My bird! My misunderstood bird.

Aaaand done!





Brian Froud's sketch:

Dark Crystal creature~

Feathering the creature ~almost done... almost.

Today's project...

From the endpaper of The World of the Dark Crystal... my favorite critter....

Pictures to follow~ Eeeeee

Caelie~

Change of plan....

After a few more commissions~ I'm gonna change up how I've been creating. Instead of trying to create 'works to sell' - I'm going to try to create 'works-for-me' as my little dolls~ love them though I do~ are created at an unsustainable loss. And so I shall take this time of unmitigated freedom and create fully for myself~

This little faun in my hand was my last attempt to create something simple - something that I could maybe - just maybe produce a few of in a day~ this~ it seems~ I am not capable of. I can not seem to speed myself up or lower the detail on my dolls - each one becomes more and more elaborate. I've conflicting goals~


1. To create works to sell on Etsy
2. To sell at prices that would allow people to buy
3. To add detail, emotion, story, individuality + quality to each subsequent work.

As I feel unwilling to change my tact on #2 and incapable of dumbing down myself on #3 ~ I must conclude that a change is in order.

New Year = a new focus!

Oh! And if you are one of the lovely lovely people that have taken one of my creations home~ thank you! Dear goodness~ thank you <3 I'm sure I'd have gone utterly mad creating for others and finding them non-exisitant! There were many many days that I sat back and looked at my work and wondered 'who in the world will want to take this little creature home?' and I was always answered with them sailing off to France or Poland or Italy or Ohio, California, Canada, or down the street... or to a friend back home.

I am so grateful and honored~ this has been a wonderful experiment and I'm always open for commissions from friends~ and anyone that took home one of my little creations~ is a friend in my book!

Wyck and Alban...

Wyck is the smiling monster and Alban the white rabbit...

A new self-made project

So I started this...err.. I'll go with the term: plan - But really it was more of an outline/goal that I'm calling: A Doll a Day. This, of course, rarely has happened and most certainly won't happen with the lack of light I have to work with~ BUT! I have managed about a doll every two days~ until I ran outta Sculpey... kinda a bump in the road~

But here are the two I've finished so far - a little colorful haired faun-ish boy and a red haired monster creature. I made them each little books that I sketched in and tied to their backs. Really rather pleased with them - and how well they stand!

I really should stick to monsters though - and try some new forms :D those are always the best ~

I'm thinking a fox-ish creature next and something with wings (after I finish one more commission).

Eips! I'd best plan for making Krampus before December hits - 'cause that is how I should decorate my Etsy site for the holidays - right? XD

see you guys soon with more dolls/sketches/rambles.

Adventures in FaerieCon...

Holy heck on toast~ but I don't get out enough~!

Thank goodness for lively sisters - or I'd wander around my little room and little world quietly and never go on any adventures.

FaerieCon was less overwhelming this year ~ I even get the courage up to speak to Mr. Froud - even shook his hand - which was something I've wanted to do for a rather long time. His work shaped my life. Though I stood like a dullard in front of Wendy on more than one occasion. But my mind is normally full of images and shapes and colors - so having to put words together and hand them over to one my most beloved artists- most influential and amazing ladies was more than my spongy grey-matter could handle. At least I didn't get light-headed or stammer or inadvertently insult them~

I was far less the fool chatting with other awesome artists... but I fear I am to be doomed near the Frouds.

As for projects in this moment~ my mind is still buzzing with thoughts of wings and bits of bark... but I'd best refocus on Christmas stuff... I do adore the idea of people hanging my works on the tree - or giving my dolls to their sweet-hearts.

Maybe some dolls in the scale of this little moogle commission~ I am really loving this size - it means using a thiner wire - which I was hesitant to do up until just a bit ago - I like the robust armature wire - But~ people won't be animating movies with my dolls... sooooo... small dolls it is!

Going to....

FaerieCon!

Did I mention that yet? I'm so excited!!!
I think it is just starting to set in. It is just for a day~ but I shall make the most of it!
I may even be putting on a pair of pointy ears ;)

Oh~! Reorganized my 'art room' - feeling much better about this set up~ I've the sun and I can see a little bit of the world outside.

I've just been working on a few commissions these last few weeks~ and those Halloween dolls, of course ;) a few more projects planned when my time is my own again~ pictures soon!

Final Fantasy XIV (takes up too much of my time)

This this Halloween...

I sat down with the intention of creating a set of Halloween dolls - I may have popped in The Nightmare Before Christmas and well... Tim Burton most definitely had a hand in inspiring this little creatures.

A little imp girl with wild hair and black gloves and a bat-winged boy with woolen pants~ and crazy crazy eyes.

They were fun to make - if a bit strange. I have been making newish dolls of late - a cartoony moogle - two humanesk tiny dolls for a client.

But I think these two turned out rather well.. creepy enough for Halloween and brightly colored enough for me to be happy~ though I'm not sure I'll ever make creatures like them again~ well..... maybe next year.

OH! And I'll be going to Faerie Con again this year - haven't been for the past few~ but I'll be there for a day - so excited to get to see Wendy Froud's work in person again.

Monsters and Moon Rabbits!

I finished a monster doll last week - I think he's one of my favorite dolls to date ~ seriously adore him. He makes me think I really should stick with monsters ~ but I do love making my little human-esk creatures.

His horns are made of a lighter Sculpey that I think turned out really well ~ can't wait to use it again. Maybe for some cool masks and ~ of course, more horns!

His jacket is made of piece of cloth from my good friend Rowan Rose over at Hughes Pottery.

Oh! I used sugru for his rather awesome little faun like monster-ears (which I see you can't see in this photo)~ I'll go into that more in a later post.

For now I think I'll prattle on about the strange witch-bunny-moon rabbit creature I just finished:
-
I've called her: Merrick. She was meant to by my Halloween themed doll... skipping right over a orange and black theme - I went with a witch/bunny/moon rabbit girl.. kinda... you know ~ idea.

Her hat was fun to make and I love the shape of her ~ she is up on Etsy: here.

I think... I may just be getting better at these things ~ though they are just as strange as ever.

I'm excited about my next few projects! I shall be back with more infos!! mawahahha

Happy Obscurity!

Autumn will soon arrive and I feel I should at least do ONE specifially Halloween themed doll... maybe I should set about doing a little be of research! of course - last time I did that.. I ended up with an Alice in Wonderland with brown hair and a yellow dress (as Mr.Carroll originally sketched and colored her) and a show that no one understood with a theme I'd best not have attempted...

Maybe I should just go with the popular vibe is of the day... 'cause I'm sure if I researched Christmas I'd come out making Krampus and no one wants that...

New Month...

Well ~ it will be a new month in a few hours. Durning the power outage here in Eastern PA (due to the hurricane named Irene) I pulled out some paper and finally got back to sketching. Seeing the work of a lovely lady on Etsy: Nathalie Ortega and the lovely stories she tells with her pictures - made me ever more remise about my works. I love making dolls - and, truth be told, they are what sells on my Etsy - but I do get so quickly tired of working in the same media - I like telling different tales and trying different things... I'm not sure how some artists work in only one media and on one subject.

On the other hand - I bet they get reeeally good - I can not claim that. I can say I am skilled - but a master? Probably never. I don't think that is a goal. I want to get better - but the true enjoyment for me is in the making. Even now after almost 50 dolls made - I've only kept one - though I've loved everyone of them ~ I would much rather share.

I'm just grateful there are people out there that want to take some of my works home! What more can an artist such as my self ask for? I adore the idea of my dolls being all over the world! And they are!

But I think I need a new big project! It has been some time since I had a show - those really get me moving - I'm sure I've been more and more indulgent since college - I must admit - I miss homework and projects and dead-lines ~ self-motived? sure... but I'd be more so knowing someone or place is waiting.

Ah well~ back to work! Etsy is down to three items! *laughs* I shall focus on that 'assignment!' ... for now.

Belladonna would probably be a good name~

I've been watching Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock - one of my all time faaavorite shows ever. I can still remember the songs ~ and all sorts of strange little details. I've loved every episode... So much silly wonderful adventure in each wonderful little tale - I feel as if I couldn't get enough of Fraggle Rock! But five seasons is more than I expected to have the pleasure of watching... and I can always make up my own when it is all said and done, right? I'm just silly enough to do just that ^^"

Side note: I hate Fimo!! Why do I ever start working with it!? These two are a last two dolls I will make in Fimo... please don't let me try again! >< such a waste of my time!! But - ugg! it does look and feel so nice when you're done - even the weight of it is lovely.

I'm making a Dryad at the moment - and I WILL finish her - even if it takes another week of Fimo based battle!!

Stopped in a store that sold items other than bread, milk and butter and discovered that Autumn shall be here soon (why else would the store be covered with faux fall leaves? I think I imagined an extra 2 summer months or something - as the end of Summer is so clearly fast approaching.

Still - there is a bit left... so I'd best make sure to enjoy it! Though it melts my Sculpey before I touch it and doesn't seem to be helping me out with the Fimo all that much.

I am excited for Autumn though! Should I start Halloween dolls already? At the rate I've been making things - I might just have one done in time for the holidays!

much love~

Back to work - jiggity jig~

I now need to make an armies worth of these little creatures and characters and get them up on Etsy and take them out into the world - If I don't share these little guys with someone I think I shall fall into the category of: Mad Doll Maker - that.... is a title right? Lots of plans and random bits of hope floating about.

My awesome Dad picked me up some wool roving the other day of such lovely colors that I can not wait to use it... just have to finish up a doll today and then I can get to some little ladies who will have red and purple hair! Darn projects running in to one another. ;) I seem to always want to work on the NEXT project.

That said - I am very happy with how these two dolls turned out - I wanted more expression and color... I think I also wanted them to look 'wild - worn - and wonderful' but I always end up giving them hems and stain-free clothes! Maybe a few more dolls in and I'll be able to get to those three W's.

Have I mentioned my desire to add masks into the world of my doll making? But - I also intended to get wings in as well - and what of my doll pairs!? Goodness - so much to do... I need more deadlines!

Back I go to work on a fuzzy Muppet-ish goblin creature... 'till next time!

A Move - a Studio - and setting it all up!

Greetings, friends!

Been a little extra sluggish due to a move and much of my art supplies being in another state - but I have my first studio space!! Okay - its a bed room in the new apartment - but the idea is still lovely. I'm setting it up and getting ready to get back to work!! New creations soon!

See you then ^^

Fauns - Fellowship + Forgotten Fridays

My plan of updating every friday seems to be falling by the way-side.... as is my work schedule. I'm not getting as much done as I could hope/like/wish/dream/plan. Though there is little reason to whine about such things - the only thing there is to be done is to work harder!

Life continues here - each day filled with the endless sound of passing cars and the cold winds off the lake. I don't know why people say this is the best city to live in... I have found nothing here but dirt and sameness - I must have missed something... I shall go out and hunt for it soon.

'till then - I'll be here - sketching fauns.

See you again soon!

Sunshine and Spreading Chaos

Gonna have to go with an 'image update' - happy with the creations - want to start those bright colorful characters I've been meaning to make - AND then I want to work on more 'Eden-like' creatures.. you know, masks and horns and semi-creepy-strange-cuteness.

Of Fimo and Sculpey...

Been working with Fimo lately - though I'm not sure exactly why.. such a pain! I don't know where to begin! How does Wendy Froud do it?! I feel like I'm in a battle with the stuff... but when its all done and baked... its so awesome! Also - Wendy Froud works with it!! ... I'm a fan girl <<

Nora here was made with Sculpey... I don't think I could have done her face with Fimo... But that said - I suppose it will just depend on the project I'm working on, eh? Nice to have options - though I think I'm heading into Fimo on the tail end of one of their lines - such is the story of my life!

Ah well! Back to work I goooo...

much love ~

Fauns and Foxes...

So I set about making a few smaller dolls the other day - my goal had been to make things with wings... but I completely failed >< and ending up making a faun and a fox girl.

As I worked on them I tried to think of stories - the places they came from - the worlds and paths they'd walked... which is always fun and a little bit more so when working with slightly more human creatures...

The faun I named Mina - who comes from a long family of fortune tellers and stargazers... I think all my fauns share the same story... maybe I just like to look of characters with horns gazing skyward... I think I wrote that she is 'often boisterous and impatient', which would set her apart...

The fox I haven't named - but I like the idea the she is a GateKeeper - you know... one of those characters that keeps the keys for the doorways to 'Other' places.... I like the idea that she was once human - but with time - this role/job is shaping her slowly into something different. I'll be making her a pair of shoes as soon as I'm done typing.

much love and a hug
-E

New Storykeepers - Scribes

These are my favorite creations to date - I love their size, posable ears - proportions, weight when you pick them up, shape of their feet - their strange oval faces...

I think they'll be the scribes of The Storykeepers... I always figured their were clans - some specializing in one thing or another - some free agents - others one of a kinds... like Ing.

I can picture them climbing bookcases and pouring over the latest tale to be kept. Whimsy - you know it.

image update- One

music.. printer paper... slow light

Working on a new army of creatures for Etsy! >:D see you sooooon! Lots of monsters - working more on their clothes than previous creations...

A New Year

So sorry for the lapse in posts, my dear readers. I haven't been as busy as I should have been of late - but what I have made I have been rather pleased with...

Life continues here for me - a move may be in my future - maybe in this next place I shall set down literal roots and my works in the world of plants can continue as can my own world of strangeness.

Hope you're keeping warm - if you're where its cold - or staying cool if you're where it is warm.

Back with more soon!