Miss Mabel Studio

Linda March 11th, 2007

                         

     Bat doll (2009) no name (as yet)          

        

She is approx.  18 inches tall.  Her head is sculpted over  a plastic Halloween skull, the same method that I used for the Satyr doll.  Her wings are vintage velvet and picot stitched around with pearl colored beads.  The wings are fully poseable, they have a wire armiture in them and are anchored at her shoulders.  The dress is made out of an old linen pillow case.  I wanted her to look ripped, old,  and used.

          

I tea dyed cheese cloth and wrapped it around her head , hands and feet.

     

A close up of her cross.  The bodice is a vintage doilie that.

Yes, her “bat” ear is pierced and the cross hangs down from the chain.

How she is displayed.  I found an old curtain piece and sewed it between her shoulder blades so she can look as though she is flying.

 

 

Satyr (2008) “Never Offend Your Host”

“He somehow offended Dionysus.  There was a dispute over who made the best wine.  Well, personally I would not argue with a god but this fellow did and you can see what happened.  Dionysus decreed that his eyes would be plucked out by ravens to feed their chicks.  He has been reduced to begging and playing his pipe for his supper.  Some other forest people took pity on him and made him a robe to keep warm in and to cover up his “judgement” when he feels the need.  He sits along woodland paths listening for foot steps of kind hearted souls that will give him a few “pennies” for his bread.  If you run in to Dionysus, remember this poor fellow and ask if the god would relent and restore his sight, he has learned his lesson.” 

                                

                                          

     I am not entirely pleased with these pictures..so for now until be buy a better camera (which I hope will be soon) these are the ones.   I took them in my garden arbor.  He is approx 18 in. tall if he is standing up.  His head, hands and hooves are made out of Dawrii paper clay.  He has a full wire armature so he can be posed.  The horns are bone earrings that I bought thinking I could wear them but they turned out to be too big so he has them as horns instead.  What I find exciting about him is that I sculpted him on a plastic Halloween skull.  It worked out the facial proportions perfectly and I think he is my best sculpt to date. 

 

Dear Princess, Princess Deer (2008)

         Well here she is all done.  I posted on my blog page this doll with just the head sculpt.  She is approx 19 inches tall to the top of her head, and with antlers included she is approx. 21 1/2 inches.  The face  and feet are paper clay sculpt.  The eyes were made by me and started out green until I was inspired to give her horns, and hey, who ever heard of a green eyed deer?  So I took the risk and repainted them–whew…it turned out fine.  The body is “Dutch Touch” style.  And I am thinking I like this style alot better than the other body type I was using.  She can stand on her own but is in a doll stand for stability.   I was going to use velevet for the skirt and it turned out to be too much of a pain.  I adore velvet but can’t seem to figure out how to sew it…I pinned, basted, everything I could think of, but it still slipped around.  If there is anybody who is interested in trading some raw silks or hand dyed fabrics for vintage silk velvet give me a hollar and we can work out a trade…     

          The dress is done from Ankie’s Dutch Touch patterns.  She has leggings, and puffy pantaloons under her split skirt.  The trims are gold metal and very heavy.  I have been reading alot of fairy tale fiction (The Book of the Lost Things) and see her as a princess that has been enchanted, hence the name.  Dh laughed at it but I thought it fit her well.   I am working on improving my pictures here (even sent for a book on it) but am still frustrated by it.  

Chicken Jane (2008)

   On my blog I posted pictures of Jane, just her head.  This is her sans clothes….yes, she has a big round pregnant belly.  I drew on it an egg and then journaled about motherhood.  It will be covered up, but I know it is there.  Below are her finished pictures. 

    The close up of her shows off her face.  I made the eyes–something I probably will not try again but they worked this time.  I think I have gotten better at faces and can see a progression from my ealier dolls. Her hat was supposed to look medieval but instead she looks russian to me.  She stand about 21 inches tall with her hat.  The pink fabric is raw silk from Holland and while it is lovely, it frays very badly.  Her head is scultped out paper clay.  Her body is an adaptation of Patty Culea’s design.  It uses wooden beads for joints.  The clothes were ones I worked up with paper towels/drapping using a coloring book for inspiration and design style.  I was stymed on what to use for hair and then realized that she did not need any?!  She is all my own design.

      The lining of the drapping on the back of the cut away cover, is lined with wing fabric.  There are very tiny vintage shell buttons on the cuffs and waist.  Vintage velvet ribbon is tied around her throat.  I normaly don’t go for a ”soft look”  in a doll but find the contridictions with the “pretty” clothes and colors versus the chicken face a good contrast. 

 

 

 

  ”God’s Own Fool or the Real Me“  (2007) I had orginaly started this head    last year and found that it was hard trying to make the eyes uneven–I found that they keep “floating” back up together–I guess our minds want symmetry.  (so yes, one ear is lower than the other)  Scott asked why he looked like a stroke victim–grrrrrrrrrr.  I wanted a twisted face–think hunchback bell swinger here.  I am drawn to tragic mishapen figures (emotionaly and physicaly)—guess that is why I like the movies “Freaks”, by Todd Browning.  Anyway, after a fallow period of creating, one night I got this “vision” on the edge of sleep of what he should look like.  The collar and crown are pages from an old book and you can’t see it in this picture, but he has a hump on his back and one shoulder is lower than the other.  I found that after I put this character together, that I really like him alot–so does Scott.  

 

 The body is an adapted pattern of Patty Culea’s.  I made it not so curvy, thickened the wrists and ankles.  He is approx 18 inches tall and all fabrics are cotton with the exception of the shoes which are felt that has been stiffened.  The head is sculpted paper clay over an aluminum foil ball.  I made the eyes out of white glass marbles.  Some day I will be able to afford nice glass ones but for now I make do.  The hair is from a vintage coat (I have alot of stuff like this, I used to have a vintage clothing store) and the body fabric is some real cool Alexander Henry, day of the dead print.

 

Art Doll Adventures

 In late summer of 2006 I was contacted by Lisa Li Hertzi.  She asked <iframe src=”http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=wwwmissmabels-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=1592532675&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr” style=”width:120px;height:240px;” scrolling=”no” marginwidth=”0″ marginheight=”0″ frameborder=”0″></iframe>me if I would be in her book…..WOULD I!!!!!!!!!  She sent the contributing artists her patterns and we were to interpret them.  I was sent 2 patterns for consideration and because I could not decide which one I wanted to do, I did both.  The book came out on June 1st 2007 and both dolls, my accompaning journal and ATC’s were all in the book.

 

   “Peace Child“  2006 approx 14 inches tall—I won’t be redundant here and write all that I wrote in the book but, suffice it say that this doll is my response to war.  Everyone who dies or is maimed in war has someone who mourns deeply for them, and that is thier mother.  It does not matter who is right or wrong, good or bad, there will always be someone who cries over their death and will remember them as a small helpless infant.      

 

   “She Gave Birth to A Sun“—2006 approx 16 inches tall  This doll has her hands raised up–there are red jeweled hearts in her palms.  She has a peaceful, joyful expression on her face.  She is content, serene, she is enjoying just being.

 

   Brother Theo (24 inches tall)- (2006): he has a paper clay sculpted face, hands and lower legs (boots).  His body is fabric that has been gessoed and then painted over.  He has a stylized skeleton with a heart that reads, “Imagio Dei”, image of God.  He is jointed at all major joints to add movement to him. 

 

 His robe is made out of vintage silk velvet and beaded with a pichot stitch.      

 

 Bro. Theo, full body shot.

 

 Coleo(24 inches tall)-(2006)  Her construction is the same as Bro Theo’s.  Both her hair and her clothing were inspired by the movie Dune.  Her hair by the Bene Gesseret and her clothes by Priness Irulan.  Her chest is decopouged with vintage butterfly and beetle emphemera.     

 

 Close-up of the back of Coleo’s head, she has a butterfly decoupaged on it.    

 

 Lady Margo, (18 inches tall)-(2004) She is the first of my ”hybrids” that I have been experimenting with.  She has a sculpted paper clay face, forearms/hands and lower legs (boots).  Her body is fabric that has been painted with gesso and then painted on top.  She has painted bricks on her chest surrounded by a painted heart.  (Think the Sting song, “Fortress Around My Heart”).  She is jointed at all major joints so she has potential for  movement. 

        

  Lady Margo’s full body shot.

 

 

  Robin (12 inches tall)-(2007) He has a sculpted face on top of a fabric body that has been treated with gesso and then painted.  He is inspired by the work of Scott Radke and Pat Lillich.                              

 

 

  Close up of Robin’s face

 

 

 Nori (2005) has a clay molded face.  The body fabric art was made by scaning a flower/seed catalog, then printing it on treated fabric.  The resulting fabric was what I used to make the body. It is loosely based on the pattern in Eleanor Peace-Bailey’s book, “Mother Plays with Dolls.”                                

 

  Back view of Nori.

 

 

 

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