ADO Ezine is out! and it's fabulous!!

I was expecting this launch at the end of September but couldn't find a link until this morning! I'm so excited! It's gorgeous!

See the ADO Ezine

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Exciting News!! SNEAK PEEK!

Fellow members of ADO  (Art Dolls Only) have been working diligently to complete our first ADO E-zine with a wide variety of articles, tutorials, interviews and tons of lovely photographs. 

They are planning to launch at the end of September but a sneak peek is available! 
Click the photo below to sneak a peek at our much anticipated for e-Zine!

Red Riding Hood Completed

I finally got her cookies made and that completes my Red Riding Hood.  Just need to post her in my shop.

Look good enough to eat.

More on Red Riding Hood

Still pretty hot and humid here in Toronto and it's raining today but I've taken a few days off for an extra long weekend to play in my studio and continue working on Red.
I've wrapped her body up in quilt batting and have wrapped that again with some cheesecloth.

Now I'm going through my fabric and leather stash to look for appropriate costume materials.

 I seem to be having a bad day though, with my laundry getting stuck in the washing machine and having to call the repair man. Things just aren't going my way. I may have to set her aside and continue tomorrow. I don't want to break something! YIKES!

Work on Red continues

We're in the midst of a heat wave, like much of the U.S. I guess, so I haven't been working on Red much. She's got some hands and feet, her armature has been added and her pose set with apoxie. I found a wood base and drilled a hole for the armature support. A brass rod runs through her left leg and out the bottom of her foot. I'm not sure if she'll have shoes or be barefoot so I sculpted the feet.

I've also done the face up. I use soft pastels for much of that and use a bit of acrylic for the stronger elements like her eyes. She still needs a varnish and some lashes. I usually paint them on but I think she needs a fine fringe of lashes. Still trying a few things out. Fake eyelashes don't do it for me.  I'm still not sure if she'll be blonde or brunette.

More on Red

Between work and the other bits of my life creeping in, it's been a busy week but I managed to squeeze in some time to get her bust and shoulders done, and some forearms. The bust looks small in this pic, think it's the angle. It's waif like, but not undersized.

Tonight I worked on her hands again, first two attempts.... too big, too small, more like a story of the three bears than little red riding hood, but finally I think I got them just the right size.
I then attached and blended them into the forearms and baked them. I find it easier to bake a forearm and then add a hand, other wise while I work on the hand the arms get soft and wobbly. This way I have a nice strong arm I can attach a hand to and get the movement at the wrist that I want.

I have feet waiting in the wings, but first I had to find the pose. You can't have flat feet on a moving pose it just looks weird.  I also will need to figure out what kind of base I want to use before I bake said feet. I might need to insert a brass rod. Well, I will most likely need to insert a brass rod, so I have one taped on for sturdiness in my armature until I decide what I want to use for a base. I just need to figure out what I'm going to do yet. But at least I can move on to the armature for the body and legs to find the pose.

hmm... do I have it yet? Not sure.  

Gotta find what I want for to use for my base. 

I think I needs to be a dirt path. 

But I must find some wood that will work and drill some holes for her armature.

Red: continues

I decided I like the head as it was, of course I'm imagining it all faced up, so baked I baked it while I had lunch. It's cooled off and I've started to add a bust and shoulder. She won't be a full sculpt but I do want to show some neck and shoulder when I costume so I thought I'd so just the upper that would show under her costume.

I don't know what I'll use for a base yet so haven't set up the rest of her armature yet. She's just standing in a spool holder I have. In case you're new and haven't seen some of my other WIP posts, I use foil over wire armature to bulk up the frame and like to cover it with hockey tape. It's crazy sticky and has a nice tooth to grab the covering clay and I work on the sculpting.
It's a beautiful sunny day so I think I'll go out and enjoy it for a bit before I work any further.

Red: A work in progress

Since the movie released in March I haven't been able to get this idea our of my head. So I've finally started my version of Red Riding Hood. I hope I can capture the image I have in my head. I rarely start out with drawings, they never seem to capture what I have trapped in my thoughts anyways. I look for images of what I'm thinking I might want the expression to be, or the pose, and even the clothes and colours I want to use. I use them for inspiration while I work, they can be illustrations, photos, movie posters, etc.
So here is Red's head. So far. Might live with it for a while before I bake it. I take photos in different positions, by looking at the photos instead of the head, I may see things I haven't seen working so close to it.

I've decided to paint the eyes in, instead of using glass. I want her to be looking behind her and the glass eyes I have a flat back so that's not possible. They're the wrong size anyway. I want to work a bit smaller for this one as it will be a full body pose, full of movement I hope. I'm really hoping I can capture the fear. It's hard to tell until I start painting in the features. Anyway's, here's the progress pics so far.

Davy's Secret Completed

Ah yes, the day has finally come. Davy's Secret is complete.

Davy's Secret: The Hair Episode

Ok, finally got down to getting this post up. I've been working on Davy's hair. I've once again used apoxie sculpt, setting it down in layers. I'll need to clean it up a bit with a knife when it's completely set up. I like the gray, so I'll keep it. Looks more like Sam Elliott now, who I was thinking of when I sculpted the head.
I'll add a wash of black and blue to give it some depth and then maybe a coat of light gray. We'll see.

Making your work stand out is an artists responsibility

It's too true, and so many questions about success are answered by the very simple phrase  "A picture tells a thousand tales". 

I've been struggling with photographing my work since I started selling my work on line. I've bought several cameras, took classes and tried different lighting. Knowing that the picture is the first impression when selling online is key to your success and it's a lesson I'm still struggling with. You can write great copy and promote like crazy but remember your online buyer can't pick up your item or look closer so you need to tell the tale with pictures. GREAT PICTURES! Pictures that make you want to click through and look closer and hopefully be so entranced that they will buy your creation.

So, in an effort to knock down that final hurdle to success, I finally consulted with, lucky for me, a truly wonderful photographer. I think he took pity on me and my dollies and graciously agreed to take pictures of some of them for me. I've shared some of his work in my post yesterday but I want to share them all. Everyone of them is a treat for me! They make me take great pride in my work. They are crisp and clean and amazing. They make me shake my head and say wow! I did that? That's my creation? 

I take photos along the way as I make a doll, it documents my process so I can share them with your but when it comes to the final finished photos? Well, a picture is worth a thousand words. 

Ron's Tips: 

"Using proper camera and lighting for portraiture, in this case for documenting different perspectives and details of dolls, is important in order to market the artist's work and relay their vision. Today anyone can easily take a picture, but very few pictures are photographs worth noting. The artist's responsibility is to make their work stand out from others and good photography does just that. If one takes great pride in their work, then it goes that one should take the necessary strides to market that work to potential buyers with beautiful imagery, and beautiful imagery sells."

The following photos are from Ron Jocsak's websites you really must visit to see the spectacular images! Please respect his copyright and do not remove his watermark or reuse the images in any way.

Portraiture http://www.ronjocsakportraits.com

A portrait is about capturing the character or spirit of individuals, which is why having a portrait taken should feel like the most natural thing to do... the result is often extraordinary! I provide portrait photography for home pages, magazines, brochures, corporate websites, families, and special events. My clients receive the portraits in digital format for print and web, and I can deliver print for archive and/or framing as well.
In Business ... "a great corporate portrait is important... it relays confidence and trust, demonstrates approachability, communicates professionalism and expertise, and contributes to brand recognition that translates into sales".
For Personal and Family ... "creative family and individual portraits capture important milestones in people's lives that may never occur again. New arrivals, special occasions, candid moments and group gatherings offer wonderful opportunities to delight in, and later, to reflect back on these special times".

Interpretative Fine Art and Contemporary Landscape http://www.ronjocsakphoto.com

My photography is characterized by simplicity, and clear, uncluttered images.

Nature, with all it's inherent beauty, has always influenced my life. I have unique perspective and understanding of our planet's geography, geology, and geomorphology, having been a petroleum geologist for nearly 25 years. My geologic passion fostered my passion for photography early on and I continue to hone my skill set and vision as a professional photographer. My interpretative fine art and contemporary landscape imagery has evolved through an appetite to explore and document striking landforms, textures, earth tones and ambient light. It is an expression of my respect and love at the land-water-atmosphere interface.

My art can be captivating, symbolic and unique. Nature constantly provides new material for my creative thinking and inspiration. It is always slowly evolving and changing... in a manner not too different for the change and adaptation required in the human process.