Hello Dollies Challenge

Today was Hello Dollies in Newcastle - a great group which meets at Anne's Glory Box once a month. Here is my doll ( right) for the Hello Dollies Challenge 2008 - we were all given a "saying" to interpret. Mine was "Love is Blind" and my intention was to finish making this Patti Culea doll I started in a workshop last year ( yes, another unfinished project!) and to add a very ugly boy friend. I had already made his head ( photo left below) - really ugly but lovable! Unfortunately that was as far as I got, so she wears his photo in a heart shaped locket. Love may be blind, but absence makes the heart grow fonder .

I made a journal of the process and it looks great. perhaps if I hadn't spent so much time with the journal I may have had time to finish the ugly boyfriend. Anyway, I did think in the end, having a photo in a locket was less cliched. All the other creations were just so imaginative and everyone had researched so much and as Vicki said " this was a brain stretch" . Cheyin received an overwhelming vote of approval for her interpretation of "The early bird catches the worm." Her doll is certainly a winner - we all made a connection immediately. It is also beautifully done and every shopping bag was filled with miniatures of all the stuff we love to add to our stashes. Congratulations to all - there were some really fantastic interpretations of the popular sayings... thanks Fay for challenging us and thanks to all for your inspiring work.

Next week in Sydney, the Dollies members will show their challenge entries - I am sure they will all be fantastic, too. We will look forward to seeing them as well. After that meeting, Fay and I will create a Hello Dollies Blog and we will be able to publish all the photos and promote other challenges , the Christmas swap and other good news about Dollies. In the meantime I have tried to stitch the photos we already have from today's meeting - this is a just a glimpse of the great work. - below.

Tomorrow, is another big creative day - Bobbi , Jane and I are conducting workshops at Lamboart studio in Thornton - three lessons to create Christmas treasures. I am doing an ethereal angel ( felted, folded and beaded), Bobbi is teaching her beautiful nostalgic ornaments, and Jane will inspire everyone to make some special cards and a box for Christmas goodies. Looking forward to a fun day!

Please go to the link ( see Important Links on the left) to see better and more photos of the great work in the Dollies Challenge

Fish and Sticks : Art Dolls

This week I've been working on fish and sticks .... The sticks are the message stick art dolls which were very popular, attracting some attention and a few orders at the Wise Women exhibition. Each of the message stick dolls are from the Wise Women series, each with her own personality and message of wisdom, handwritten on a handmade timber tag. I gather the sticks during my walks around my neighbourhood and the tags are made from special bits of timber, some collected by me or my husband or from off cuts gifted to us from another doll making friend whose husband makes bagpipes. These dolls start off very simply with a wrap around a stick, in the general shape of a body. 'Naked" message stick dolls - strips of wadding wrapped around found sticks. Then I usually wrap other layers of fabric, wool, and/or fibres, over which I do some simple embroidery. I sculpt or mould small face masks for these dolls. I really like using "sari ribbon" as w...

From my workshop page....

Current Workshops Offerings Thinking of a workshop for your group in 2022? Art Doll Workshops : - Garden Thread Dolls (one day workshop - WoW -(Woman of Wisdom) - embellished stump doll with either cloth head or clay head. This is an a rt doll workshop .... either offered as a series of workshops or 2 full days days! - Message/Story Stick doll - doll made with found objects and upcycled cloth. ( one day) - Elemental totems - stick doll variation , with sculpture ( one or two days, depending on surface decoration of fabric) TEXTILE AND MIXED MEDIA WORKSHOPS Temari - embroidered wrapped balls in traditional style. - Dipping Into Tea - tea and embroidery on canvas with photo transfer on fabric. ( two days) work by Judith Bee, workshop participant. - Tea Bag sculpture : ...

"Temari Or Not Temari?" Tutorial

Background Information: Temari (literally translated “hand ball”) is a Japanese folk craft that is alleged to have originated in China and was introduced to Japan five or six hundred years ago. Traditionally, the balls were constructed from wrapped kimono fabric remnants and silk threads. They were made by mothers and grandmothers for children to play with. Nowadays, decorative embroidered temari represent a highly valued and cherished gift symbolizing friendship and loyalty. Recently I've wondered if your don't use traditional techniques whether you should call what you create "temari". That is an ongoing debate but today I share what I do to make a "non-traditional temari".... 1.I start with a polystrene ball ( traditionally the balls were wound silk scraps or other organic materials) and begin to wrap with approx 4 ply wool, turning the ball as I wrap. 2. I then wrap another layer of wool in a similar fashion , this time a 3 or 2 ...

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

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