Forest Spirit

This is a project I began on my summer holidays. Each year I like to take a week off and do something creative. That's just for me. Usually it's a doll conference where I take a couple classes and learn something new. This year I signed up for an online doll class with Marilyn Radzat.

It was a wonderful hat class. And knowing me, you know I had to make the doll first. I started three dolls that week.

A witch.... where I used mirror tile on her head... the project... sadly didn't turn out and went file 13.

An this is the second doll I'm attempting.

I wanted to use something from nature. SO that's were this doll went. My Forest Spirit is kind of ent-like, kind of brownie-like.

I used both paper clay and apoxie sculpt on this one.

Once I've given him his base coat. I started wrapping him in quilt batting, and adding his fabric skin.
I then add some more paint washes to the fabric and clay. Adding more detail to the face and hands.
Now I used E6000 to set the pine cone pieces to his head. I carefully washed the old sap off and pulled the pine cones apart. Then I apply them to the head circular rows.

He's not finished yet. I've still got lots of work to do.

The Traveling Doll Project

I'm so excited to tell you about the project that I'm a part of. The Traveling Doll Project.

It's part story telling, part travel log, part journal, part pen pal, but mostly it's an artistic journey.

Each doll will take a journey...starting and ending in the same place with a whole new look and story. A journal will travel with each doll that will tell the story from the start to the end of the dolls adventure. This journal will include all kinds of things. Notes from it's construction, travel pics and friends.

I am part of Team Bambolina. The Bambolina team is the largest of the groups, with 6 doll artists from the US, Canada and the UK participating. My fellow Bambolettes and I are aiming for a finish date of September 2. When the doll we started with makes their journey back home to us.

This is the second year that the ADO team is doing this and while I didn't participate I have followed along last year and thought I want to be apart of this!

Here's the link: http://adotravelingdollproject.blogspot.com/ if you'd like to read about the wonderful artists who are participating. Bookmark it and keep following as each doll artist has to add a blog post about each doll they receive and the work they do to it.

I have begun my project and am posting my progress on each doll I receive here on my blog. As usual, I'm using a picture tutorial to show how I progress.

My doll is a Wizard and he is travelling with a companion.

I am using a wire armature, apoxie and wrapping with quilt batting. I have not used apoxie at the neck so that the head can be posed. The hands are done only to the wrist, and the feet to the ankles so that they can be posed as well. Afterall, I don't know what pose he'll be in when he is finished. I have put a rod in the foot of my Wizard and in the foot of his travelling companion. This will help them stand on a base if he picks one up in his travels.

I'll send him out bald, but I do hope he gets hair...

A peek at my traveling dolls' journal