Yes, I'm still alive!!

I can't believe it has been so long since I've posted anything!  I used to bemoan the fact that my dolls weren't selling, and now I can't keep up!  What do they say, be careful what you wish for because it might come true??  I cannot complain one bit;  making the dolls is just as fascinating and fulfilling today as it was the first time I made one years ago.  I have loved making special dolls for ladies who will treasure them for their lifetimes and then pass them on to the next generation. 
    I'm sorry I don't have any pictures to share with you today of my new dolls.  Our digital camera is giving us fits again; the little card doesn't want to download the pics onto the computer for some reason.  Hopefully we'll get the problem fixed soon.  I have quite a few dolls finished or in the process and I'd love to share some of them with you.  I have devoted my time entirely to my hand-sculpted original dolls and am not doing the porcelains anymore.  The sculpted ones are so challenging and I just love the way they "come to life" and gain their own personalities.  I have done some great Izannah Walker reproductions, and also I am very proud of a beautiful Greiner paper mache repro who is waiting for a special outfit.  The wonderful tintype photo I have posted above is a hint of things to come!!   
   My husband Doug has been hard at work as well making great doll furniture and wonderful props to be used in our next big show in Washington DC next month.  I am tearing my hair out practically, worrying that I won't get everything done in time, but I always do.  Poor Doug will have to eat a few PB and J sandwiches on his own while I am out in the studio working away!  He is a good sport about it, luckily, and getting him in on the act so to speak has helped a lot as well!  He is a very talented woodworker, and even though he grumbles sometimes about making the furniture, I know he really gets a kick out of it and takes pride in his work.  Anyhow,  look for some pictures very soon!  Thanks for your interest in following my work.  

More Christmas decor

As promised, here are some more pictures of my house decorating efforts! 

Christmas decor

 

DINING ROOM

                                                       LIBRARY

                                                          OFFICE

 

BEDROOMS

 

HALLWAY

 

 

I can't believe it's almost Christmas already! Seems like it was just July.  I've been working for about a week decorating our house for the upcoming Christmas tour of homes here in my tiny city of Port Gibson, MS.  It is a lot of work, but I throughly enjoy doing it!  The morning temperatures here get you in the spirit of Christmas (low 30's) but by afternoon it will be 70 here.  I was born and raised in Northern Ohio and remember lots of snow, so it is still a bit hard to get used to Christmas when it is fairly warm. It was even worse when we lived in Miami!  Anyhow, here are some pics of the house decorations. I have one more area to complete, the kitchen/family room, and will post those when finished, hopefully today!  One "glitch" i did not really anticipate; my cat Bella is going crazy with the Christmas tree ornaments and loves eating the red berries on the artificial tree and arrangements!  I did buy the shatter proof ornaments, thank goodness!   Anyhow,  I am itching to get back out into my doll studio!!  I have a French fashion doll outfit to complete for one of my customers from New Orleans, and then I will be starting new dolls. Can't wait!  Anyhow, I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday season.

Delilah and Flora

Hi everyone!  I'm sorry I haven't posted anything lately, but I've been busy filling the last orders from the show I did in July!  And now with the holidays coming quickly, I am having to stop the doll making a while to start decorating the house. As I have said before, our house was built in 1835, and we occasionally have tours coming through or special events. This December 8th and 9th, we will participate in a Christmas tour of homes so I have to really get busy.  I am just finishing up new window treatments in my breakfast room, and then on to getting the Christmas trees up!  We don't decorate as much as we used to when we had the bed and breakfast, but it will still be pretty.  I'll try to post some photos of the decor when finished. 
   Here are two of my latest dolls. As you have probably noticed, I love everything to do with the Civil War era and most of my dolls reflect that. 

DELILAH

 

I love this civil war reproduction fabric for Delilah's dress that I found on line.  The design of the dress is very typical for young girls of the era, and for many years to come.  I made her little side-buttoned boots of soft leather.

I found this wonderful little quilt in an antique shop, which blends beautifully with her dress.  Delilah is going to a new home in New Jersey very soon!

 

 



 

FLORA

 

Miss Flora is dressed in a homespun plaid dress and also has hand made leather boots. As all of my dolls , her head is paperclay over cloth and is oil-painted and antiqued.  I saw an old tintype of a little girl of this era which inspired me to create Flora.  I imagined her sadly thinking of her father or brother who was far away fighting, and hoping for his safe return to his family. 

A dear friend of mine suggested something to me the other day that I thought would be a great idea.  After the holidays, when I start on more dolls, I am going to post a series of photos and descriptions of the doll making process from start to finish.  I think some of you might enjoy seeing how the doll progresses from the idea to the finished piece.
  In the meantime, I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!  Even though my husband Doug has to in for a little knee repair surgery in the next couple of weeks, we are hoping to drive down to Miami for a few days to visit his two daughters before Christmas.
Doug and I both had careers there; he is a retired Homicide detective from the Miami Dade police department, and I was a forensic scientist doing DNA analysis for 16 years. It was a good career, but I am so much happier now, creating beautiful things instead of seeing the very worst you can imagine.   Will talk to you all soon in 2013!!!

 

 

Nell and Emmeline

We are just drying out finally after Tropical Storm Isaac paid us a little visit last Wednesday night and Thursday!  We had about 8" of rain and tropical storm force winds, but luckily, we only had a bunch of limbs down, nothing worse.  We live in an antebellum home built in 1835, and there are many very old huge trees up here on our property. Of course I was so worried that some of them would come down.  After having lived through Hurricane Andrew in Homestead, Florida in 1992, I must admit I am still terrified of the wind.  We were in the house when that hit, and I can tell you, it was the most terrifying experience of my life. My husband was a detective on the MiamiDade Police Department, and of course they have to report for duty in emergencies like that. Luckily, he pulled the first 12 hour shift, so he was  coming home about 1AM just as the storm was starting to intensify. We huddled in an inner stairwell with our two Rottweilers, a poodle and a cat and those were the longest hours of my life. Our home was left standing, but with a lot of damage.  Anyhow, my heart goes out to those in Louisiana who faced such terrible flooding and loss of their homes. At least the levy in New Orleans held this time. 
    On a lighter note, here are my two latest creations. They have both gone to wonderful new homes in Williamsburg, Virginia.  Izannah Walker type dolls are some of my favorites to make.  These two little pretties have paperclay sculpted heads, and are oil-painted and antiqued. Their dresses are made in the popular off the shoulder style of the 1850's-60's.  I made each of them a little cloth kitty as a companion for their journey. 

   I hope everyone is having a great Labor Day weekend.  Hard to believe summer is nearly over.  Where does the time go??? 

New Orleans NDF

I'm back home recuperating from a wonderful experience at the National Doll Festival in New Orleans!  I want to thank all the ladies who bought my dolls and offered me wonderful comments and well-wishes on my doll making.  It is always so hard for an artist to put their work "out there". We are our own worst critics.  To receive such wonderful feedback and encouragement  makes all the hard work so worthwhile!!  Here are a few pictures of my display.  I look forward to seeing all of you next year!!

I met a wonderful doll artist whose work I have always admired, Robin Thompson of  Robin's Miniature Furniture and Dolls.  Her hand carved Queen Anne style dolls are truly awe-inspiring; the detail is just amazing. 

The experience has left me "fired up and ready to go"  with all sorts of  ideas for new dolls!!

"Mlle Josette"

"Gone to a new home!!"

Hello everyone!  I hope you are all enjoying the warm weather.  I just got back from a family reunion in Florida, so have to get extra busy now to prepare for the National Doll Festival in New Orleans next month.  Mademoiselle Josette is my latest creation.  She represents a "free woman of color" in New Orleans from the 1830's.  The free people of color, or "les gens de couleur libre"  were a very refined and educated society in New Orleans and the young ladies of this group were reknowned for their beauty and charm.  Most of them had one white parent and white grandparents, so they were known as quadroons or octoroons. They were strictly raised and educated in Catholic schools.  Some of them formed relationships with wealthy white planters.  As Louisiana law forbid marriages between whites and the free blacks, these women were basically mistresses. They were provided with homes, and any children born of the relationship were provided for and sometimes took the man's name.  This unique arrangement was called "placage" and was very common in New Orleans up until the 1850's.  Ann Rice's novel, "The Feast of All Saints" is a wonderful book telling the tale of a family of free Blacks in New Orleans in the 1800's.

    Josette is made of cloth and her face is sculpted of paper clay and then oil painted.  Her hands have individually wired fingers, and are also oil painted.  Her hairdo has been fashioned of wool roving.

Josette's beautiful two piece dress is made of bridal white silk dupionni with arrow-shaped trim of lavendar and white, with pearl gimp.  Her collar is a piece of antique lace, and the front of the dress is trimmed with small lavendar silk bows.  Her beautiful underthings are fine white cotton and cotton laces, and embroidered in a delicate pink design.  Josette's shoes are handmade of soft cream-colored leather with lavendar silk ties.   She stands about 23" tall. 

      

    Most of the dolls on this blog site are for sale!!  If you are interested in purchasing any of them, please Email me at dollmaker@bellsouth.net.