Cherish and..............Delphine

The paint on Cherish is barely dry, and I am working on her first sister.  I am determined to make a Queen Anne reproduction doll that could pass as an antique.  I think I have the carving down--but the painting, not so much.  These dolls had various skin tones, from warm white (Cherish) to peach to warm ivory (Delphine).  I think part of the problem is that most of them have red lips--and I do NOT like red!  I don't even have any red paint in my huge paint bin!  So in order to continue, I think I will have to break down and get some red paint. 

Delphine will be about 16" tall, the same as Cherish. I will do one more this size, and then I want to try a bigger one--20" to 28" or so.

No clothes yet, I ordered some silk brocade for gowns, and it hasn't arrived yet--so, carve on!

Backtracking--The Twitter Prisoners of Jodi Arias #jodiarias

Yes, I said before I would not mention her name again--and I did not intend to, but I have one more observation.  Not about HER--but about the people on Twitter.

While the trial was going on, I subscribed to Twitter so I could follow the latest developments.  So she is gone and sent to prison for life, and yes she has appeals (that won't go anywhere.)  So what is going on with Twitter???!!?

It seems that people cannot let go.  They are just as much prisoners as SHE is--they are all prisoners of Jodi Arias.  I looked at Twitter and was amazed by all the losers who WILL NOT LET GO.  It is very sad that the only way these people can feel good about their own lives is by comparing their lives to the life of Jodi Arias.  You see, they can do things she cannot, so that makes them "better" than her, and apparently they like to reiterate this numerous times a day, like a mantra.  Statements like "I can eat this and #jodiarias can't".  "I can go here and #jodiarias can't."  Ad nauseum.

Well to all you people like this, I hope you enjoy spending your time as her prisoner.  I hope you love thinking about a murderer constantly, and that this somehow enriches your pathetic lives.  God forbid I should EVER feel a need to compare MY life to that of a convicted murderer in order to feel good about myself.  I tried to point this out, and one woman actually responded that "free people can do what they want."  Yes they can, ma'm, but YOU are not free.  And the really sad part is, you don't even see it.  You are exactly where #jodiarias wants you to be, thinking about her constantly and talking about her to no end.  You give her mountains of the attention she wants, although she is likely not even aware of it from her cell.  Are YOU aware of things from YOUR cell?? How's the view from there?

Don't bother trying to point any of this out to the Twitter Twits, either--they have a "mob attitude" and will attack you from every angle.  Which is why I deleted my account.  Quite honestly, I have a life to live, and do not want to sit at a computer all day "tweeting" about it instead of living it.  Buh Bye!

Miss Cherish gets arms

Cherish, my very first "real" Queen Anne doll, gets closer to completion.  Today she got her arms.  Tomorrow I will work on her legs and feet.  I gave her some temporary clothes, because it is COLD here today--48 degrees for a high!

Why Do We Save Things for "Good"?

When my Grandma died, many years ago, we were packing up her things and found, tucked away in a drawer, all the pretty nightgowns we had given her over the years.  She LOVED pretty nightgowns, so we gave them to her for Christmas, her birthday, Valentines Day--
and she never wore them.  She thought they were SO special she kept them "for good".  For that elusive "someday" she never lived to see.  

This happened again when my Mother died--I found so many things that we had given her as gifts, and they were kept unused because they were "special".  This made me unbearably sad.

Flash forward to present time--I am doing my spring cleaning, and I see the box stashed away that has our "good" dishes in--you know, the ones I never use.  And in a flash, I have them out of the box and I am making a sink full of hot soapy water, washing the dishes, and putting them--in the cupboard.  NOT back in the box--the box goes into the recycling.  We are using these every day now, because EVERY day is "special", because our lives are good and we are happy and healthy and that is something to celebrate!   So USE your antique dishes--your silver--your pretty things that have been passed down to you or given as gifts.  This is what they were intended for, to be used and loved.
 Of course we have special days in our lives--but the majority of our lives are made up of just "regular" days. So celebrate them all, because every day is a gift--that's why it's called the present.

More Queen Anne dolls!

This is Bess--she will have traditional, cloth upper arms.  She will be tiny, about 6 1/2" in height.

 This is Cherish, who will be 16" tall.  I am working on her limbs right now, and she will have jointed ankles--just because it seemed like it would be fun to do!  Her hair will be very dark brown, human hair.

I am working quite slowly on these dolls, not because they are hard, but because there is just too many other things I have to do right now.  I am very much enjoying making them, and am super happy with how they are turning out.  After all these years, I think I may have found my true carving passion!!

My next one--yes, I am always thinking ahead--will be bigger than Cherish, and more of a lady than a child.  

First Queen Anne Doll Coming to Life!

Once I got going, I found myself quickly consumed by this little girl.  As an artist, it is hard for me to make something that is not proportionately correct.  However, most Queen Anne dolls are WAY out of proportion!  Most have overly large heads, which were balanced by the huge dresses they wore.  Most--but not all--have overly large, fork like hands.  The hands really took some thought--again, because of the proportions. Now that they are carved, however, I can see they are really NOT too big--the human hand, from bottom of the palm to the tip of the middle finger, is just shy of the span of the human face from chin to top of the forehead. 

Anyway, she still needs her legs carved, and this is not her hair--I just wanted to see how she would look when she gets some!  I have darkened her eyebrows a bit.  Tomorrow I will carve her legs and assemble and attach her arms--the top of them will be cloth.

New Obsession

    Anyone who knows me, knows that I have the attention span of a two year old.  I don't think it is that I get bored with things, it's just that I have so many things I want to do, I tend to jump around from one to another.

     Last summer I carved over 20 small dolls.  I already have a waiting list for THIS summer, mostly for Hitty dolls.  I will do them, of course--but something that has been on the back burner has come roaring to the front.

    Queen Anne and English wooden dolls!

   Now, I made some of these years back, before my carving/painting skills were very good.  It has always been my intention to go back to making them when I felt my skill was "good enough" to do them justice.  That time has come!  As I get older, I realize there are just not that many years left to do things like this.  I hit 63 this year, and the changes in my body are noticeable.  I have lost a great deal of strength in my arms and hands, and they ache much of the time.  Now, that may be due to my Fibromyalgia, although it hasn't ever stopped me from (mostly) doing what I want to do.  Anyway, I am spending much time and research in preparation for carving these dolls, mostly in small sizes, but I also want to do a few larger ones. 

    Summer is my carving time because I can work out on the deck, and keep most of the mess where it is easy to clean up.  It has been unseasonably cold here in Minnesota, we still have the furnace on and we even had snow a few days ago (killed off the daffodils that had just bloomed :>(    However, I have lots of "prep work" that I can only do on my band saw--cutting out arms and legs.  I also need my drill press to drill holes, and that too is inside.  So I am using these cold days to get everything together for my Queen Anne Summer!

Beginnings--for a small doll, about 6-7 inches tall, and one a bit bigger--maybe 10-13" tall.  I call them my "trial" dolls, since I am not really sure about jointing and eyes and wigs and painting at this point!