GONE TO A NEW HOME!!!

"Tanzy" is my latest creation, and I must admit, my favorite doll that I have created so far! It still is amazing to me as a doll artisan how the dolls "speak" to me as their personalities start to emerge during their creation. That may sound silly to non-doll lovers/makers, but it is very real. They actually demand what type of outfit they want, the color, etc. I once sculpted a doll very much meant to be a little girl and it just didn't seem right; then I realized it was meant to be a boy! Tanzy is about 26" tall, and is a cloth body with paper clay sculpted facial features. She has been oil painted, dressed in a 19th c. dress and has antique children's boots. I put her on Etsy tonight! Please visit my Etsy site for other dolls for sale: www.dollartisan.etsy.com.

Well, the big craft show was this weekend, and I am still recouperating! It was stressful but I think it was a good experience. Sadly, I didn't sell as much as I would have liked, but made a lot of good contacts. Everyone loved the display and dolls, but I guess in the current economy, there's not a lot of excess money around for fairly expensive dolls. I sold smaller doll ornaments and doll outfits more than dolls. But, many people came through and saw my work; that is the type of exposure you can't pay for! I just listed four of my dolls on Etsy tonight; my shop is dollartisan.etsy.com. Here's some pics of the display booth.

more pictures of Collina

Office and parlour

I have had a lot of requests for more pictures of my house, so I have added some for you all to see. "Collina" was built inMississippi in 1835 by a Judge for his bride. It originally was a small plantation with about 150 acres. We now have 9 acres and every form of wildlife you can imagine! Deer come right up to our house where we feed them; we have every type of bird, fox, wild turkeys, you name it! Even those pesky armadillos that root up our yard. My husband and I restored Collina over a 3 year period. I used to run a B&B, but now my dolls consume all my time! Hope you enjoy the pics!

Here is another doll completed for the show; she is "Bella" and is 27" tall cloth with clay face. She is dressed in an 1840's style dress with an antique lace collar.
                   Gone to a new home!!!
         

New dolls

"Topsy Turvy" doll

Gone to a new home!!

Miss Mandy in her 1850's dress, cape and bonnet

Miss Mandy

Here are some of the newer dolls I have made for the show

Doll displays

Hi everyone! It has been a long time since I've posted anything, but I have been very busy preparing for my huge craft show sponsored by the Mississippi Craftsmen's Guild in Jackson, MS the first weekend in December. I am posting pictures of the booth display. My husband has been so wonderful in creating the fabulous room settings that set the dolls of to perfection. As you can see, we have done a "practice" run by setting up the rooms in the huge entry foyer of our house. They are not totally complete (I will be making drapes for the windows, decorating the Christmas tree, taking a canopy behind the bed, etc., and Doug needs to add shutters to the porch scene. He copied the windows and doors to look like those in our antebellum home, and the porch scene is a replica of our rear "verandah". Each room scene is 8' long, 3' wide and about 3 1/2' tall. I have been planning this whole thing for almost a year, and I really think it was worth the effort! My booth at the show will be 10' by 20'. Wish me luck and I will post pictures later of the actual booth at the show. Hope you like the pictures of some of the new dolls. I hope all of you have a great Thanksgiving!!

It has been so long since I last posted anything! It has been a roller coaster last few months. My husband, who had been diagnosed with blood clots in both lungs in April was doing very well, and then towards the end of May he started coughing again and was short of breath. They did an Xray to find that 80% of his left lung was surrounded by fluid. So back into the hospital he went for another 5 days while they put a tube in to drain out the fluid. That went very well, and he has had two subsequent Xrays and all is clear! We missed a family reunion over Memorial Day in Florida as he was in the hospital, so we are going next week for a few days to my brother-in-law's beach house. We will be able to see at least one member of the family! Needless to say, I wasn't doing much doll making for a while, but now am going full blast again!! Talk about full blast; the temps here in Mississippi have been in the 90's since April. I love the heat, but it has become even too much for me! Anyhow, I've added a few new pics of my newest creations. I'm trying to get as many done as possible to prepare for the big show and sale in December in Jackson hosted by The Mississippi Craftsmen's Guild, of which I am an exhibiting artist. Doug is helping me create what I hope will be a really spectacular booth display. I'll take some pictures of it and post here. Hope everyone is having a great summer.

The past week has reall been a life-changer for me. My husband started complaining of shortness of breath, and then some lower back pain. I wanted him to go to the ER, but you know how most men are; they say they're "OK". The back pain intensified until he couldn't take a deep breath. Off to to ER we went and none too soon. He was diagnosed with blood clots in both lungs. The left lung had a clot blocking the pulmonary artery and actually caused about 10% of the lung tissue to die from lack of oxygen. The doctor told him if he had waited another day or two, it might have been too late. Needless to say, he is a VERY luck man. He also has pleurisy as a result, which is inflammation of the tissue layer surrounding the lungs. He just got out of the hospital yesterday, after 1 week. He will be on blood thinners for 6 months at least, and will have to be monitored frequently, but he will be fine. If I can stress anything to all of you: If you feel anything out of the ordinary, have it checked out!!! Even if it seems like "nothing". Now that things are sort of back to normal, I'll try to get out to the studio and work on the dolls again. Obviously, the "creative juices" dried up when all this was going on. I'm getting ready to start on more Civil war dolls; a little boy brother for Miss Isabella and also some little Black children. Will post photos!!

Glorious spring weather!

Now this is perfect weather!! We have had above-normal temps here the last week (in the 80's) and that suits me just fine. I've added a few pictures of our beautiful azaleas that are blooming now, as well as one of our five resident cats that now call Collina home. I've been keeping very busy making more of my Civil War era dolls. I just finished "Miss Lucinda". She is a clay over cloth, oil painted doll made to look like an old china doll. Her dress is made from reproduction fabric from the 1860's with antique lace trim. She will have several more outfits for her trousseau, including a velvet cape and hat, and a silk evening gown. I also made a little straw bonnet for Miss Isabelle with blue ribbon trim. She seems to like this addition, although she still appears a bit sad....

Miss Isabelle is one of the Civil War dolls I am currently making to commemorate the sesquicentennial of the war. She is a 21"cloth doll whose head is covered with paper clay and sculpted. She has been oil-painted as the old dolls were. She is an Izannah Walker-type doll, but instead of painting her hair, I decided to make a wig out of wool roving. I just think it suits her better! Her dress is an 1860's style, and her little buttoned boots are painted on. I am making a straw bonnet for her right now to complete her ensemble. I think I will make a little brother doll for her next. I feel there is just not enough hours in the day to make my dolls! For every doll I start on, I have at least 5 or 6 ideas brewing for what's next. I started making porcelain dolls about 15 years ago, especially reproductions of French antiques, which I still dearly love. However, I really wanted to try new creative methods and have really enjoyed doing the cloth dolls with sculpted clay faces. I never sculpted in my life, and have been really intrigued by creating my own faces instead of using a mold that somebody else did.

Finally a warm day!

Even though this is southern Mississippi, it has been a cold winter! Today was beautiful, about 64 degrees and I decided not to work in the doll studio today, but to enjoy the outside! As I am not a football fan, I went to nearby Vicksburg with my sister-in-law from Florida. We walked around some of the beautiful neighborhoods with antebellum homes. In addition to being a doll maker, I have always been an interior designer at heart. My husband and I have restored 3 old homes, Collina being our "masterpiece". It took me a year and a half, but I sewed all the draperies in our home, making them as "period appropriate" as possible. There are 14' ceilings in our house, so that means lots of fabric! It has been a labor of love for both of us; my husband is extremely talented with finishing woodwork, floors, etc. He also renovated an old building behind Collina for my doll studio. I just feel so fortunate to be able to do something everyday that I love so much! I was thrilled last August to be accepted into the prestigious Mississippi Craftsmen's Guild, so I am preparing in advance for their huge show in December in Jackson, Mississippi which attracts people from all over the US. Doug is going to help me design displays for my booth, and I think I have him talked into starting to make hand-crafted doll furniture for me to use as great displays for the dolls!

Please visit my Etsy shop at www.dollartisan.etsy.com to see some of my dolls for sale!

February 1, 2011 Hello! I am new to this "blog thing" so please bear with me! I would love to share with you my love of creating historically inspired dolls. After being in the scientific field for years, I am now able to devote my time to creating things I love. My husband and I bought a beautiful antebellum home in Mississippi called "Collina" in 2005, and he restored an old building on the property for my doll studio. Needless to say, I am out there constantly working on my latest project. There just aren't enough hours in the day to complete all the ideas in my head!
My favorite period in time is the Civil War era, so I am working on a collection of dolls right now that represent that period in time. The planning of the doll is as much fun as actually making it; I research historically accurate patterns for the costumes, and search for just the right fabrics and antique lace, etc. to make her come alive. I'll be posting more photos soon!