Little Sprouts

The goal is to get these girls’ heads attached. First there is the matter of stitching some comely costumes — red and pink dresses and little tutus.

That is going on this weekend at DarcyArts work space.

Once the bodies are clothed the heads are carefully and securely sewn on. Soon we’ll have four girls ready to met their real life counterparts.

How cool is that?

After finishing the heads I took a bit of time to enjoy my birthday.

Frank and I decided on a quiet afternoon at home with a movie and one of our favorite foods — chile relllenos.

It was a beautiful sunny day and all was smooth on this Saturday. I needed to relax. I take far too little time for just chilling down. Work is almost always on my mind when I am conscious. I do get plenty of sleep but once I’m awake it’s GO.

GARDEN 2011

Once the sun is here to stay we’ll start adding to this years garden. It looks like we will have a lot of delicious tomatoes  to devour.

We are up to nine Paul Robeson tomato seedlings so far. We’ve got them inside under gro lights where they seem to be quite cozy.

We have one little pot  is still unproductive but how many tomato plants can our small container garden accommodate?

I think I can get three plants into the deep soil box, two into the last remaining blue rectangular bucket/box and I have two additional empty pots. I’ll have to pickup a few more before these guys are ready for outdoor living.

NEXT

This week will also see the start of custom made Big Prince and Elvis dolls. Good fun, there. Whoo hoo! Pix next week.

Bolan in Top Hat

As I’ve skipped  merrily through as many art projects as I could get together mini embroidery hoop silk screens are one of my favorite.

You get to use Mod Podge, cheap gauzy, thrift store curtain material and any size embroidery hoop you want/need.

Here is the set up. See the weave on the old curtain material? You can find this stuff at any cool old thrift store, lots of it, cheap.

Just lay it over your image (flat side to image) and sketch.

This is a homemade post card of my Andy Warhol painting. He looks beautiful.

Just cover the elements of the sketch that you do not want to ink with the ModPodge.

Let it dry for at least 24 hours. You can wash it out and reuse it over and over.

The suggested method of inking is to hand stipple the silkscreen fabric ink over the finished silkscreen. I use a big, fat, stiff brush and daub it all over the image.

Here is my Iggy silkscreen patch and my Marc Bolan in top hat patch. I sell them as patches so they can be sewn onto anything. But you can make you own silkscreen, too.

Born Impatient

Work is humming along here in the DarcyArts studio. In fact I’ve got work lined up for the next six weeks. I know my lovely buyers are patient and good tempered. It is my impatience that constantly nips at my heels. I was born that way.

Time is so fluid, sometimes speedy, fleeting, sometimes as thick and lazy as honey. Hours of focused work produces good results. I should be happy, happy, happy. It must just be living in the contemporary world of insta-gratification that messes with my mind. My expectations defy the reality of the slow art form I’ve chosen. Hand stitching is a meditative task. I can loose myself there. Placing each stitch in exactly the right place to achieve the desired effect. Pulling out every line of stitching that fails to do so.

Oh, what I wouldn’t give for a little bit of Virgo in my astrological chart.

As it is, I was born when the Sun romped through Aries — impulsive, restless, crashing headlong into everything and so impatient!

Each Soft Boy/Soft Girl doll takes at least two weeks to create. I know that but when I get excited and have an order for multiple dolls it’s like my brain fritzes. Expectations defy the logic of time tick, tick, ticking away. The clock is steady, unrelenting but not any more so than my disappointment that doing it right just takes so long.

A good job cannot be rushed

I need to make that sign and hang it in my workspace.  It would greet my impatience each day with a nod and a wink. Oh, chill thee little tweeker.

Wrangling art projects over the last decade has taught me that I must slow down and focus my attention, laser-like on the work at hand. I love being locked in that big fat  groove, making things that will amuse and please others.

I love the lesson the work teaches me and I believe in personal transformation but it goes sooo slooow.

Booked! Elvis and Prince!

Dudes and Dudettes — I am booked! I’ve got Soft Boy doll orders to take me, easily, through May! I am totally stoked.

Thank you, dear Etsians. You are rocking my dreamy world.

After finishing four portrait dolls of the loveliest little girls I will be creating large (about 36″) versions of Prince and Elvis.

How cool is that? Elvis will be so fun to do. Lovely lips!  It will be a challenge to manage a comb back do and sideburns.

I need to figure out how to soften the Prince eyes a bit. I need to make them a bit more “come hither” and less “what are you looking at?” My first Prince is pretty fierce.

My dreams are coming true.

 

Gnomes and Monday Musings

This is from December but it could have been last week. We’ve had cold, cold weather.

Today I’ll be putting the final stitches in a Kawaii style curly star to be sent to Minnesota.

This weekend  I stuffed black catnip squiddies. I’ll take pix this week and get them up at DarcyArts.

I’m also working, slowly in spare time on my David Crosby doll. I’ve got a nice body all picked out for him.

It is nearly March and I have not managed to start stitching items for the future. I am determined to have a goodly inventory on hand this holiday season – 2011. Too early for that? No. I’ll take it one day at a time starting right now or when ever I’m not creating for a new order.

Man have I got dolls to make!!

I want to make the memorial Beatnic gnomes I dreamed up last year. They could be very good.

Here are the sketches.  Copyright, biotches. Allen will be beautiful. There will be William Burroughs, too.

And Gregory Corso.

 

It’s a Struggle, Baby

I’m thinking of Keith Richards and that song after spending a solid week trying to find just the right material from which to stitch the clothes for the Brian Jones Doll.

he had loads of luxurious threads from British flea markets, from France, from Morocc and who knows where else.

I chose this picture as the model for his duds after Miss Jess (daughter and doll recipient) described the outfit she imagined him wearing.

I want it to be right and beautiful. I am going to hold off on the in media res photos. We’ll have a look at it in a day or two when the outfit is all fijished and Brian’s head is on his body.

I’ve got the pants done, the fur-trimmed robe nearly done. Next is the shirt, boots and maybe vest.

It appears than Brian is wearing about five shirts in the photo. it is a bit disorienting.

I’ve made him a really nice neck piece that looks as Moroccan as i could manage with things I’ve have around here for years.

Here is another picture in which Brian looks like he did some major shoplifting at a super cool second hand store. Maybe he drifted through the closets of a number of friends collecting garments at each one.

No wonder I’m having trouble focusing on one piece at a time.

Head for Brian Jones

This one is for a very special person ( you know who you are).

It is a very very late Christmas present. DarcyArts orders have kept me hopping since last October straight through this day in February. I had a day off last week but soon got back to my half finished Brian Jones head.

I like this golden fleece for the hair and the fringy parts of the bangs.

I’m waiting on a response from the intended recipient about the clothes Brian will wear.

I’ll let you know soon.

Noir for the Soul

While browsing Netflix Saturday I realized they have a huge selection of good old film noir available for instant view. Frank and I began watching them that afternoon.

One of the things Frank really misses from our shunned cable usage is Turner Classic Movies. Both of us grew up on Hollywood’s classic black and white films. We had become aware of their absence.

I Wake Up Screaming was the best of the two we watched on our kick-off Noir film day. I fell in love with the strange, beautiful energy of Laird Cregar.

He was big — 6′ 4″ — beautiful and gay. Sadly, he died young trying to lose too much of his ever-present and generous weight.

I think it’s fair to say his presence was mesmerizing. He made a compelling dark character. He was both good and bad in the aforementioned film noir, ultimately, a sympathetic character, at least, in my eyes.

Look at his eyes in this still from his last film Hangover Square. He had been punishing his body with radical dieting, amphetamines, etc. He died before the film was released following a weight-loss related surgery.

Laird plays a Jack the Ripper-like character in The Lodger .

We’ll have to wait for that one to arrive by snail mail. I can’t wait!

He plays the Devil in the 1943 version of Heaven Can Wait.

Though Laird looks the part in this photo (3rd on page) from the film Rings on Her Finger.

Here is a piece on Laird, from the New Jersey Star-Ledger.

They Are Waiting

It’s been a rough week or so. There was murder, death, exploitation, and as usual, the of balance of love, commitment and work.

I’ve been pounded by the waves but I’m up and breathing and thrilled to be making dolls ♥ ♥ ♥

I’m embroidering faces, making heads for Stevie Wonder and Prince dolls.

Another 8 hours today will get me there.

Then the clothes must be tailored. That will be fun and scary as I see Prince in a ruffled shirt.

I love this work.

I received a lovely message from the Etsian who received Mick number 4. She was ecstatic. Her words of praise raised my joy level, high!

Rock on, Mick and Ellen.

I’ve got dolls waiting to be made. My daughter won’t have her Christmas gift until her birthday.

I’m learning about my work year and I think I’ll have to start family handmades in July next time!

Jesus Q Bowling Demon

He’s done. Jesus Quintana Soft Boy doll number 1 for the dolls biggest supporter, Jordan! I love this. ♥

I lucked out finding the perfect color for the jump suit.

Stitching a tiny little jumpsuit wasn’t as hairy as I had feared it might be.

That means i can do a Woodstock-era Pete Townshend in his white jump suit!

Those in the know understand how easily I could be persuaded to memorialize Mr. Townshend’s fine look.

I wanted to do Quintana’s wrist brace and it came out pretty nicely.

I hand a pair of small fishnet stocking that served as the hairnet.

I had one pair of strange little brown buttons that were perfect for the eyes. Thank you, creative forces  for the gifts.

I wanted to do bowling shoes but, sadly,  a cobbler I am not.

This doll will travel to New Jersey. If you want one. Let me know. Convo me at Etsy.