Editing

Well, I decided that I needed to "edit" the doctor. I did not like the painted wrinkles on his cheeks and decided that I needed to sculpt them. More paper clay and paint and wa-la.

Now to decide if his hair needs to be shorter.

A little more blush on his cheeks ( even though realistically he wouldn't have rosy cheeks), a sweater and a clay version of the Nobel Prize medalion around his neck and he will be all done.

Oh, and I have to work on his fingernails.

Today I hosted the Christmas party for my UFDC Doll club. I had the house all decorated and cleaned last night until 1:00 in the morning. I guess that is actually 'today' and not "last night".

I have a few more decorations to put around before our annual Christmas Party and I will be done. At least in the decorating department. I still have 10 dolls to make for a commission I have which I am behind on, three Kings crowns to make before Wednesday for a living drive through Christmas nativity at my church. We have FIVE live scenes complete with huge backdrops, actors, spot lights, narration. I think you can see part of it at the website.

www.cadurham.org

I helped to paint the backdrops and make costumes. But the poor wise men head coverings needed help this year. I'm thinking of using the bottom half of a gourd as a base for a couple.

Oh.. and then there are the Christmas gifts to make. And I have one more Christmas craft show to do this weekend. OK... I'm going to veg out on the sofa and watch tv until I fall asleep.

Nobel Prizes

Today I am trying to finish up a doll I was commisioned to make for a man who won the Nobel Prize.

He is almost done. His head is soft sculpted and then I sculpted his eyes, eyelids and wrinkles with paper clay. His body and head is made of the knit fabric we use to make the cabbies with. I have tons from when I used to make those.

I used the armature and clothes that came with the original doll which was given to the Doctor 20 years ago. The fabric had deteriorated. I need to get my husband to push the arm joints in a little better before I add the second arm. Then he needs his sweater altered.

At first I thought I would try and make him look as much like the real man as possible but then, realizing that he really liked the original which was very whimsical I decided to compromise and go with a more whimsical/realistic look. I don't have a picture of the original doll. oh well.

I try to make all my gourds have an area where the real gourd shows through. Otherwise, what makes it look any different than a plastic piece? I am working on a larg Santa that I think is coming along really nicely. Here are two pics of him so far.

I am going to leave his coat as the original gourd part. I haven't decided about his hat. And I am hoping to do a little kitten and puppy in the back.

I just finished doing two shows in Raleigh, NC. One was the Carolina Christmas Show at the convention Center and the other was the Christmas Carousel at the fairgrounds in Raleigh.

I played hammered dulcimer and sold my gourd art at both.

I have one more show to do in Durham before Christmas. The gourds that do not get sold will be Christmas gifts.

Here are a few of the gourds I made for ornaments. They are larger than you would think most ornaments are but they look great on a tree. They are around 7" tall.

WOO HOO!
I can't believe it! I entered four things in the NC state fair and I won four 1st place ribbons!
I had to look on line because I have not been able to go. I found everything but one of the categories I entered. But a friend went and saw that one and told me I had a first place.
She and I will go tomorrow.
I thought the gourd lady might get a ribbon and maybe the card. But yipee!!! everything won.
Maybe I should not ever enter again as what can top that?
I will take my camera tomorrow and get pictures of some of the great stuff there. I saw some categories that I didn't know about while I was searching for the winners. There is a painted fabric category that I wish I had known about. I will be sure to check out the entries for that category this year.

I decided to lightly stain my gourd mother and child. I would have rather put crackles in them but did not have time before having to take them to the fair. I always seem to be doing things at the last minute.

I lightly antiqued her face, clothes, body and hands as well as the baby's shell casing. It is all more subdued. And I made a simple base from paper clay.

The State Fair

The State Fair will soon be here. I have always wanted to put something in the competition at the fair. This year I have sent in my registration for 4 items. A rubber stamped 'special folds' card, a gourd ornament, a sculpted doll and a miscellaneus gourd item.

My misc. gourd item has turned out to be a fantasy creation.

I have to take all the items to the fair grounds by Saturday and I have worked two days on this one piece - well... and the card as well.

The card was made using a method that I designed after seeing one similar in a store. When you take it out of the envelop it is flat. You have to open the watering can and all the flowers become three dimensional. I made an envie to match.

The gourd ornie was one I made which is similar to others I have made over the years. I really enjoy making these and have made a few Santas, some Dolly Dingles, Snowmen, and this cat.

The doll I am sending is one I made at a workshop at John C Campbell Folk School under the direction of Akira Blount. It has a paper clay head over sculpted cloth. The body is cloth. The baby is all soft sculpted. Since someone has already bought this set of dolls I am considering sending something else as I am afraid something might happen to them.

Last, the fantasy gourd creation is made from one gourd. I added arms with a wire armature and paper clay leaves on her head. Her baby is made from a little gourd. The body of both the baby and the mother are crackled but it is hard to see that in the picture. I may have to antique both just a little.