Simply Curious

Chicago International Show - Hogwart's

I love Rik Pierce's work. I'd love to take one of his classes, but I just don't have the space for the finished products. (I'd certainly be willing to spend the money!)

Showing off my recent creative streak.

This is my new Obitsu doll I was talking about, with the many many joints and poses. I painted her face, created her wig, and made the shiny red shirt. I haven't gotten any farther with the clothes, which is why I haven't taken any photos demonstrating the incredible range of motion. She's currently wearing Barbie's capris. (They're too big. I used a fashion doll pattern for the shirt, and found I had to shrink it about 15% to get it right. Hooray for scanners!)

I find when I make dolls, they tend to take on their own personalities. I was hoping to create bigger versions of the 1/12th historic costumes I love copying, but discovered that, once I painted her face, it just wouldn't work. She seems to have attitude issues. So the hair became short, wild, and multicolored, and the clothes decisively modern.

It's actually a refreshing change. Modern's so much easier to do! I have a much broader reference base for clothing ideas - pretty much every catalog that comes in the mail. Now I can find a good use for the Victoria's Secret catalogs that seem to arrive every week. (Just how many ways can you organize the same clothes in a catalog, anyway?)

One challenge I want to tackle is her feet. I like the fact that they have magnets in the sole so that she can stand on a magnetic base, but they're so small! They're practically the size of the feet of my one inch scale dolls, and have the look and shape of the feet you'd see on antique Jumeau type dolls. They aren't shaped for high heels and other fun shoes. I have a couple of experiments in mind for making them seem more realistic, I just need to get the FIMO clay to cooperate.

Hey, it's a challenge. Keeps the mind active. If I'm good, I can create and sell patterns or clothes. Probably patterns. I hate sewing on the machine, and prefer to do things by hand. It's time consuming and a little inconsistent.