainstream of history. The women within the darker side of society; the asylum patients, the Courtesans and common prostitutes, the scandals and macabre happenings, the body snatchers and medicine that hadn’t changed very much at all since medieval times. It’s sometimes difficult to find the stories of actual women from these times, and even while researching my latest doll of Mary Shelley I had to wade through just as much information on her husband to get to the details about her. But the stories and accounts that I do find are always well worth the time I spend reading and looking on the web.
I guess really that I have a slightly odd way of looking at things if I'm honest. And the tiniest thing can stick in my mind and niggle at me until it forms itself into an idea: a just caught line from a song, a pattern seen in old wallpaper, or even the weather.
There are so many fantastic artists out there now, both old and new, each creating such a wide range of work, that for me my mind always leads the imagery I see back to the dolls I love to create.
Tell us a little about your dolls and your process for making them. Materials, preliminary sketches, inspiration, etc.
The very first thing that starts off a new doll for me at the moment is always the research. When I come across a story or account that interests me I make notes, normally on index cards so that I can go back and make proper accounts in a notebook that I keep for that purpose later. I then look into what type of clothing they would have worn, even down to the underwear, and make some decisions on how I want them to look, sometimes making sketches so that I don’t go off track from what I want later on. I use a wooded ball and birch dowels to create my armature, cutting all the arms and legs to the length that I need as I don’t cover these completely with clay and just sculpt the hands and feet onto the ends. Once everything is sculpted it gets two or three coats of paint, as well as two coats of matte varnish, with the eyes and lips highlighted with a little shine. The eyes of my dolls are one of the most important parts for me. Even using buttons to create a shiny, reflective, round and blank eye holds a lot of meaning for me as it lets me play in my big button tin, bringing back happy memories of opening both my Mothers and Grandmothers tins and carefully separating all the buttons into type or color before piling them all back in the tin (something I did for hours as a child). This is an important reactive memory for me that always reminds me to cherish the strong, loving, giving women in my family, odd though it may seem to others that a tin of buttons has such a strong effect. Although many people find the eyes of my dolls creepy, I love the effect that these big round orbs create, allowing someone to impose their own thoughts and feelings into the doll. I string everything together with strong vintage thread and tiny beads to give them some joints. I’ve no idea what I’ll do when this thread runs out as it was given to me by my Nanna. And I purposely string them this way to give them that lovely floppy vintage doll movement when they’re handled. I add their hair very painstakingly by cutting the individual fronds from marabou feathers and applying them with strong glue in overlapping layers. Again, the shock of hair is something that I’ve decided on intentionally. It's part of the image that I want to create. It portrays something I can't quite define in a sensible explanation, but has a lot to do with the capturing of a soul, a just seen ghost, a reflection of the viewer and all the mixed up scraps of information in my own memories - dark and light, confused and ordered. I did say it didn’t make sense.
While I do sometimes like to dress my dolls just on the fancy that takes me, I really enjoy creating the more historic costumes. And like to dress them in each layer that would have been worn at the time. I make shifts, bloomers, corsets and period padding in the right places even though I know it’ll never be seen. It always makes such a difference to the final feel and weight of the doll, as well as that a lot of the dresses and shapes that I want to make just don’t seem to hold up in the right places without the same sort of supports that would have been used at the time. The women then knew what they were doing, and I’ve proved to myself many times that it just doesn’t work out as I want if I skip things. I try to use whatever other skills I have to create any little accessories that I want to include to finish my dolls, and have been known to make tiny jewelry, books, bags, goggles, and even a slingshot.
Do you have a favorite doll? It can be handmade by you, handmade by someone else, or even (gasp) mass production.
I have quite a few favorites collected through all my life. Of my own making I’ve had a few favorites. I put a lot of myself into creating my dolls, and am always looking to improve. The only real way to do this is to let them go out in the world to make room for the ones that will follow. And I was very sad when I sold Helena, and then Abbigale as I’d promised myself that I’d only list her once, and if she didn’t sell I got to keep her. I was both lucky and unlucky as she sold in just a few weeks. As is usual, the last doll I finished in my favorite at the moment, Mary Shelley. But I do have two that I just can’t part with, one is a little vampire standing doll that was one of my first fully sculpted dolls, and the other Amaryllis, who was one of my first jointed dolls.
I still love the dolls bought for me by my Grandfather when I was very young, which I’m lucky to still have. And I have a small collection of quite old dolls that I’ve found over the years, one that I brought back from Austria when I was about 15, very carefully packed in my hand-luggage.
I’ve just recently bought a little doll from another ADO member for my small collection that I’m completely in love with at the moment, Little No2 Austere by Karly Perez of Cheekie Bottoms. He’s just so sweet, and looks so lonely I couldn’t resist him. He’s fantastically well made, and at the moment sits near me at my table looking over what I’m doing.
There are so many fantastic doll artists out there that I’d love to have a huge collection of them around me. Maybe one day I’ll have the time and space to give a loving home to many, many more from my favorite artists.
Besides making dolls, what do you do? Job, other creative pursuits, hobbies, etc.
I work full time in an office in a team that manages the running of the building, and have quite a few hobbies. Non-creatively, I walk every day, love films and music, gardening, reading, and like to bake. As well as spending as much time as I can with my lovely husband, my cats, and my fantastic friends. Creatively, I’ll have a go at making just about anything. I paint and draw, crochet, sew, do a bit of photography, paper crafts, assemblage, jewelry making, patchwork and embroidery. Basically anything that takes my fancy I’ll have a go at.
What are some of your favorite: movies, books, websites, magazines, foods, TV shows, music? (Any or all!)
I love any type of film and lots of different TV, but particularly love period drama. My favorite has always been the BBC Pride & Prejudice with Colin Firth, and I’m really enjoying Downtown Abbey at the moment. I love Supernatural, Pans Labyrinth, Alice in Wonderland, Dr Who and True Blood, although the books of this are so much better than the series to me. I’ll read almost anything, and love Jane Austen especially. For music it’s got to be proper old school rock, and I listen to loads of different bands, from ACDC and Metallica, to Funeral for a Friend, Taproot and The Lost Prophets, with anything in between. I really have to many favorite websites to mention, but would highly recommend the beautiful Art & Ghosts.
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
If money was no object I think I’d like to divide my time between the beautiful Welsh valleys, the stunning city of Bath, and somewhere nice and warm for the winter months. I hate the cold.
Where do you see yourself in one year? Five years? Ten years?
I’d love to say working on my art full time as that would be a dream come true, but we’ll see what time brings. I’m hoping to keep improving my skills and my dolls as time goes on. As well as continuing to be happy with my family and friends.
Where can we find you on the internet? (blog, website, Etsy shop, eBay, et al.)
And of course, very luckily, Art Dolls Only
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Wednesdays Question: Shopping!
Have you a handy art/craft store nearby, do you have to travel miles to get to one or do you do your shopping online?
What happens when some of your favorite items become harder to find or more expensive?
How resourceful has this made you?
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
ADO Facebook Fan Page Feature
Thank you to Michele Lynch for sharing her fabulous Steampunk doll on ADO's Facebook wall! Be sure to visit Michele's ETSY and BLOG to see more of her unique dolls! Michelle also has a Facebook FANPAGE, so go over and "like" it! :o)
Want to have your doll featured on the ADO blog?
Take part in our 1st quarterly challenge of the year and create a doll inspired by steampunk! Also, March's MMC is Phobias...oooh scary!!;o)
Post it to our wall and you may just find your doll featured on the ADO blog!
Original one of a kind dolls inspired by steampunk.
**please note***
...There is no guarantee that if you participate in the challenge that your work will be posted to the ADO blog unless you are a ADO member.
We do appreciate everyone sharing their doll pictures on ADO's Facebook page!
**Stay tuned for the next Quarterly Challenge and April's MMC!**
Sunday, March 27, 2011
New Member Spotlight - Emily Jane Hamaker-Olsen
Today we are going to meet new member Emily Jane Hamaker-Olsen of Em.O Artdolls. Emily Jane is a doll maker, painter, seamstress, and avid reader who is currently very busy with the ADO Travelling Art Doll Project and is a regular contributor right here on our ADO blog. She lives in Utah near the Colorado border and says creating dolls is one of her favorite pastimes. She lists among her favorite materials "anything shiny and sparkly" and also uses bright bold fabrics and other beautiful embellishments to add layers of personality to each of her creations.
You can meet Emily Jane and see her lovely dolls by visiting her ETSY shop, blog, and flicker photo stream.
Welcome to the team Emily Jane!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Wednesdays Question: Researching
Do you have a favorite book or magazine?
Do you collect vintage books/ magazines on dolls and doll making?
Is there a book that you have heard about but have been unable to find?
Monday, March 21, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
New Member Spotlight - Dawn Shotton
Hello again art doll lovers! Today's new member spotlight is on Dawn Shotton of Kitties Angels. Dawn makes cloth and polymer clay dolls that are equally lovely and describes herself as a "craft addict". She also makes gorgeous paper dolls and Aceos... so she is obviously a woman of many talents! Her delicate dolls are wonderful and you'll want to go see more of her work in her Etsy shop, on her blog, and her Flickr Stream. Welcome to the team Dawn!
Friday, March 18, 2011
Tips and Tricks Friday--opposite day?
Last week I posted a couple of links on how to get better photos of your art (or grandkids or dog) and this week I ran into a blog post by a fellow ADO member (and Traveling Doll Project team member!). It seemed appropriate and relevant, so I thought I'd post the link.
A stroll through any online art-selling venue or Ebay will net dozens of bad photos...but I found Ayala's post to be of useful illustrative and instructive merit: How Not To Take Pictures. Besides, Tim is just so danged cute.
Just sayin'.
A stroll through any online art-selling venue or Ebay will net dozens of bad photos...but I found Ayala's post to be of useful illustrative and instructive merit: How Not To Take Pictures. Besides, Tim is just so danged cute.
Just sayin'.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
ADO Featured Artist: Jan Conwell
This week's artist feature is Jan Conwell of JDConwell Art Dolls and Folkart.
Please tell us about yourself. What is your name? Where do you live? What makes you tick?
My name’s Jan Conwell, and I live on 1.3 acres just south of San Antonio, Texas, with my husband, a dog, and a cat. I get a huge kick out of making art from what life puts in my path. (That’s my excuse for thrift shopping, and I’m sticking to it.)
When did you start making dolls? Why did you start making dolls?
Not quite two years ago, if you don’t count the many cloth dolls I’ve made and given as gifts to kids and grandkids over the years…do those count? They weren’t really art dolls, no matter how many hours I spent on them. I started making art dolls because I had this crop of gourds I’d grown that were all too small for the bird houses I’d intended them to be.
Who or what influences you? Inspires you?
First, my mother inspired me. She could always make something out of nothing, and was the most resourceful person I’ve ever known. But I’m greatly influenced by an appreciation of history—not dates and textbooks, but historical things that carry a message of years, long use and old loves. American History does particularly interest me, and the idea of those tough people making beautiful dolls for their children out of whatever scraps they had on hand…I love that.
Tell us a little about your dolls and your process for making them. Materials, preliminary sketches, inspiration, etc.
I confess I haven’t done a good job of settling down to one medium yet. No matter which medium, though, I seldom make a sketch—and if I do, I never seem to stick to it. My style is still all over the place. And for now, I’m loving it…because I’m still exploring to see what I do best. Most of the time, I start with a glimmer of an idea and see where it goes. It’s “gone” some pretty bizarre places.
Do you have a favorite doll? It can be handmade by you, handmade by someone else, or even (gasp) mass production.
I did. This heavy-bodied, floppy, tough rag doll, my Me-ma made (and stuffed) with scraps of my old clothes. The doll had no identifiable style except some wildly striped pants, and she was almost three feet tall. I dragged her up into trees and made hammocks for her to sleep in. I’d quit playing with her, but was sad when I lost her in the ’79 tornado.
Besides making dolls, what do you do? Job, other creative pursuits, hobbies, etc.
My day job is split between home-making and real-estate investments—my husband and I buy houses, fix them up, and rent them. Other than that, I live to garden in our mild climate. Right now we have 20 vegetables, 15 herbs, and 7 or 8 types of fruit growing on our place. Oh, and I cater to the whims of my husband, my mini-schnauzer and his foster cat.
What are some of your favorite: movies, books, websites, magazines, foods, TV shows, music? (Any or all!)
Music: old rock, old country (seriously old), instrumental anything, and musicals. Old…is there a theme here?
Authors: Stephen King, Terry Pratchett, Tom Robbins, Dianna Gabaldon, among lots of others.
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
Kerrville, Texas. Why? I’ve left Texas a lot of times, and always come back. But that’s the prettiest part of it I’ve seen so far, with the fewest bugs:)
Where do you see yourself in one year? Five years? Ten years?
In one year: still learning what sort of thing I do best with regard to dolls. Five: selling dolls like crazy. Ten: Still selling dolls, and teaching classes on the stuff I’ve learned.
Where can we find you on the internet? (blog, website, Etsy shop, eBay, et al.)
Blog: http://twoconwellsplaying.blogspot.com/
http://thehermitsgarden.artfire.com/
http://jdconwell.etsy.com/
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Wednesday's Question, inspired by your own childhood?
My mum kept my old scrap book from when I was five to the first years of school.
Looking back at my drawings my whimsical naive style has changed little, well maybe the hand and eye co-ordination has improved.
A few years ago I turned some of those drawings into dolls!
How many of you have found that what you do now creatively has its roots still firmly embedded from your early childhood?
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Facebook Fan Page Photo Feature
Many thanks to Vilma Kilti for sharing her Masquerade Doll on ADO's Facebook page! Vilma says that she is a beginner..all I can say is WOW!! She is very talented for a beginner! :o) Vilma has yet to start a blog or open an Etsy shop, but if you CLICK HERE, you can visit her Facebook photo album.
Want to have your doll featured on the ADO blog?
Take part in our 1st quarterly challenge of the year and create a doll inspired by steampunk! Also, March's MMC is Phobias...oooh scary!!;o)
Post it to our wall and you may just find your doll featured on the ADO blog!
Original one of a kind dolls inspired by steampunk.
**please note***
...There is no guarantee that if you participate in the challenge that your work will be posted to the ADO blog unless you are a ADO member.
We do appreciate everyone sharing their doll pictures on ADO's Facebook page!
Monday, March 14, 2011
~ TREASURY ALERT ~
Click on the individual images to access their shop, or click ~HERE~ to go to the full list.
The treasury may be a little slow to load...
The treasury may be a little slow to load...
Sunday, March 13, 2011
New Member Spotlight - Kathleen Wermuth
Today we are going to meet new member Kathleen Wermuth of Kat and the Fiddle and Dixie Doll Works.
Kathleen lives in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee and is not only a doll maker but also a painter and a seamstress specializing in historical clothing and Civil War era clothing for American Girl dolls. Kathleen, her husband, and her daughter are all Civil War reenactors, so she definitely understands period correctness in clothing!
Her dolls vary from OOAK originals ( I really love her Pushing Up Daizies pieces!) to reproduction vintage dolls, which she says can take up to a week to complete the head alone!
Get to know Kathleen by checking out her Etsy shop, blog, and website.
Welcome to the team, Kathleen!
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Saturday's WeiRD and wOndERfUl:
Happy Saturday!! Today's post features illustrations by Swedish artist, Cassandra Rhodin. Her illustrations are done with ink and watercolors. Inspired by the wildness and decadence of Paris in the 1920s (which she extends to her fashion label Minirodini). “My work reflects the dilemma of human beings, unexpressed love, and secret poetry.”
Whatever they reflect, I think they are wonderful!
Enjoy!
www.cassandrarhodim.com, www.agentbauer.com/illustrators/cassandrarhodin
Friday, March 11, 2011
Tips and Tricks Friday!
Sorry for the recent missed posts, but honestly--I was abducted by aliens, and just now escaped!
Today's Tips and Tricks post is about photography. I bring this up because it's something I struggle with, and while my photos have improved over the last year, I have miles of room for further improvement.
I traveled over to the Etsy Blog and found two particularly interesting articles, (and there are more, if one is inclined to scout the tags there). These articles don't specifically mention dolls--they're about style and lighting--but they foster all kinds of ideas for me on how to post and photograph my dolls in more interesting ways, to get the best out of them for listings.
"Staying Sharp, Achieving Clarity and Crispness in Your Photos"
is by Terrain, and spells out some very specific way to get detail
to come out well in your images.
The second, "Give Props; How to Style Your Photos"
is all about presentation--how to make it unique and
yet keep the focus on your art. By SusyJack
One thing I've wanted to try is to get a picture
that would make a good, sell-able print,
but I'm a long way from that just yet.
For now I'm happy to learn more about getting
great pictures for online applications.
I hope you learn as much as I did!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Wednesday's Question, A face in a crowd!
Has this happened to you? You're out and about in the city off to your favorite art supply shop, it's lunchtime so lots of people are milling about and you do a double take! Her/his face looks just like a doll!
OMG the hair the eyes and mouth shape are just the perfect features for a doll. You take out your journal/scrap paper and quickly sketch the face.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Treasury Alert!
A wonderfully green treasury put together by Lisa of Skunkhollow. Wearing of the Green is a wonderful collection of ADO's art dolls who are longing for some spring like conditions.
2011 february mmc: masquerade,costumed dolls!
Let´ s have fun with our dolls!!!!
This was the moto, for february mm challenge!
Thinking of parties, outfits and pretend plays...each of our members had a different approach, resulting in gorgeous and all different type of dolls!
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
by Abi Monroe
by Lezlei Ann Young
from Breath of heart
by Donna Cooper
from Cooperdolls
by Dawn Shotton
by Laurence
from FELTOOHLALA
by Jane Lynch
by Jan
from JDConwell
by Lisa Johnson
by Lorraine
by Oddfae
by Patricia
from Papillon Bleu UK
And there we were, having a great time and enjoying doll making, till the next doll!
Don´t miss our next mmc challenge, it will deal with.................. BRRRRRRR......!
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