Upcoming Doll Classes in NM & NY

Marlaine Verhelst - Taking Care of the Chicken

Received from Ankie Daanen:


***********************************


Hello, Dear Dollfriends.
 
I like to let you know news about upcoming dollclasses.
You might be interrested!!
 
MEET ´THE DUTCH TOUCH´.
Marlaine Verhelst and Ankie Daanen will come to Albuquerque, NM!!!
In a five day class Marlaine will teach hand sculpting into airdrying stone clay, based on human forms and proportions
and painting the piece with watercolor.
Ankie will teach inspiring lessons in clothing and finishing the doll in a personal way.
All students will go home with a finished piece!
 
DATES: Monday October 15th through Friday October 19th, 2012.
PLACE: Sandia Courtyard Hotel & Convention Center, Albuquerque, NM.
Roomrates are $59,- for two persons, incl. breakfast / excl. taxes.
The total fee for the five day class will be $ 875,-, payable in three terms.
Kit fee will be $25,-, payable the first class day.
For more info on this class you can get in touch with Ankie: ankiedaanen@hotmail.com
 
ONE OPENING in the ´DUTCH TOUCH CLASS´ in Rye Brook, NY!!
DATES: October 25 through October 29, 2011.
For more info on this classyou can get in touch with our host Barbi Kantor - Goldenberg: dollart29@aol.com,
or with Ankie: ankiedaanen@hotmail.com
 
TWO DAY CLASS IN WESTCHESTER, NY, MOUNT VERNON:
Ankie will teach a two day class : how to make a ´doll out of the box´.
You will learn how to sculpt a fantasy dollhead and hands from air-drying clay.
How to make a body, how to paint and finish the doll and how to decorate a box-on-wheels and finish the complete project.
 
DATES: November 1st through November 2nd, 2011.
For info on this class you can get in touch with Gwen Jackson: mamagdolls@msn.com
Gwen has extra bedrooms for students.
 
NOTICE: Find out all about classes Marlaine and Ankie teach in August during the NIADA convention in Denver.
www.NIADA.org
 

by Ankie Daanen

*******************************************************
I've been to Albuquerque. The old town is pretty, there are nice Mexican food restaurants especially and there is lots of art to see in the region.


Please contact Ankie directly for more information. These are all wonderful opportunities to work with masters of the doll making arts.

Filigree Fantastic

I never ceased to be amazed and inspired the creativity in the world. I have just found the adorable and whimsical site for The Filigree, a Fairy Tale Newspaper. The site features information about the paper, gorgeous fantasy animals and anthro figures ("filigreetures") made using polymer clays over armatures and repurposed silk fabrics for the skin textures, Art Dolls and the most gorgeous Paper Dolls.

The paper dolls are a big feature of the Etsy store. The whole concept and brand is most intriguing.

Gather at the Old Farmhouse with Junker Jane

Junker Jane's Monster on Etsy

I was explaining my slow progress on my Aesthetic Preferences Profile quiz on my MMM blog. I mention shabby chic/prim as a major style look. Here's the group blog of an Etsy team, Old Farmhouse Gathering, that make many beautiful prim and american folk style things for the home including beautiful dolls.

For anyone interested in running down a sweet rabbit hole the artisans button on that page takes you to a plethora of links to their blogs and shops. There delectable foodstuffs, traditional recipes, shaker furniture makers and of course dolls, like Prims Gone Wild, Angelbug Prims, and Night Owl Studios.

I think Junker Jane may be my current favorite, though. These go beyond the typical prim rag doll, to be prim rag monsters. Her work has an unmistakable look, lots of assymetry, lots of layering. Even though she appropriates elements of the prim aesthetic like aging, distressing and raggedy edges, you never think you are looking at an antique. They feel both aged and contemporary.

The Junker Jane website is also nicely organized. Her photography is exemplary.

Harry Potter all gone

As it happens most (but not all) of these dolls are sold out, but they sure are fun to look at. We have Tonner's Hermione and Ron at the Yule Ball, and they are truly beautiful detailed dolls.

Win a Kokeshi

...courtesy of the Craft and Folk Art Museum store in Los Angeles. In conjunction with the current exhibition at the Japanese American National Museum, you can win a sweet kokeshi by artist, Kathy Yoshihara, by going to this blog post article and commenting before July 19th - so hurry along.

A world of teddies

Here's an online show of artful teddy bears. You can vote for your favorites but only for 3 days, July 15-17! There are some adorables amongst the miniatures and the full size.

Lego art

Ok this is just highly amusing to me. There are tons of ads on the site but scroll down for the famous album covers recreated in legos. Beatles predominate, but there are some others too.

International Art Doll Registry

Here is a community site for doll artists, the International Art Doll Registry. At this site there members can access tutorials, get critiques and help, and participate in challenges - but most of all show their dolls to the world with links to their sales sites. The annual membership is a reasonable $39.00, and there are also annual contests.

The next associated learning opportunity will be a Polymer Clay Sculpting Seminar hosted by Deb Wood. This will be in Minnesota August 17-21, 2011. Details from Deb directly.

Ric Rac Softies

Here's Jodie of Ric Rac's tutorial for making a personalized plushie doll. A quick browse around her blog finds other soft dolls, whimsical stuffed miniatures made by reducing patterns, and a general fondness for clean shapes,  pretty felt colors and a sharp eye for retro influenced design. I like it.

Vote for your Bu

Bu's are little droplet shaped vinyl figures. Joining the trend started by Kid Robot and Munny figures, various artists have transformed these blank canvases into art dolls and other decorative things with paint and mixed media. You can vote for your favorite until June 30th.

Figurative artists' call

The Pacific Art League in Palo Alto, CA has a call out for participants in a juried show "Figures and Faces" in the main gallery. They are looking for all media other than film and video. The deadline for jpeg submissions is July 5th for the exhibition in August. Fees apply which look commensurate with other similar shows, and there are also prizes.  The works must be for sale.

John Frame exhibit

Showing until June 20 at Huntington Library in Pasadena, CA is "Three Fragments of a Lost Tale" - figurative sculptures and carved wooden and mixed media puppet/dolls by artist John Frame. At the website is an 8 minute film of the artist at work including some stop motion segments. The scale of the figures is tiny, so the sculpting is even more remarkable especially jointed fingers. He sews costumes and incorporates metal armatures and acrylic/glass eyes.

Also interesting are segments showing John Frame gathering natural materials and using mud and dirt to color and stain wood for the figures and scenic elements.

Incredibly beautiful and thought provoking.

Big Book Big Mannequins

Writer, doll maker and illustrator Sylvia Ion is offering a couple of downloadable PDF How-to books through her Class Concious Big Books. I'm seeing one that is for a life size paper mannequin and another for a child size display stand. Both are built over existing forms, and I can see how the techniques could apply to all kinds of large scale sculptural work. How intriguing. The PDF's are part of a larger ongoing book project, something of a magnum opus for Sylvia, compiling all her life size doll work.

Kickstarter project

Mauricio Baiocchi is in the process of creating a beautiful independent film using puppets and miniatures. He needs what in the film world is a microscopic amount of money to complete the work.

Kickstarter is a "crowd funding" website. Individuals pledge to contribute any amount they can or want, to all kinds of projects and ideas. Some project organizers offer different rewards for different levels of contribution. Your credit card/paypal account is charged only after the deadline specified.

The catch is that unless the project receives pledges for the entire amount requested by the deadline specified, your card will not be charged. It's an all or nothing deal.

Please visit the site and watch the video trailer. I think you'll be as charmed as I was. He's getting there, and he has 37 days to go.

Chopoli breathtaking

Following the treasury images back to their various sources, I knew that I had to feature the amazing work of German doll artist, Tatjana Raum, selling as Chopoli. She crafts beautiful tiny polymer clay fairy creatures inspired by the colors and milieu of her home in Bavaria. The delicate coloring and fine textures of these brilliantly proportioned figures is second only to the vivid, lively expression in their faces.

But there's more! Her Wooden Spirits which fuse wood, bark and polymer into magical hanging or standing sculptures, are even more extraordinary and beautiful. They form the base of her art prints, but each one is hand sculpted and textured in such a way that you believe that they are portraits of the tree's Dryad, emerging from a fallen bough, perhaps searching forever for their original tree. The extreme realism of the expressions and proportions combines with the whimsy of the coloration from the natural source material. I love how there is one angle where the face is staring right into your eyes, your soul.

Doll Treasury

Abi Monroe, ADO member and fine doll artist, has been so gracious as to include my "Journey" (a different detail above) in her latest treasury. There are some other very interesting dolls there.

Sweety birds

Here is Ann Wood's site where she sells awfully sweet hand made birds. They really are delicate and pretty. On her blog she is showing a whole flock of bride and groom birds.

She also has raggedy fabric collaged owls and lacy spiders from upcycled vintage materials. Very cool.

Kate Middleton Doll Contest

Dolls Magazine is running a contest to win the Franklin Mint Kate bride (mentioned previously). Go Here. It's a pretty thing.

Amazing origami

This is just incredible origami. Brian Chan folds insects, critters, objects and figures, including the Iron Man featured on Craft. Seriously - this is genuinely stunning. Had to show two pics - can you believe it? Each uses a single piece of uncut paper.

Toodlesocks

Sue Anne at Toodlesocks Studio fills her polymer clay babies and fairies blog with useful sculpting tips and tricks. Her wee babies are utterly adorable, so the tips certainly work! Perhaps her most unusual OOAK's are her apes. Orangutan babies - really an overdose of cuteness.