Dolls, Art, and Daydreams

Last post on here!!

2012-05-25T11:47:00.002-07:00

Only just got a new pc as the last one died well over a year now and as things have changed quite a bit in my life since then I have decided to shut down and probably delete this Blog. I'll start up a new one before I do though....once I think of a cool name for it!!! Hmmm this could take a while!!

Flight of the Bumblebee

2010-08-28T02:45:00.001-07:00

..Or perhaps that should be Plight of the BumbleBee.

They are becoming scarce, in fact I found out yesterday that two of our native BumbleBees species have become extinct in the UK within the last few decades which is awful and almost entirely due to human activity. Bees are vital especially nectar and pollen feeders, without them the planet's ecological system, which is already teetering on the edge, would pretty much collapse. Humans would starve as most of the plants we rely on for food would die out with no bees to pollinate the flowers. Many trees would cease to seed so no new trees and therefor the atmospheric conditions would change.

Bees need our support and anyone with a garden can help by growing more native or old plant species, even if it's just in a small patch you set aside. Exotic and highly bred flowers may look nice but they are useless to animals that rely on them for food and this is a huge problem.

Encourage bees to nest by buying premade nest boxes or making your own.

The use of insecticides and chemicals in gardens as well as agriculture is another culprit responsible for the decline in many species right up the food chain so please stop using them or if you must be careful what you use. You are also killing birds too as many feed on the insects you poison!! Wonder why there aren't so many butterfiles around?? Take a look at your pretty, un-naturally tidy, sterile garden and the chemicals in your shed....there's your reason!! You are killing summer and in doing so you are killing yourself.

If you need more information on how you can help the humble Bumble there are many websites including this one, The Bumblebee Conservation Trust.

I love the sound of summer days, it's such a wonderful sound, the buzzing of bees of all shapes and sizes as they flit from flower to flower in their endless search for nectar and pollen. I love watching them and even thought I had more than my fair share of bee stings as a child (catching Bumblebees with your bare hands is a rather stupid idea, even for a 3 year old) I will still quite happily wander in amongst the flowers as the bees fly around me. Unless you really frighten them they will not harm you at all.

I was highly delighted to discover we had a nest of White Tailed Bumblebees under our shed this year, something that would have had the average person reaching for the phone and dialing Pest Control, but then I'm not the average person. I welcome our little fuzzy friends and wish I had something better than a compact digital camera so I could take better pictures of them, but hey!

The topmost picture shows my favourite and she is huge. I wish I'd thought to get something in the photo that would show her size but at a guess she's at least 4cm in length perhaps even pushing 5cm. One of the biggest I've seen. She has a very low flight path and very deep droning buzz. I looked her up on the internet to find out what this red tailed BumbleBee is called and found that she's a Red Tailed BumbleBee, well fancy that!! I'd never seen this species before I moved to the house I have been in this last 9 years. On a good day in my garden there's probably at least four BumbleBee species and three bee species as well as goodness knows how many other insects.
Hopefully I can make my messy garden even more wildlife friendly in the years to come and help preserve the sound of summer.

These last few months............

2010-08-25T07:14:00.001-07:00

Things have been pretty much up and down since I last posted. The good news is that Penny has recovered well, there are certain things she has difficulty with but considering what happened they are more than acceptable.

I'm also going to be an Aunt end of November/beginning of December.

Bad news is that my hours (along with those of many other staff members) got cut (practically halved and I only worked part-time anyway) at work so I've had to sell some of my dolls in order to refine my collection, my other dog got stung by a bee and took a severe allergic reaction to it. He's fine now but it meant that my wages went in on Friday and then all went out to the vet on the following Monday leaving me with nothing.

Most people would just go get another job but that's not so easy for me as I can't drive, won't leave the dogs alone for more than a set number of hours, and as I suffer badly from clinical depression finding an understanding employer and place I feel comfortable working in is damn hard!

Where I am just now may mean I'm living on a knife edge money wise but we all get along great, I'm happy doing what I do, and that for me is important.

I have also stopped taking my anti-depressants as they just don't seem to work the same anymore, plus the doctor recommended I do so as I had been on them for years. The adjustment has been difficult. As well as the physical withdrawal symptoms I have to deal with emotional and mental readjustment too.

One minute I'm fine the next I'm crying, my anxiety levels have risen, I'm more defensive, insomnia is dreadful, coping with everyday things has become harder, my brain misinterprets things, I'm even more forgetful than I was.......these things will hopefully settle down as my body resets but it also has served as a reminder of just how crippling this condition can be.

On the plus side the chronic fatigue has gone, I feel I want to do things rather than just sit and vegetate, things feel clearer, and my artistic urge is starting to resurface. Only time will tell whether I can cope without meds or whether I am forced back onto them again.

Oh well, time to go get another coffee (decaf or unleaded as we call it!) and finish painting my Pukifee faceplates!

Penny's Progress.....road to recovery post 3

2010-04-30T15:49:00.000-07:00

Penny has been back home with us now for a few weeks and has recovered well.
She still has stability and co-ordination problems, trips up a lot, her bark is very hoarse and higher pitched, and she needs confidence boosting ( which sometimes involves lifting >< )when it comes to climbing down from the sofa or bed but she's getting there.
She has however begun to return to her old self and tries to play with the other dog now, is back to sun worshipping (as you can see), and best of all has shown an improvement in her appetite which is good as she lost almost a quarter of her body weight while she was immobile.
We don't know if she'll ever recover completely as we don't know what damage was done although her neck and front legs took the brunt of whatever happened.
Her body needs to heal itself and that takes time.

We can't thank our veterinary clinic enough for all they have done. They've been wonderful and you couldn't hope for a better bunch of people!

Penny's Progress.....road to recovery post 2

2010-03-30T02:38:00.000-07:00

The last few days have been a mix of good and well ...not so good.

As far as the good part is concerned she's far more 'herself' now, very alert, getting stronger and able to pull herself upright enough to balance on her stomach and chest, she also actually managed to pull herself up enough to stand at one point although she was leaning against someone's legs and the chair in order to do so.

On the bad side we had to re admitt her to the vet yesterday as she has point blank refused to do the toilet for over 48 hours. We were in contact with the vet during this time but by yesterday she was clearly in a lot of discomfort.
Despite having been given painkillers on Sunday to try and relax her a bit, and taking her outside when she whined day and night she would not go.
She also developed an abcess on her back too which was hurting her.
The vet called us not long after we re-admitted her to say Penny did finally go, she was just too afraid to pee in the house or while we were holding her.

They're going to keep in her until she's better able to support herself and therefor more willing to do the toilet.

So we'll see how it goes.............

Penny's Progress.....road to recovery post 1

2010-03-25T16:22:00.001-07:00

One of my dogs, Penny (a cross between a whippet and a saluki), injured herself very badly on Sunday. We still don't know what actually happened but we suspect she tripped and fell whilst out playing with our other dog in the back garden.

Poor thing came in looking very hunched up and sorry for herself and within a couple of hours she was unable to move from the neck downwards.

We contacted the vet and took her straight to the surgery where she has remained since. No bones were broken but she has suffered some form of spinal cord trauma. Thankfully she is beginning to recover but for a day or two things looked rather grim, would she remain paralyzed or would she regain movement.

Today showed the biggest improvement in her condition. She was able to move her shoulders and back legs enough to almost right herself from the lying position she has been in since Sunday. The vets have have been turning her over every few hours, massaging her muscles and exercising her legs to keep her limbs supple otherwise they would stiffen and seize up.

She apparently managed to flip herself over this afternoon but still hasn't the strength or co-ordination to support herself.

Her correcting reflex in her lower limbs and feet is still non existant however. When any effort is made to try and stand her her feet remain curled and she ends up on her knuckles. Even with support she is very unstable.

She looks less dazed now than she did, can support her head for longer, and has got her 'voice' back a bit.

The best news is that the vet is happy now for us to take her home this coming weekend!!

We will be shown what physio Penny requires, what to do, and given whatever advice is required.

Recovery is going to be slow, we know that, but it'll be worth it to see her back on her feet again!!

Winter Foliage part 2

2010-01-31T03:50:00.003-08:00

Some more of the photographs I took of frozen plants and herbs in my garden.

Winter Foliage part 1

2010-01-26T03:13:00.000-08:00

Prior to the heavy snowfalls in December 2009 we had several days of severe frost. It made things look really beautiful especially plants.

I only have a small compact camera but one sunny afternoon I took some photos of the icy plants in my garden.

Just Mouse

2010-01-21T11:17:00.000-08:00

I realised the other day I hadn't tried this wig on Mouse since I redid her face and was pleasantly surprised to find it now suited her. A quick couple of snips with scissors later and she has a replacement for the one I shrank by accident!

On a different note I went to see Avatar today, the 3D version, as it's my birthday! Was a bit nervous about it as I really hate cinemas and get anxiety attacks but it was thankfully quite quiet.
I had heard it was good but wow, if you haven't seen it yet get thee to a cinema right now!! The blend of live action and CG graphics is seemless, you really do forget it isn't real and the 3D brings an extra element to what is already a fantastic film!!!

Large Mina and Large Milo portraits

2010-01-17T02:29:00.001-08:00

Milo
With the growing popularity of the larger Bracken and large Zack (Mina head on Bracken body) I wondered why so far I hadn't seen anyone with a large Milo (Moona head on Bracken body) as I thought the Moona headmold would make a very nice looking male.

Using the portrait of Large Moona I had already done I tried to make it look a bit more male to see what potentially a Milo could look like.

Mina
The Mina portrait involved a lot of adjustment of the basic skintone as the tan resin shade I was trying to represent never photographs showing it's true colour, much like the lilac resin. The photos I used as reference had the tan looking very golden and much paler.

I was originally going to make her look older and race specific but as you'll always get someone who'll complain about how something which has nothing to do with them is offensive in the end I decided to make her more multi-cultural.

Icicles!!

2010-01-06T09:55:00.003-08:00

It's been such a long time since I've seen icicles like this I just had to take a few quick snapshots before heading off to work in the morning. I particularly like the thick forked one that looks more like something you'd find in a cave than a normal icicle!!

Happy New Year

2010-01-03T09:12:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to one and all and may 2010 be all you hoped for!!!

What a wonderful end to the year, a proper winter at last!! For us the heavy snowfall started a few days before Christmas and it has snowed every day since. I took the top photo at night when the snow started and the lower one on Christmas Day before the dogs had a chance to wreck the pristine white blanket covering the garden.

I love this weather, always have done. As a child I loved playing in the snow but as I grew older I began to love it more for its serene beauty. Everything looks so magical and pure and there is a tranquility that heavy snow brings as it silently drifts down.

The flipside of this of course is the hardship it can bring, especially to the wildlife. Winter can be a cruel mistress as she cleanses the world ready for Spring's arrival. This year has seen quite large flocks of Redwings and Fieldfares flitting from garden to garden looking for food. These relatives of the Blackbird and Thrush are migrants from Eastern Europe who come to the UK in winter...been a few years since I've seen so many of them about.
Remember to feed the birds good quality wildbird food, avoid breads unless it's multigrain, don't give salted peanuts, and make sure they have a supply of fresh water.

Viola Frostberry, a name at last!!

2010-01-03T09:03:00.003-08:00

I gave my blue CoCo a new faceup after receiving a gorgeous handmade fuschia pink gown from a lovely DoA member.
She needed to look a bit more glamorous to do the gown justice. I did make a mistake having the eyebrows black but I'll probably end up redoing the faceup at some point and will change it then.
The top picture is how she looked prior to this.
Her name is now Viola Frostberry!!

Wintery Whisper

2010-01-03T08:56:00.003-08:00

The chilly mists of Winter seemed perfect for Whisper, my Lilac Large Moona, especially when wearing her white fur coat. It seems Whisper is short for Whispering Snowfall, a name that suits her soft cool colouring well.

Mihael project.....finished results

2009-10-06T15:20:00.000-07:00

Finished results..sort of!

I decided not to add eyelashes as the ones I was going to use are too long for him and he looks fine without them.

I think I'll keep the dark eyes in him for now, he had blue eyes when I got him.

The hair will definately be changed though, this is the wig he came with but although he does suit it I'd rather something at least a few shades darker for him.

Now to find him some clothes and a name!!!

Mihael project stage 4

2009-10-04T05:28:00.001-07:00

During this stage I more or less repeated the things I did in stage 3 in order to further build up the colour.
Slightly more shades of brown were used around the eyes very lightly, the golden brown across the bridge of the nose was also built up a bit more to balance the rosier cheeks.
The reddish blushing on his face is deliberately slightly 'blotchy' looking as natural blushing is not even.
A thin line of black watercolour pencil was applied to the lashline of the upper lid, I then went over this with a dark brown pencil which softens it slightly.
Very light lines were drawn on the lips with white watercolour and a few light layers of flesh coloured pastel were dusted on top. A very dark wine pastel shade was applied inside the mouth with a fine brush to add depth to the parted lips.
Once the shading was pretty much done I lightly coated the face with MSC twice (letting it dry in between coats) and photographed it or at least tried to as my camera doesn't like trying to focus on an eyeless face ><.

I've made quite a few errors during this face up attempt, the most recent being my own stupid impatience. I'm not that great at eyelashes yet, steadily been improving as one does through practise or so I thought! I started drawing them in using a pale brown watercolour pencil then for some dumb reason decided to go darker and messed it up. The main problem was the fact I'd not sealed the pastelwork I'd spent ages carefully doing before I attempted the lashes ...stupid me.....well I'm just going to have to live with it until I decide to redo his whole face.
I have added pastel on top to slightly disguise it but it still looks clumsy....lesson here..take your time and seal before attempting anything you're not sure of ><

I also now know in future to be a bit less heavy handed with the reds in the lips when dealing with male faces, I had thought that during the face up the colour would be toned down by the layers on top but rather infuriatingly the flesh coloured pastel I use tends to disappear when I spray the face.

All in all it has been another face up learning curve and makes me admire those face up artists who can repeatedly produce such stunningly gorgeous works even more.

Mihael project stage 3

2009-09-30T13:14:00.003-07:00

This face up is proving to be quite frustrating as it would be all too easy to overdo something and make it look too stylised and to be honest I feel quite lost as to what exactly to do.

Anyway I've added more pinky red blushing around the face, the colour used is in fact a mix of three which are crimson red, terracotta, and lilac. I've also darkened the actual nostril holes with a browner shade, enhanced the blue/lilac at both eye corners and in front of the ears, added more tones such as light browns and the blush colour to the eye area in general, and although it doesn't show in the picture I've also added a fleshy shade on the lips to pull back the brightness.

A very light sweep of golden brown was dusted across the top of the cheeks and nose, the face was then given a light MSC seal and left to dry.

Mihael project stage 2

2009-09-26T07:39:00.002-07:00

Stage 2: I start adding a bit more colour to his face. More blushing is placed around the nose, on the ears, and on the lips using a pinkier red than before.Very light dustings of the same red are added to the cheeks, the bridge of the nose and the upper eye area.

A pale lilac pastel is brushed along the lower and upper eyelids and the areas between the inner corners of the eyes and nose.

Sky blue pastel is very lightly added to the outer eye corners, just before the ears, and to the area between the nose bridge and inner corners of the eyes. These areas have thinner skin and the blue from veins tends to show through the flesh.

The eyebrows were given a light brushing of a golden brown pastel. The face was then lightly sealed with MSC.

New project..stage 1

2009-09-24T09:15:00.001-07:00

My new project is this guy. He's a Leekeworld Mihael head on a Demon Garden body.

I've liked this sculpt for a while as it stands out against the myriad of anime/manga style faces you see so much with their perfect symmetry and large eyes. Those faces are beautiful in their own right but just not for me, when it comes to larger dolls I find myself prefering more realistic and maybe even slightly quirky sculpts.

I'm going to try and do this mold the justice it deserves which isn't proving to be as simple as I thought.

I've become too used to female faces I guess and am finding it difficult to tone things down but at the same time add in the colour needed as the placing and shades will have to be very specific if I want to keep it realistic. As you can see so far I've just laid down the basics sticking with what I know. This stage has been sealed and I have very slowly began work on the next stage which will be photographed and posted when I'm happy with it.

.......stay tuned!!

Izzy Goth...face up revamp

2009-09-24T08:54:00.000-07:00

Inspired by my Gothic Moona portrait I redid Ismenia's face yet again. Poor thing has had about six face ups in the few years I've had her but I think this is finally 'her'! The first picture is how she looked prior to this new face up.
I tried making her very girly initially but it did not suit one bit and it wasn't until I stopped trying to make her something she something that was outwith her personality that I actually felt settled with her.

At last she also suits the wig I first purchased for her, a lovely pale blonde with pink tips by Tinybear.

Now to try and find her some suitably sombre clothing!!

Gothic Moona portrait

2009-08-14T14:42:00.000-07:00

..and here's a more gothic version.

While the original painting was at the stage where she had no eyebrows I came to realise how much she suited that look and so I elaborated on it a bit more.
She has an amazing face that can carry so many looks.

Large Moona portrait

2009-08-13T16:58:00.001-07:00

Finished Larger Moona's portrait at last, made several attempts at it. This isn't the full size version, only myself and Carrie have possession of those.

Painted from scratch using one of Carrie's photographs of the doll in question as reference.

Yet another face up revamp

2009-08-05T07:56:00.001-07:00

I have also completely redone the face up on my green resin 'Mina' boy with the mermaid/elf ears. The very first picture is how he looked when he first arrived with his default Bobobie face up, acrylic brown eyes, and that wonderful pale mint green wig by Tinybear! He looked very shy and almost lost.
When I enhanced the face up I added way too much in the way of reds and overall blushing. It killed the little lost pixie look he originally had and made him look too human. The face up would have been fine if that's what I had wanted but I just felt it detracted from the sculpt too much and so I redid it again........

This time I kept a more leafy theme regarding the shades I used and I made a point of adding a green tone similar to the resin colour on each layer in order to counteract the lightening effect MSC tends to have the more layers of it you apply. This stopped his face looking like it belonged to another doll.

The black beads for eyes added that final touch to his pixie look and I now have my little lost faery back!

BonBon renewed...stage by stage

2009-07-02T03:59:00.001-07:00

Here's the stage by stage of how I did the renewed face up version on my Pink BonBon by Tinybear (cast by Bobobie).

After cleaning off the previous face up I gave the blank head two light coats of MSC and left it to dry. I then laid down the face 'foundations', a step I have come to rely on to balance the whole thing. The eyebrows were lightly drawn in using an ordinary sharp HB pencil, eyeliner placed using a black watercolour on upper lid and a burgundy red on lower. With the same red I lightly outlined the lips to define the shape then drew in loads of fine lines to fill in the lip colour a bit. This helps to make the lip outline look less harsh. A lighter red watercolour pencil was then used again in loads of fine lines to fill in and soften the lip colour even more. Next I used a fine brush and wine coloured pastel (chalk kind NEVER oil based) to bring out the dimples, define the nostrils, shape the nose, and add a bit of colour to the ears. A dark brown pastel was then used to add more depth to the mouth crease and also define the eyelid crease.

Once the basics were in place I started to layer on some blushing starting with a crimson red pastel very lightly dusted in an upside down triangle shape on the cheeks, in the ears, on the chin, around the nose on the forehead, and across the eyelid crease. This was then blended with a bigger clean rounded tipped brush to soften it all. Using a flat brush I applied the same colour to the lips. A peachy terracotta shade was also added to the face blushing on the top of the cheeks, across the nose and to the eyes to add a bit more colour and also give a slightly sunkissed look. The head was then sprayed with MSC and left to dry.

Once the MSC had been allowed to dry for a few hours I used the burgundy red pencil again to add colour to the eyebrows bringing them more in line with the rest of the face up. A buttercup yellow watercolour pencil was used along the top and bottom eyelids. An olive green pencil was then used to add more colour and definition to the eyesockets, with a touch of it across the lower lid too. This was then softened and balanced using matching pastel as well as further adjustments made to the blushing in general including deepening of cheeks and lips, blushing on forehead, inside of ears, around eyes, and the first touches of olive green added to the outer ears.

This was then give another light MSC coating and left to dry.

The olive green pastel on the ears was given more depth, then a mix of the olive green and an apple green was brushed along the temples and toward the cheek bones. Further colour adjustments and blushing were made in general especially around the eyes and on the lips.

The black eyeliner was redefined, burgundy eyelashes drawn along lower eye rim and facial markings which match the ones on her body drawn on. A light dusting of the terracotta pastel was applied on top of the markings to soften them slightly. Once all adjustments were made I then gave the face its final two light sprays of MSC and left it to dry.

The final stage saw a fine line of gold watercolour paint used to pick up the yellow on the eyelids, then once that was dry the gloss applied on top, along eye rims and on the lips. My brush is a bit done now and some gloss goobed a bit on the lips unfortunately.

This was all left overnight to dry then the eyes were put back in. Metallic black beads were used as no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get the eyes she previously had to sit nicely as they are a touch too big.

Her head was put back on and photos taken!!!!

She now looks more like the painting I did prior to the doll's release (see first blog entries for that)!!

FaceUp revamp number 4

2009-07-02T03:32:00.003-07:00

Polly my Sage by Kaye Wiggs (cast by Bobobie) was the 4th revamp. I had intended her to look like a gawky little girl with unruly red hair, freckles, wearing dresses that looked too big, etc..a cross between Lyra ('His Dark Materials' books by Philip Pullman), Tiffany Aching (Hatfull of Sky, Wee Free Men, Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett), and something out of Little House on the Prairie....a look that probably would have worked had I the skill and dressmaking knowledge. However I don't and she never really seemed happy.
I looked at various face ups by experienced artists to try and draw some ideas on how to improve her look and found a few I thought may suit.
Polly's new face up was pretty much made up as I went along, it developed itself but now she seems so much happier (in a sulky teenager way) and a bit more grown up...she kind of reminds me of Shirley Manson the vocalist with Garbage who's also in The Sarah Conner Chronicles Terminator tv series. Maybe I'll see about getting her a redder wig and lighter eyes :)