In honor of my Dad, I do a little thing in my booth. Every once in a while, I give away one of my heart pins or cat pins to a child who shows up in my booth. I used to sell these but have found that giving them away is so much more fun! My Dad was a school teacher and in later years, a Santa Claus (he had a real beard)!
I ask them to “pay it forward”.
This the lovely thank you note I received last week from one of those children. My Dad would have loved that!
For those of you who have seen the show Extreme Make Over (a show where they TOTALLY make over a person…it usually includes plastic surgery and such)….
Yesterday I was getting out the Oddest Goddesses that were left from the show I did plus some new ones, for my Mom who was visiting. She told me she wanted one of my dolls for Mothers Day. My Mom has always gotten her pick of what ever art I have done. Whenever she says she really likes it, I give it to her because she has been one of my biggest supporters (and she is an artist too)!
Well, one of the Goddesses did not look happy. She kept complaining about her looks…her body was misshaped, her arms were too short and her face just didn’t look right. This is unusual because generally the Goddesses are just happy with who they are. My Mom even thought that this particular Goddess was nice. But still the Goddess complained.
So I took pity upon her and decided to see what I could do for her. (I wish I took “before pictures”).
First I tried a little nip and tuck on the body but it didn’t work. So then I opened her up and tried stuffing her a bit more evenly (she was too flat…no breasts …kind of like me when I was young *grin*)
Then I opened her up and totally took out the stuffing and shortened up the body a bit and re stuffed.
While she was open I took out her arms and made them longer (was easy because there still extra fabric).
Now I was committed to doing this make over.
Next I did a bit of plastic surgery on her face. I can carve into the cold porcelain even after it is dried. Then she got new make up (paint). And I gave her some new purple hair extensions and a new hair style
WELL…then she needed new clothing. I started making a new coat for her that just got more and more elaborate. And then of course, she wanted some new jewelry, as well.
I look up and realize that the day had slipped away.
But, I have one happy Oddest Goddess! I think I a going to enter her into an art show that is attached to the Midwest Fiber and Art show that I am doing near Chicago.
She agrees because she just wants to show off her new looks!
Extreme Make Over…Dolly Edition complete. *grin*
I just had the pleasure of doing a custom order for a midwife. And not just any midwife but MY midwife…the one that helped me during the water birth of my youngest child. She asked me if I could do a midwife doll and so this is what I came up with for the piece.
This was so much fun to make. Even the tub and the stethoscope are made from felted recycled sweaters.
And the doll in the tub is different than I normally do because I don’t usually do legs and feet. But that is what was needed so I just did it. A fabulous learning experience!
The Gatherer
Been working on some new styles of doll recently. The Gatherer most aptly describes what my life has been for the last two weeks. I was diagnosed with a strained rotator cuff (in my dominant arm, no less!). So I decided to organize and clean up my studio…instead of sewing. This is the last doll I made before cleaning.
“To gather” has general connotations of bringing together from a spread out and disorganized state. That was my studio…disorganized! But now everything has been gathered and organized. I made several trips to an artist recycling store and donated some of my excess materials. It is a lovely feeling to have my studio clean and ready for a new round of doll making!
Oddest Goddess Knitter.
The creations of artist Barbara Koppang express a connection to the spiritual aspects of life. Her favorite quote is from Leonard Cohen. “There is a crack in everything, that is how the light gets in”. Therefore, she loves making faces that have the “cracks” of everyday life sculpted into each one.
But she also believes that the heart is where the light gets in, so each doll has a felt heart sewn into it. This serves as a reminder that the heart is the source of the light and a person’s true beauty.
Each face and set of hands is sculpted out of cold porcelain,
which is an air dry clay primarily used for miniatures.
Since it is used unconventionally, it takes up to a week to dry. That requires the artist to continue to work on sculpting each little face until it is completely dry.
Each of the faces has semi precious gemstone eyes.
At the end of the process
a patina of paint is applied to the face and hands and each is sealed to protect it.
The bodies of the Oddest Goddess Art Dolls are made with recycled wool.
Each body is hand stitched and needle sculpted.
The artist adds vintage trims, beads, stones and other unique embellishments.
They are stuffed with all the little bits and pieces
of fabric, yarn and thread
that Barbara has left over after making the bodies.
This insures that nothing is wasted!
Each doll is completed by sewing in a cloth tag on the bottom and a paper tag that is signed, numbered and dated by the artist.
Barbara’s dolls are known for their color combinations, details and whimsy!
And each is one of a kind!