Miss Wu Is Ready For The Christmas Ball

Last month, I signed up to the Holiday Doll Ball Swap hosted by Zan Asha of Vagabond Creations. http://vagabondcreations.blogspot.com/

What a wonderful surprise this week, well before the deadline, I received the wonderful Miss Wu, created by a well known artist and art doll maker, Deirdra Doan. Many doll makers worldwide will already be familiar with Deirdra’s work which has been featured often in Art Doll Quarterly, and you can see more of her amazing art on her blog http://deirdradoan.blogspot.com/and in her Etsy shop. http://www.etsy.com/shop/deirdradoan

Here is Deridra’s description of this beautiful doll:
Miss Wu.(I tried to make her look like Wilma...)is all excited and patiently waiting for the "Christmas Ball/ Sock Hop" to begin. She thought her berry crown, candy cane, and snowman necklace would look so to chic and bring lots of beaux to fill her dance card. She also wore her icicle leggings.to finish off her ball attire. Since it is very hot on Christmas in Aussie land her arms are bare of course...
PS...She has ivy on her belt..as "The Holly and the Ivy" is one of her favorite songs for Christmas. She first heard it as a little girl in England so she was sure that they sang it in Australia as it was a English Colony.
And here is Miss Wu patiently waiting in our garden for the Christmas Ball…

Thank you Deirdra. Unfortunately, I can’t show you what I am creating for Deridra as 1) it’s not yet finished and 2) I want Deridra to be the first to see it ... another week or so....

It’s been a lovely quiet and creative week – I had my second last life drawing class in this series of lessons. I also spent a couple of days (nights) doing some beading and some sculpting. Last night, we went to see the preview performance of Henri Szep’s one man show “Wish I’d Said That”. I really enjoyed his performance based on speeches of leading characters in various plays. I loved the “Marlon Brando” excerpts from “Tea House of the August Moon”. ( That play was the first theatrical performance I had ever been in – my sister was about 5 years old and I was 10 – we had very small "walk on" parts. Actually we didn’t "walk on" much – we had to climb on the bonnet of a vehicle and it was driven off the stage.) However, last night, my favourite speech in Henri Szep’s show was the one from the musical, “South Pacific” … - a great reminder that people are not born prejudiced.

You’ve got to be taught to hate and fear
You’ve got to be taught from year to year
It’s got to be drummed in your dear little ear
You’ve got to be carefully taught.

You’ve got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made
And people whose skin is a different shade
You’ve got to be carefully taught. by Oscar Hammerstein

Countdown to Christmas 20 - Fruitcake song!

There are many songs about fruit cakes - not all of them referring to the Christmas cake we know and love.It is really surprising to learn via Google that there are 89 listed songs with references to Christmas cake or fruit cake - not all of them complimentary. Probably one of the most famous folk songs about Christmas cake is Miss Fogarty's Christmas Cake (a favourite sung by The Irish Rovers). This first recorded comical Christmas song was written by C Frank Horn in 1883 in Pennsylania, as a variation of an Irish folk song, 'Miss Mulligan's Christmas Cake' . The chorus might give you the hint that Miss Fogarty's cake was not for the faint hearted or those who suffered from a weak stomach. Chorus : There were plums and prunes and cherries, There were citrons and raisins and cinnamon, too There was nutmeg, cloves and berries And a crust that was nailed on with glue There were caraway seeds in abundance Such that...

Christmas Firsts #18 : Where in the World?

Where in the world will FIRST experience Christmas Day? Because of the time zones and daylight saving , the first places will be Samoa, Tonga and Kiritimati (Christmas Island) . They are the first places to welcome Christmas. New Zealand and Australia see in Christmas Day soon after, while American Samoa and Baker Island in the United States of America are among the last. These statistics are more often quoted in relation to New Year's Eve, but I think it seems appropriate that Christmas Island is one of the first to celebrate Christmas in the world. Kiritimati, or Christmas Island, is a Pacific Ocean raised coral atoll in the northern Line Islands. It is part of the Republic of Kiribati. The name "Kiritimati" is a respelling of the English word "Christmas" in the Kiribati language The island has the greatest land area of any coral atoll in the w...

Wednesday's Child /2

Work in Progress - 3 of the 193 for "Stitched Up"- Wilma Simmons The work for the "Stitched Up " Project continues. See the previous "Wednesday Child" post for the background to this art project celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Newcastle Industrial School. I have been documenting the progress of my work, so I thought it might be interesting to share some of the early stages of the "stick dolls" ... Here are some of the beginning steps.. Sticks collected while walking the bushland in my neighbourhood Drying and getting rid of any insects - oven heat 75 degreesC for approx 1-2 hours. Trimmed and cut if necessary Ends sealed with matte sealing solution. Drying - solution goes on white but dries clear. First wrapping - foil to create a body shape Second wrapping - stretch fabric. Third wrapping - fabric strips Some stitching - more stitching and embellishment to ...

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

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