Can it be true?

My husband brought in the mail today. He gave me my latest issue of Doll Crafter, and it took a moment for me to realize that my doll was on the cover. My doll was on the cover. I couldn't believe it, but there she was. I sent in a picture of Usha Mauvais just in time for the gallery. This was my second time to send in a picture. Dawn Schiller was kind enough to post the deadlines over at Odd Fae. So I opened up the magazine and there was Usha on the content page. Wow! She is also in the gallery. I still can't get over it. Thanks to the editors for using her picture not only once, but three times. What an honor!

Congratulations to all of the other wonderful dolls in the gallery. What a delight to be featured along with my fellow doll makers. To the upper left and above Usha is Dawn Schiller's fantastic witch.

In case you don't get the magazine, here are the pictures (Of course, if I am violating any laws by putting them on here, I'll remove them at once.). Enjoy!

Little Usha Mauvais Complete

At last, Little Usha Mauvais is complete. Her dress is made from black silk and black and silver brocade satin. I used black satin ribbon to trim her dress. There are tiny handmade bows at her shoulders. The pagoda sleeves are purely 19th century, which in turn gives the dress a period look. She is wearing a petticoat to help fill out her dress. The full white sleeves are made of an unknown fabric. It feels like silk but has stretch. So it definitely has spandex in it. I wish I knew what it was exactly. When I had the fabric cut, I asked the lady what it was and she didn't know either. Usha ended up looking very gothic lolita. Which I have to admit, I really like it. I enjoyed styling her hair, but was very nervous while doing it. I think her bat wings are just okay. At any rate, I may put her up for auction on Sunday or Monday.

I am including a sneak peek of my next doll. She is about two years old. Her name is Baby Beatrix. She will be a 19th century inspired doll. I already have the fabric. It is a lovely gold and black silk. I can't wait to work on her some more. Of course, I will post pictures of her progress.

Little Usha WIP

Usha now has a wig made out of black Tibetan lambskin. Her hair has not been styled yet. I have begun her costume. It is made out of black and silver brocade satin and black silk. I needed to take a break and I decided that would be a good time to take some quick snapshots of Usha.

Little Usha is painted.

I just finished the last touches on Usha's paint job. Now I need to work on her wig. As always, stay tuned for more pictures of Usha's progress.

Poor Little Usha

Sometimes you have a doll that presents many problems. Usha is one of those dolls. I have removed her head, hands and feet from the first body. The reason is it was too bulky. The problem was I did not take into account the amount of clay that was going to be added. At any rate, I designed a new body and decided not to cover it with clay. Now I am thinking of using a resin candlestick as a base and omitting her legs. It would be like the angel I made for the Angel Challenge of 2007. I am ready to move on with Usha and sell her on Ebay. Perhaps in another week, maybe even by Sunday.

I have an update on my Polymer Clay tutorial. My wonderful husband graciously offered to edit and proof my tutorial. I just need to look over it. I plan to see if I may offer it as a class over at Doll Street.

Usha Mauvais

I have named my newest sculpt Usha Mauvais. According to 20000-names.com/evil_names, Usha is a female Hindi myth name of a demon princess, daughter of heaven, and sister of night, meaning "dawn." Mauvais is a French adjective which means evil. So there is her name. I have to name my dolls while I am working on them because it reinforces the theme of the work.

In addition, I am trying to work the doll as a whole. Meaning I am working all the elements at the same time which includes the doll and the base. You can see what I am trying to say with the photos.

Happy Dollmaking,
Coppermouse