Doll Creations

                                                                    Birds of a Feather Cotton fabric body, wool stuffing. Trapunto technique in the face to lift the nose. Features created with acrylic paint, pigma pen, Prisma color pencils. Lips, eyebrows, lids, flair of nostrils and fingernails hand stitched with Gutterman’s and Sulky thread. Highlight and shadow create depth. Skirt is a circular cut work backed with the texture of a natural cheesecloth. Wool felt black birds, and small flower buds and leaves weave in and out of the circles. Each of the black birds in the skirt  have something different in its beak. The characteristics of magpies, ravens and crows are that they make the best from what they find.

Here is a side view of A Bee in Her Bonnet. The skirt has a field of wool felt flowers and blossoms encircling the body. Tall hat is inspired from the ceremonial beaded hats of the Yoruba people of Nigeria. 

Several years ago my sister TK won a Halloween contest when she put together a very clever "Queen Bee" costume. And for other reasons my sister has been collecting Bee items. It also sparked my imagination on the numerous Bee titles that are all potential dolls.  Cotton fabric body, wool stuffing. Trapunto technique in the face to lift the nose. Features created with acrylic paint, pigma pen, Prisma color pencils. Lips, eyebrows, lids, flair of nostrils and fingernails hand stitched with Gutterman’s and Sulky thread. Highlight and shadow create depth. Hair is two colors of fine mohair yarn, sewn and twisted and into a sculptural forms. Skirt is a circular cut work backed with the texture of a natural cheesecloth. Velvet bees and blossoms encircle the skirt. The tall cone shaped hat has a checkerboard border, white flowers, honeycomb and bee hive.

I have a fondness for mice using sewing items. The scene from Walt Disney's Cinderella is lodged in my head. It was my first sewing lesson. Watching the mice run the threaded needle in and out of the fabric to create volume in the skirt was a revelation. So putting mice and needles and thread together makes me smile.

A Stitch in Time is a seated fabric figure that shows the upper torso that has incorporated the fabric "bathing suit" torso into the costuming.  Cotton fabric body, wool stuffing. Trapunto technique in the face to lift the nose. Features created with acrylic paint, pigma pen, Prisma color pencils. Lips, eyebrows, lids, flair of nostrils and fingernails hand stitched with Gutterman’s and Sulky thread. Highlight and shadow create depth. Skirt is a circular cutwork backed with the texture of a natural cheesecloth. Wool felt mice on spools of thread, sewing items and clock gears weave in and out of the circles.

The under structure of all of my dolls has a "bathing suit" style body with a sweetheart neckline. The fabric cups that are stitched down over the stretched neckline area give me the freedom to use the upper area of the torso as part of my costuming choice, or to place a dress over the body.

Second layer of the tab and neckline stretched and pinned. Careful pinning, checking and re- checking to making sure the shoulders and neckline is smooth before sewing down.

Separate cloth doll body parts before they are assembled. After the torso is stuffed with the wool stuffing, and the darting goes into the spine to create a nice "bum", a second layer of the tab and shoulder area is stretched over and stitched down. It gives a smooth appearance to the neckline area. 

                                       Close up view of Between the Idea and the Reality. Cotton fabric body, wool stuffing. Trapunto technique in the face to lift the nose. Features created with acrylic paint, pigma pen, Prisma color pencils. Lips, eyebrows, lids, flair of nostrils and fingernails hand stitched with Gutterman’s and Sulky thread. Wired fingers. Highlight and shadow create depth. Skirt is a circular cut work backed with the texture of a natural cheesecloth. Wool felt blossoms and leaves created with floral wire, frame the face. Hair is two colors of fine mohair yarn, sewn and twisted and into a sculptural forms.

Between the Idea and the Reality is a line from the T.S. Elliot poem The Hollow Men. The end of the poem has an observation that every artist, writer or in fact any one of us has experienced. Between the idea and reality Between the motion and the act falls the shadow. The artist or writer always strives to get what is in their head to come out the way they envision it. How many of us have had the experience of......Gee I thought that would come out differently...or That came out better in my head than it came out of my mouth. It happens to us all. 

My sister has a black and white tuxedo kitty named Molly. Whenever I go to Lawrence KS for a visit she is right there playing with any thread I am using to sew my little wool felt things. I also look after a tuxedo kitty named Chuckles. I had a calico kitty and so did another of my sisters. The black cat in the back belongs to yet another sister. Afterall......."all art is autobiographical" as Ted Orland and David Bayles state in their book....Art&Fear.

This standing cloth doll is surrounded by a variety of kitties. Black and white cat is playing with the dangling bead. Tabby is looking at a mouse below. Calico is playing with a ball of yarn.  One of the kitties is chasing a mouse. There is a mouse in the doll's pocket. Of course three of the mice are hiding in the hat, away from the gaze of the cats.

                                                         Artistic Figures in Cloth and Clay Dates - April 25 - 28 Location - Columbus OH www.cyndysdolls.com Here is the doll I will be teaching at AFICC. This pretty cloth doll is a 2 day class. Drawing and painting a face with depth, costuming and using wool felt for flowers and accessories is a part of this class. Come join the fun in Columbus!

Artistic Figures in Cloth and Clay Dates - April 25 - 28 Location - Columbus OH www.cyndysdolls.com I will be teaching a class at AFICC called....Pull up a Fish and Sit Down. Check out Cyndy Seiving's website for information on this really fun conference!

Quinlan Doll and Teddy Bear Show Dates - May 2 - 4 Location - Philadelphia PA -  Clarion Hotel and Convention Center near the airport. This a wonderful event that includes a wide variety of classes and programs. Visit www.quinlanshow.com for the extensive information to attend this event.

There are 6 shows on my calendar for 2019 where I will have Dolls available to purchase. Here is what is on my calendar. Dolls by the Seaside This event is put on by the Independent Spirits Doll Club. Awesome location on the Monterey Peninsula. I am really looking forward to heading to one of my all time favorite places in the world. A little side trip into Carmel-ByThe-Sea is a must. Dates - Feb.15 to Feb. 17 Location - Embassy Suites Seaside - 1441 Canyon Del Rey, Seaside CA