Almost there.

Here is an update on my Big Nose Fae. She is now holding a baby. I completely re-did her feet, meaning I chopped off the original ones and replaced them with paperclay feet. I used the same treatment on her legs like I did with her arms. Her shoes are made from the same brocade satin as her bodice with little wooden beads for trim. The sleeves were also fixed. I sewed the ends closed and trimmed them with the same gold gimp. I still need to iron her skirt. Above she does not have any wings. Below are the same wings I made for her originally, but I am leaning towards not having any wings. However, Sherry Goshon made some great suggestions for integrating the wings. But then again, I may not use the wings at all. She'll wind up being an elf.
I hand dyed the silk to match the flower on my Big Nose Fae's hat. Originally, I was going to use the silk on the skirt, but it just didn't look right to me. So I used it to costume the little baby. I used historical photos of swaddled babies as a starting point for my baby fae. I echoed the adult fae's hat on the baby and used the same wooden beads on the baby as I did on the big fae's shoes.
Now I need to make some sort of chair for my fae and her baby. But I think in the meantime I am going to work on another fae. This doll has been quite a challenge for me. One I am learning an awful lot from.

Stay tuned for more updates of this doll. I appreciate any comments you would like to leave.
Happy Dollmaking,
Melisa

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Baby Fae

One of the suggestions I received the most from my Big Nose Fae critique was she needs to be holding something. My favorite suggestion, the one that intrigued me and felt right, was she should be holding a child. Today, I sculpted a baby head. I am going to attach the head to a cloth body. I have not decided about the baby's hands or feet just yet. The idea of the child wrapped up tight or swaddled is something I am playing around with. We'll just have to see. Stay tuned for more updates.

Dollmaker at work

After reviewing all of the comments I have received, I have begun to make changes on my Big Nose Fae. I have added more trim and a nice full petticoat. The picture above is of some silk I am in the process of dyeing. Several of you suggested more color. I have chose to dye the silk a nice coral pink color. I know exactly what I want to do with it as well. Now I just need to wait for it to dry.

For homework, I've been studying Marilyn Radzat's incredible work. I consider her to be a master of embellishment. It's amazing to me how she does it. She is certainly inspiring. Well, that's all for now. Please stay tuned for updates of my Big Nose Fae.

Big Nose Fae Critique

I need your help! I am in dire need of some constructive criticism. Tell me what you think of this doll. Does it need something? Is it finished? Please don't write things like "she's great" or things along that line. While it is nice, it is not helpful. This doll needs something, but I am stuck as to what it might be. You can leave comments up until Tuesday evening. After that time, I will turn off the comments for this post. I will work on some other dolls in the meantime. I really appreciated your time.

Big Nose Fae WIP and Mold Making

I am experimenting with mold making. At the moment, I am using Antonette Cely's technique from her book, "Cloth Doll Making." Her instructions are very easy to follow for mold making. The only problem I encountered was overcoming my fear of pouring plaster over a sculpt in order to make the mold. The sculpt is a significant investment of time and I certainly don't want to waste supplies. But I took the time to make sure there were no undercuts on my sculpt. After the plaster was dry, the original sculpt came right out of the mold with no distortions.

After overcoming my fears and trepidations, I made a second sculpt and subsequent mold. The doll pictured to the right is cast from that mold. I just had to make a big nose fae.

One of the benefits of mold making, is I am able to focus on other aspects of dollmaking. In particular, I want to work on my costuming skills. I like sculpting, but I don't like having to sculpt a new head every time I make a doll. Even though it is a mold, I can still manipulate the clay after it comes out of the mold and create a unique doll head. Besides, it seems most of the books I have read about dollmaking suggest mold making. It is one more useful skill to have under your belt.

I welcome any constructive criticism and comments. I will post pictures of this doll's progress.