Much ADO

Lately I've been thinking about why I chose as my medium something that sometimes seems so frivolous to me, namely art dolls. With all the talk about economic issues and people in general feeling the need to scale back, I often find myself in a quandry. Shouldn't I be doing something more practical? When I made portraits years back, at least that seemed more, well, necessary. But dolls? I have to ask myself, does anyone really need another one? And yet, my personal fascination with the human figure, and the human face in particular, leads me to think that YES, dolls are pertinent, and in fact, maybe even necessary.




Here's the thing, with painting you are working in 2-D. No matter how expert you are at depicting perspective and depth and everything else that goes into a painting, it is still, well, FLAT. No way around that one, is there? You can't put your hand out and feel the contours. Your mind can, in a fashion, and that is lovely for sure and even what may make a painting so exciting. But, you can't really reach out and touch a painting, now can you? But with dolls, which are 3-dimensional by their very nature, the first thing you really want to do is reach out and touch. Now granted, like most art dolls, my dolls are not meant for children. A lot of flipping, flopping, twisting and poking around is not really advocated. Getting on my high horse, they are sculptures after all; 3-dimensional representations of my idea of human form, even though distorted and comical in a sense. My particular dolls are soft, though, so really, you can get away with a bit of squeezing. That feature alone adds something to the finished work that you just can't get with a flat painting.




So, in the midst of all my philosophizing, I was recently contacted by an art doll team on Etsy. The Art Dolls Only team, ADO for short. I have to say, I am usually not much of a joiner, so joining any kind of group is a big deal for me and I am careful about who I join up with. In their literature they quote Wikipedia's definition of an art doll:

"Art Dolls are made using a wide variety of styles and mediums, some are abstract or tribal, while others are incredibly realistic. Art dolls do not always move. The term Art Doll can refer to human-like dolls. However this is not always the case. Art Dolls can depict animal, mythical creatures or abstract beings. They differ from baby dolls, Barbie dolls and other mass manufactured dolls. Even though the word 'doll' is attached, Art Dolls are not meant for play and not intended for children. The intent of an Art Doll artist is to create a work of art."

Okay, well that sounds pretty good, right? A work of ART. I mean, by that definition, what I do begins to make sense! So I joined. I can't tell you how glad I am I did. You wouldn't believe the artists in that group. I think there are about 100. The talent contained within that number is quite simply, amazing. Here's a little sample (taken from etsy shops) of the variety of human form artists in the group were able to come up with.


Etsy Shops Pictured: DollMakersMuse, nenufarblanco, AnAngelAtMyTable, PeachStreet, bartonoriginals, littlebitwired, lynnery, freakylittlethings, PolkaDotToadstool, dollproject, dellaraedezines, CateA331, mealymonster, ArchetypalTheater, Youngish, NancyWiley

Okay, so you can't see that up close as well as I want you to (click on it, though, for a bigger shot). So what you are going to have to do is go over to etsy http://www.etsy.com
and type in "ado".

That's all you really have to do. Just type ADO in the search bar, and the dolls and items available from these marvelous artists will pop up. I'm seeing 26 pages worth of stuff at the moment there. You can also type in any of the shop names I have listed above to get you started.

While you are at it, go over and check out their blog:
http://www.artdollsonly.blogspot.com

If you are an art doll artist and are interested in joining:
http://www.artdollsonly.com/joinado.htm

You can also join them on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Art-Dolls-Only/67485582644

Filling In

I have been SO bad about posting anything in, what (??) a MONTH?!! Wow, time flies. My family and I spent a week this summer camping in the Adirondacks, got back and kids needed to be taken to the pool, to the park, to the beach, to friends and so on. We had a lovely visit from our nephew for a week, and again to the pool, to the park, to the beach. It seems like it is taking tremendous effort to get back in the swing of things! On the one hand it feels like lazy summer days, and on the other it feels like we have been quite busy. So, since I haven't contacted anyone to feature in awhile, I think I am just going to put up a few photos of portraits I drew up in the last few weeks to fill in.

This is a portrait of a lovely friend in Vermont with her child. I did an "okay" likeness. I'm not entirely satisfied with it, but I like the colors. I think they both look better in person. This is oil pencil and oil pastel done on white silk. I stretched it over a piece of heavy watercolor paper and taped it down so it can be framed. It's 11" x 14".


This portrait, I think, is a slightly better likeness, and I like the colors as well. I had a heck of a time with the guitar (which is a constant prop for this particular individual and therefore completely pertinent) for this, so kind of fudged it a bit. I am not that great with objects. But I think it turned out pretty well.


I like this portrait a lot, because of the colors. I think the children are a pretty good likeness, though I don't think the boy on the left is quite that "cheeky" in the British sense of the word, but I like how it came out anyway. I think the mom looks prettier than this in person, but I really struggled with it for some reason. I like how it came out overall. I think the boy on the right looks about that sweet, so is a good likeness.

Hope you are all busy creating lovely things, or at least enjoying the summer weather. I am finishing up a doll for a competition that I hope to post (though at the moment I am having a love/hate relationship with this particular doll) in a week or 2. Hope to be back on schedule by end of month. Enjoy these sunny days!

Handmade in France

If you spend some time on Etsy you will find that there is an amazing amount of creative talent out there. I'm sure Etsy doesn't even scratch the surface, but even so, I am overwhelmed. I love clothes! Since moving to Vermont, you wouldn't know it to look at me. Frankly, if my hair is brushed and I have something on my feet, that's a well-dressed day. I sometimes bemoan the fact that living out in the country there are so few places to go that require much more than a pair of jeans and some Muck boots. That doesn't mean I have stopped dreaming, or perusing the sites of those more fashion wise than me. You never know when I just may need to give myself an overhaul and visit the city. So, in the back of my mind, I keep talented fashion designers in a spot that I can easily retrieve should the occasion arise.

Because, as they say, the French have good taste, first on my list would have to be a French fashion designer. Meet Emmanuelle Marie, indie French designer, who is savvy, saucy, free-spirited and oh so talented. Not only does she have an enviable knack for clothing design, she is also multi-lingual. Who do you know that can draw up a skirt design while speaking French, English, Russian, German, Polish or Czech? I barely speak one language well!



Marie's designs are showcased under her independent label "Malam." The style is very distinctive. Her designs range from gloves and gauntlets to wedding gowns and everything in between.




She has a wide range of dresses and coats, many of which feature her signature extra-long or flared sleeves and goblin hoods. She has a certain knack for making things fun, flirtatious and feminine all at the same time.



Her designs are very limited edition or often one-of-a-kind because she uses fabrics she finds in very limited quantities and often dyes or embellishes them to make something even more new and unique. If you see something you like but have a different fabric in mind, Marie will even take custom orders. She is willing to work with you to create something original that you are guaranteed to love.




Did I mention, her clothes are shown in castles?! REALLY!



Not only does Marie design her own clothes, she also models most of them. The resulting pictures are simply fabulous! And wouldn't you know, her fiance'(I am picturing a fabulous wedding dress in Marie's near future!), Yann, is a professional photographer:

http://www.yannpendaries.etsy.com


He is responsible for most of the photography, featuring Marie in artful poses, bringing out the artfulness of Marie's style (he also models from time to time, and obviously is quite smashing himself!).




Marie and Yann have also collaborated on some artwork which is featured on Yann's own Etsy site. The pieces they create together feature a combination of Marie's drawings and Yann's photography. The result is limited edition pictures that are very original, fun and fresh, a lot like Marie!



Marie, you've got me thinking about my wardrobe now, that's for sure! Keep on cranking out the good stuff!




I'll leave the rest of you with some more photos of Marie's wonderful fashion style.

Please go over to her Etsy site, her website, and her blog, and check out all she has to offer. It will be well worth your time, I promise.

http://www.malam.etsy.com

http://www.poupees-perdues.com

http://malam-paris.blogspot.com




Thanks, Marie, for offering the world a chance to dress in style!