~ Treasury Alert ~ five in fact!

It's getting cold outside.... Happy HALLOWEEN folks

New Member Spotlight - Jeannette Neelans of Studio Odd

Happy Halloween weekend, ADO readers!
We have another New Member Spotlight shining this morning on Jeannette Neelans of Studio Odd.
Jeannette is a doll artist from Utah who says she enjoys all types of fiber arts from spinning (her hand spun fibers are so lovely!) to knitting in addition to making art dolls- which are both sculpted and plush. She says her tastes run "anywhere from kawaii cute to morbid and most everything in between" which she says make her work very eclectic. I like that!
Get to know Jeannette and see more of her work by checking out her Etsy shop, blog, Flickr account, and Twitter feed.
Welcome to the team, Jeannette!

ADO Featured Artist: Nancy Perennec

This week's artist feature is Nancy Perennec AKA Little Bit Wired.

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

 My name is Nancy Perennec. I live in Mississauaga, Ontario Canada. What makes you tick?  I love to be inspired by the things around me but the true ticking happens when something I have imagined comes to life in my hands.

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

I used to work for a company in Winnipeg Manitoba and the receptionist there was a member of the Canadian Doll Artist Association. She made cloth dolls and she used to bring them in and I’d ask her all kinds of questions about how she made them. She encouraged me to try different patterns. These were my first, I called them Prairie Faeries.



With each doll my enthusiasm grew and the next year I joined the association too and we attended a doll conference in Fort Erie together. I took a couple workshops, one of them a full body sculpt workshop with Kathryn Walmsley. I made this silly looking doll out of Cernit… but I was hooked!


My next piece was a little better. I made a grouping of four called Solstice.
I actually sold this one.



Who or what influences you? Inspires you? 

I read.  A lot. Urban Fantasy mostly. I get endless inspiration from the books I read, the work of other artists whether they be illustrators or 3 dimensional works. My ideas usually evolve from that but aren’t meant to be copies of anything. I could be inspired by a pose, a hair-do, colour choice, props and then my ideas kind of blossom.

For instance, Davy’s secret was inspired by these two things
  

and evolved into this with

Jessica’s Secrets Tutorial. Which was a lot of fun. 


And my Red Riding Hood was based on a scene in the movie that came out in March. 

And Elena my Angel Warrior was inspired by the book by Nalini Singh.



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

As I said, my ideas are mostly in my head. Sometimes I’ll do a little sketch so I don’t loose the thought but I never do any detailed drawings or anything like that. I might do a wire sketch to pose the doll but everything else comes as I progress.
If I’m doing a cloth doll, I’ll draw more because I’ll develop a pattern from that, then I’ll sew it together and build an armature to fit inside it and a base to support it.



If  I’m sculpting I’ll do up a little pose sketch and figure out the base I would need to support the doll. Then I’ll start with the head, then hands and feet and then add the armature, wrap it with fibre and then do a wash and detail face up on the doll. The hardest part for me is costuming. Sometimes I just know what I’ll do, what fabrics I need other times I have to hunt them down. I wish I made costumes that were full of all the little details, tiny little pocket watches, embroidered flowers and such but I don’t have it in me. I’m too impatient to see what it will look like when it’s done. I work pretty quickly but it still takes about 80 hours of work to

complete a doll.


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

I never actually liked dolls when I was young. I played with the occasional Barbie but I didn’t really get it. I suppose I don’t really get it now either. I don’t collect them. For me the joy is all about creating them and the things I learn along the way. I usually work in complete silence. No tv, no radio, just the sound of my breathing, the birds through the window and the occasional patter of little feet and meowing of my cat Peepers.

I loved the way my work is progressing so I guess the favorites of mine are the last ones I worked on. I’m a fan of many doll artists for different reasons. Frankly I’m envious of all who can make a living out of creating these wonderful figurative works.

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

As I said I read. A lot. I commute to work each day for about 3 hours. I work as a Project Assistant for a team that builds Ontario’s Infrastructure. My daytime is filled with chasing paper and setting up meetings. Boring stuff. But it’s a job doing “the work of the people”, I enjoy my co-workers and do all my “play” in any other moment that I can. In fact it’s taken over my holidays too. Helps me regenerate my spirit. I also teach and blog my work in progress. I take pictures along the way. I found it hard to learn without taking workshops so I want to be able to inspire others new to doll making and help them find their way. My blog helps me do that whether it be making dolls, knitting, crochet, making puppets or making jewelry I like to open minds to things people haven’t experienced before. I teach a regular lunch and learn at the office where people pay to learn new things and the proceeds go to our Charity.

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

 I love watching American Idol, all the dancing shows, Amazing Race and pretty much any movie. As for music, I love anything that keeps me dancing… well as long as no one is watching me!

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

Close to an art supply store, fabric and bead store. I admit I am lucky I have that now. I haven’t travelled much but I’d like to pretty much go anywhere. As long as they have the above list.  

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

I’d  love to be supporting myself as an artist. I can’t see that happening though so I guess I’d like to see more of my work in publications, art galleries and such.

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

On etsy:

www.nancyperennec.etsy.com 

and

www.littlebitwired.etsy.com

on ebay I’m littlebitwired

and my blog is

http://littlebitwired.blogspot.com

Facebook Fan Page Photo Feature

"The Ghost of Old Possessions"

Thank you to Deb Jackson of Jenny Sparrow for sharing this amazing Art Doll on ADO's FACEBOOK page. Please be sure to CLICK HERE to visit Debbie's Etsy shop, and CLICK HERE to visit her website.

Please be sure to share your latest Art Doll creation on ADO's Facebook page. Be sure to participate in our Quarterly Challenge or our MMC. The last Quarterly Challenger for 2011 is Goth, the October MMC is Tragic Endings, and the November MMC will be A Child's Dream. Please include links to your Etsy shop, website, ect. PLEASE NOTE: there is no guarantee that all non-ADO members' work will be featured on the ADO blog. Thanks so much, and be sure to keep sharing on Facebook!

~ Treasury Alert ~ x two!

New Member Spotlight - Soury Alexandra

Welcome to Sunday and the chance to meet another new member of the Art Dolls Only Team. Today the spotlight is on Soury Alexandra of Cute Amalia Dolls. Soury lives in France, has 3 sons, and makes beautiful air dried clay dolls with such delicate features. You can find more of Soury's lovely dolls in her Etsy shop, her Blog, and her Flickr stream. Welcome to the ADO team Soury!

Wednesday's Question

Storage, it can be a big problem if your dolls are starting to populate and overtake your working space. And if you're selling your dolls, you don't want to have them on display for too long.
How do you store and protect your dolls from damage, sun, dust and rodents?

2011 september mini monthly challenge: Dia de los Muertos, paper dolls!

Double theme for this mini monthly challenge: dia de los muertos, and paper dolls! It was hosted by our very own Ayala!
Although our members remained free for creating with the medium they liked, most of them tried themselves in two dimensional doll making. How exciting!

By Ayala from Ayala Art

by Anastasia from anastasia dododolls


by Evelyn from Evelyn 's Wonderland


By Jenna from The Land of Honah Lee


by Paula from Spirit Dolls by Paula


By Rosanna Pereyra


By Alexandra from Cute Amalia


By Yve from Freaky Little Things


We hope you enjoyed the tour, next mini challenge will be "tragic endings!"

~ Treasury Alert ~

New Member Spotlight - Sahaya James of Radical Miniatures

Happy Sunday morning, ADO readers!
Today our New Member Spotlight shines on Sahaya James of Radical Miniatures.
Sahaya is an artist from the UK who started making art dolls in 2010 and has quickly fallen in love "with every aspect of creating a doll and the challenges of combining ethical and environmental consciousness" into her characters. Sahaya's dolls are registered with the Vegan Society and are made with only vegan and eco-friendly materials and with concern for animals and the environment. She also says she loves "all forms of art, particularly the less appreciated ones — the underdogs, subcultures and primitive arts" and all styles including Gothic and anthropomorphic.
Get to know Sahaya and see more of her work by visiting her Etsy shop, blog, and website.

Welcome to the team, Sahaya!!

Tips & Tricks Friday ~ Tell a Story

I remember the very first art show I did. I was all in a panic because it was the first time I needed inventory instead of just creating whatever was in my head, one piece at a time. That proved harder for me than I thought it would because I really do just create whatever moves me in that moment and it often comes out looking completely different than what I had in mind. I always felt like my pieces told me what they wanted to become instead of the other way around. For that reason, each of my pieces have always had their own stories....and names.

Once I had my "inventory" complete I toyed with the idea of labeling each of my pieces with their stories and names. Then I had a moment of panic where I wondered whether buyers would think I was a little nutty and whether they would want the artwork to come with thier own names and stories or whether they'd want to come up with their own. So, I left off the names and stories.

And the prevailing commentary at that artshow was...."They should have names!" and "What's her story?". Gahhh! So, I learned my lesson. Always tell a story and, for goodness sake, give them a name!

Here's an example:

Cute piece, good pic

But what about this....

Twas nigh on midnight
When the lightning did flash.
And then,
A loud bang and a crash
Was that just the storm or was someone in the house?
He tiptoed to see.
Quiet as a mouse.
It was then that he saw it.
His stomach felt sick.
It was the last thing he felt.
Now he's a head on a stick.
~ ©Jamie Lott

Even better, no?

So when in doubt, even if they do think you're a little nutty, they want a story!

ADO Featured Artist: Dessa Rae Greenwood

This week's artist feature is Dessa Rae Greenwood.

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

My name is Dessa Rae Greenwood. I live in the great state of Utah, USA. I am 59 years old. I have been making dolls for 33 years, and I have been sculpting for 27 years. I am a self taught artist, learning by trial and error.

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

When my daughter was 1 year old my sister in-law came over and showed me a doll she had made for her daughter. I went and bought a pattern and drug out my old singer sewing machine ( with only one type of stitch) and began sewing rag dolls. I loved my cloth dolls but for me there just wasn't enough realism in them.  One day I saw an ad for Cernit, I ordered some and went from there.

I have received two Dolls Magazine Awards of Excellence nominations, ( for my sculpting) once in 1995 and again in 1997. 

I have received the Froud Artist of the Month award for May 2007. My dolls have had the honor of being featured in Dolls Magazine, Doll Reader, Doll Crafter and Costuming.

There are so many dolls to create and not enough time.  I alternate my time between sculpting, cloth dolls, and Reborning.

I have been Reborning dolls since 2003.  I love transforming these beautiful doll kits into realistic works of art.  There is something magical about these dolls.  

 

Once I had Reborn my first doll, I was hooked, and the rest is history.  My Reborn Baby Sawley was featured in Doll Reader Magazine September issue 2008.

I love the feeling I get when I hold my little creations in my hands and know that it started out as a lump of clay. It makes me happy to sell my creations, and to know that my art is going to a good home.

I tell everyone I know that you are never too old to play with dolls.

Who or what influences you? Inspires you?

The Artist that inspired me the most when I was first starting out is Anna Abigail Brahms...I love her ethereal dolls.

1. 
   

Since I make all kinds of dolls in all mediums, my house is one big craft store.  In fact my daughter calls it the Greenwood craft store. I have bolts of fabric piled high in my closets and dolls, and doll parts stored downstairs in all of the closets, I have bins of Reborningkits and supplies...lol  The process is different for each doll and it seems like I never do it the same way twice..lol   

With my sculpting, I usually start with the head first, then I can gauge how big to make the body.  If its a cloth body doll, I then make the pattern especially for that particular doll.  The arms and hands are the last to be sculpted.  

With my newest dolls "Bonus Bundle Babies" all that is sculpted is the head. The body is a one piece design made to be very floppy. I weight them with glass beads.

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

I think my favorite doll is one I made called a Pixie Moppet.  Her head and arms were sculpted from Fimo and her feet were glittery cloth. Her name is Brigitte...She is 3 1/2 inches and is jointed at the neck, shoulders, and hips with very tiny buttons. Her body was made from Swiss Batiste, and she was dressed in vintage lace and trim.  

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

When I am not making dolls I am busy with my wonderful husband of 40 years, my beautiful children (all grown), and my precious grandchildren. 

I LOVE to create mohair bears...I love to make jewelry, and I love to belly dance.

I can get lost in the antique shops, and I love to participate in the local doll shows in my state. I participated in the New York Toy Fair for two years and I also participated in the Doll and Teddy Bear Expo in Washington D.C. for two years.

 

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

I love funny movies, any kind of comedy...because I love to laugh!!

I can't create unless I am listening to Rush Limbaugh, or Sean Hannity...I am a radio talk show junkie...

My favorite TV shows are Everybody Loves Raymond, Seinfeld, Glee, American Idol, and Hell's Kitchen.

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

If I could live anywhere in the world it would be here in Utah, because I am close to my family and I love the four seasons...

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

I see myself still making dolls in 1 year...5 years, and 10 years...It has been a lifelong passion with me.

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

My website: http://www.wix.com/dessadolls/droad

My Blogs: http://dessaraeartdolls.blogspot.com/

              http://sweetmemoryreborn.blogspot.com/

My eBay id:  dessarae123

My Etsy store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/dessadolls?ref=si_shop