Black-Eyed Suzie Art Dolls and Oddities

A Little Fireside Reading

I often dream of someday having a real fireside to curl up by, of course while sipping brandy and reading some good books.  But for now I usually read huddled under some absurd configuration of scarves, ponchos and wool blankets, as close as I can get to my baseboard heaters without actually lying on the floor -  whatever it takes to stay warm in these cruel winter months.  I've been reading both some pretty silly and not-so-silly stuff lately, but I'll share the stuff that has the best covers and would be most delicious by my imaginary fire.

To read Dorothy L. Sayers and is to release your inner gentleman detective. Lord Peter Wimsey is an aristocrat and a PI; he is a dilettante in the sense that he doesn't work for money, but no scoundrel ever  eludes him!  There are sentences in Sayers' books that make me laugh out loud.  To wit: "'The unidentified body in the bathtub wore only a pince-nez and was unabashedly dead." Most of the Wimsey books are novel-length, but some are collections of stories and the titles of these are also hilarious:  'The Abominable History of the Man with the Copper Fingers'; 'The Vindictive Story of the Footsteps that Ran', etc. Fire or not, these are good fun.

And I'm almost finished a creepy and gripping little book by Shirley Jackson, who wrote the oft-anthologized short story, 'The Lottery'.  We Have Always Lived in the Castle was sent to me by my friend Tommy, along with many other wonderful, wee things that really deserve their own post; they are doll-sized and have their own story.  Tommy said that my dolls remind him of the sisters in the book, Constance and Merricat, so of course I devoured it and he knows me and my dollies so well;  while I was reading, I kept imagining how what the doll versions of these characters might look like.

I have a few Alices that are nearly done, so I'll be back in a few days with some photos, but I hope you'll all stay warmed by fireplaces - real or imaginary - until then. (Unless you're somewhere very hot - then I send you breezes and drinks full of fruit and crushed ice!)

Legless, with Dresses

Thank you to everyone who offered sympathy and advice for my back woes - I've been much more careful lately, and doing more stretches, sun salutations and swimming (a little alliteration, all?) which have definitely helped.  And though I promise I'm no longer being careless, I have been working away quite hard on my Alices, as I really want this update to be my biggest and best.  There are reasons for this which will be revealed shortly, but for now I must remain cryptic... My last post was so crusty, and with such, sad, anemic little photos that I decided I had to post some better ones.

 

You might remember a post from a few weeks ago about some lovely vintage fabric I acquired: gorgeous candy-coloured silks, mostly organza.  I think I might have to convert almost exclusively to silk organza; it's crisp yet soft, and holds creases, pleats and shaping so beautifully, and it's very pleasant to sew.

 

I've also given these dolls underskirts with ruffles, and continued to include lots of texturing in the fabric, which I'm discovering is so much more fun than trying to work from a pattern. So my  Alices are turning out to be quite frothy little confections; I never used to like pastel colours, but I love these, and whenever I walk into my little studio, it feels light and airy and sweet as marshmallow.

I'm also working on some larger dolls, but they are still mostly just detached heads, torsos and arms, so I'll have more photos of them as I progress.  I hope all have a ruffly, candy-coloured week!

   

Baby Alices & Uncooperative Spines

Just a shortish post today as I'm all propped in bed on pillows with my heating pad trying to tame my angry back.  My back is angry at me because I spend 2-3 hours each morning typing, then I sit hunched over tiny body parts as I sculpt, sand, paint and varnish 15 Alice dolls into submission, not to mention a few other of the many great characters in Wonderland. My back says I'm being abusive; I try to cajole it by going swimming a few times a week - doesn't that count for anything?  My back stamps its vertebrae and says, No!  Stretch me, you damn selfish woman!

Ha! says I - I  I don't have time to stretch. So here we are - selfish back is on strike and we both have to waste time lying around as a result.  I'm concerned about all the bald, unclothed Alice-babies...they demand much of us.

It would be quite dull for both you and me if I were to produce fifteen blonde Alices wearing little blue dresses, so I've decided to experiment with colouring and clothing, but retain two unifying features for each doll so that they remain identifiably 'Alice':  her classic striped stockings (I think all those fussbudgety little rings are what did me in, spine-wise) and her hairband.

I wish I had more work-in-progress photos to share, but the light was low and cast a rather sickly-looking blue tint on everything and in my crabby state, I decided they were almost all too horrible to share.  I promise to be back soon with better photos and in a better mood.

Hey February, You're Okay

I have somewhat ambivalent feelings about February.  Why I hate it: it's cold.  By the time February rolls around, it's been winter for a while and it's still going to continue to be winter for another long  while, at least up here in the tundra Montréalaise.  Why it's better than it might be otherwise: it's short.  Why I love it: my birthday!  So, this past weekend, I turned 35.  For some reason, it felt significant.  I am firmly entrenched in my thirties  - not just dabbling.  I'm an adult.  Yes, technically I've been an adult for 17 years, but I still don't really feel like one, so the whole aging thing still seems a bit absurd to me.  How can I be 35?  Only grown-ups turn 35...  I remember when my mom turned 36 and I felt so sorry for her.  I was 10 at the time and figured her life was pretty much over as far as any kind of fun and excitement were concerned - what more could she possibly have to look forward to?   Well, of course now I know that that's not so very old at all, and I still look forward to so many things, and I still love getting spoiled on my birthday, so thankfully Mr. L doesn't listen to me when I tell him not to...

This year I got a beautiful snowskirt, made by our lovely friend Lienne and her team of Fantasy World Heroes.  These skirts are the perfect thing to wear over your clothes in winter to keep your thighs warms and so much more stylish than the ratty wool blanket I've been known tie around my waist while shuffling about the apartment, bemoaning the cold.  I think the snowskirt was as much a gift for L. as for me - at least he won't have to endure that disturbing sight any longer.  They're on sale at the moment, so now is the perfect time to fancy-up those cold legs...

(photo credit: Fantasy World Heroes)

I also got a very fancy camera bag and some beautiful books from both Mr. L and my dear friend Rebecca.

 
Mr. L gave me this one by Donald Barthelme for my children's book collection, and Rebecca gave me these sweet, illustrated mini-books put out by McSweeney's.

There's something about tiny books that just kills me, and the backs of these make up an illustration, almost like a puzzle:

In addition to all this spoiling-with-gifts, Mr. L took me out for a great meal at an Italian restaurant on Saturday and I further spoiled myself by ordering a glass of 20-year-old port after dinner.  Twenty years does indeed make a difference - it was liquid love.  Finally, just to prove that 20 years might make a difference when it comes to the of maturing port, but not much of one when it comes to maturing me, on Sunday, Mr. L and Rebecca and I watched one of my favourite movies from those awkward tweener years, the unapologetically silly Weird Science. Apparently, my sense of humour has refined very little since 1985 because I still laughed the whole way through. 

In Situ

One of my very favourite things about making stuff for a living and sending it out into the world (as if that's not enough already) is when people send me photos of those things in their new homes.  Seeing a doll I've made in someone else's place with someone else's objects all around them is both odd and heartwarming.  Because I always imagine the dolls as having their own stories, it's endearing to see them in a place I've never imagined.  So here are some photos people have sent me over the past few months, all shown here with permission.

Going clockwise from the upper left hand corner, there is Tita, who now lives with Grace in Hawaii; you can probably barely make Tita out because she's quite tiny in the photo, but I had to show off that beautiful scenery because I'm so jealous of her view.  It sure beats her old view here in Montreal (i.e. snow, with more snow, with some snow on the side).  Carling did a lovely job of displaying her print with that very schmancy hat, and then there is Philomena who now gets to live in Australia with the lovely Monika Viktoria. (Insert more envy here.) Finally, there is little Luanne who went to live in Florida with dollhouse decorator extraordinaire, Kaerie Faerie.  Luanne is psyched to have new dollie friends made by Loopy Booby and Christine of Dubuhdu Designs.

My first ever 'in-situ' photo was of Bridget, all dressed up by her adoptive mother in a paper hat and a stole:

I recently finished a new piece - a wall hanging - and while I know I promised all Alice all the time, this odd girl kind of sprung up from left field.  I know I've said it many times before, but here is more proof: sometimes, certain things just demand they be made and there's no point in trying to reason with them.  She says her name is Clara, and I am but her humble conduit!