The Embroidery Art of Gabriela

Hello out there! Gosh it has been a while. It would seem that the loss of my little Lily shut my world down. Actually I have been on doll overdrive! I have been wanting to wrap up some projects before going full force on the tassel web site. There has been a lot of of activity on that site and I am excited for it to be all that it can be. My son is home from Florida so we will be spending the rest of the week taking pictures, making and editing videos, and posting, posting, posting. I have a notebook-actually two notebooks- full of ideas regarding the site and new tassel designs to share. This will be so much fun! I hope you will join me! So I have been taking classes from A is for Artistic and also from Doll Street Dreamers. As I posted, I took a class from A is for Artistic with Ankie Daanen, a wonderful doll artist and teacher. At the same time I had signed up for Marlaine Verlhests's class on air dry clay dolls. I put that one off for a bit, actually mostly because I honestly felt no artistic or creative inclination to participate at the time. However, this strange urge came over me to see what was going on there, so I dove in, and I created Monica, who I just adore. She is my sassy little goth girl with her little pet rabbit, both adorned with crystals, and Monica in satin, velvet, and silk. I really ended up enjoyng this class. Marlaine is also a wonderful, attentive instructor and I highly recommend her class if you get the opportunity to participate. Here is Monica in the beginning:

Actually she almost wasn't. It took me three "heads" to get one I finally liked. What is funny is I got so frustrated with the lips, I decided on the third try I was just going to do something really goofy and just make them puckered. I figured on making a sort of sassy Pierot. However I actually liked the shape the face started to take and decided to go with it. I can always use the practice. Plus, I read from another instructor something that struck me: that it really doesn't matter if you think it is perfect or even good enough, just finish the doll. I really like this philosophy, and it is true, because I need practice in all aspects of doll making, down to the wigging and costuming and the painting. Monica took on a life as she progressed form body

to ideas for costuming and hair

to the finished doll (yes that is her little rabbit, sculpted in polymer clay with Swarovski crystals and a tattoo)

We just love her in my house. She has taken a prominent seat in the living room...she too is observing how pathetic television is! I like to work on more than one project at a time, because I have no patience. The only way I can keep my hands off something that is trying to dry, cool off, solidify, etc. is to have something else to work on. So I have had three projects going at one time. The second is called Libelle, and is a doll created by Sherry Goshon and is available as an online class with Doll Street Dreamers. I was browsing this site which I like to visit- it is mostly about cloth dolls (I very mush recommend this site...it has so much to offer!!!). I thought Libelle was so unique and a wonderful opportunity to learn new techniques and use new media that I coudn't pass her up. So I embarked on sculpting her face, then her body, and the project is progressing beautifully even if it has required loads of patience and waiting time:

and also I am working on another polymer clay doll/decorated egg project that I am really excited about

This morning I finished the crochet sleeves for this polymer clay fairy; she will also have a beautiful (at least it is in my head, anyway) ostrich egg.
The three girls at once:

Hopefully I will have more to report and more to look at this week as I wrap up these projects. Then it is tassels. tassels, tassels!!!
Cheers!