Back to Winter, AGAIN!

Well, even though April is right around the corner, our whole world here is covered once again, in snow!! This morning the view out the window looked like a well shaken snow globe! I could hardly see across the street. But, the good news is after shoveling, the walks and driveway are clear again. At least at this time of year it melts quickly. There is hope for us here yet!

Working on a new piece for this week--she's spring-y, at least! ;)
Deb

A little girl cannot resist playing dress-up!

This week I had a fun project. This is Leni Jo (I took the name from a Debbie McComber book I'm reading right now, "Between Friends") and she is admiring herself in her mirror! Can't you just picture this scene in a little girl's bedroom? I know my granddaughter Ella LOVES to wear all these fun costumes.

Have a good weekend- I'll be back soon!

Deb

WELL, I CANNOT BELIEVE I haven't been here in months!

What a terrible blogger I am!! I can't believe I haven't posted here since November. I must vow to be more attentive to my blogging.

I have been working- doing as much as my little fingers can do- and mostly it's enjoyable! This week I did a fairy in an interesting pose, a crouching fairy, and I named her Jeisa. I am really pleased with how she turned out. Hope you enjoy seeing her too!

I am working on updating my website too- and I have a major magazine article coming out in May! I will let you know more when the time gets closer. Don't want to tell all of my surprises!

Avery- a vision of femininity

This is Avery. It feels so good to be back to work again! Avery is seated on a pillar made from mother of pearl abalone shells. I love the romantic softness of this piece. She is currently on ebay.

Deb

A commission "Work in Progress" series for you!

Hello!

I thought I would share a process with you- this is Zunel, and she was a commission I did a few months ago. The customer wanted a fairy with long, Rapunzel type hair, so I saved the longest fibers I had for her. They were soft, luxurious and about 14" long. I dyed them a very pale blond. Here are the fibers I was dyeing and a spool of thread to show a size comparison.


This is what Zunel looked like finished: And here is how she started. This is a wire armature, covered with clay and baked. Notice the segmented limbs- this allows me to pose her as I am working on her. The base is alabaster.

Upper body is now done and baked. Her breasts are pushed into that position because she will be wearing a bustier later.
What a messy work area!! Good grief. Anyway, the time is getting late but I am working on her lower body now. While doing that, I am careful not to handle her face, as the detail work is done there.
Now that gorgeous hair is on, her panties and tiny ballet slippers are also done. Now the fun begins! I LOVE COSTUMING! The poor dear needs to do something will all that hair so I can get her dressed! I called this a Bad Hair Day for Zunel. The customer wanted her absolutely dripping in Swarovski crystals and rhinestones. I spent hours and hours doing the beadwork on this sculpture. I was pleased with how she turned out- so was the customer!

Her wings were silk, hand painted and then fully covered with iridescent sheer glitter. By coating the wings with a sealer/varnish, then sprinkling on the glitter while the varnish was wet, it adhered the glitter and stiffened up the wings in one step. There were hundreds more crystals added after the photo above was taken. At the very top of this blog entry, that is what she looked like at completion.

Hoped you've enjoyed seeing this progression of photos. Some customers want to see WIP's (work in progress) photos, so we snap photos as we go. Thanks for stopping by!

Deb

Power in sculpting...

There is, you know. It is a powerful experience to sculpt- it can also be very humbling as well. This is Bianca. She originally was planned as a standing sculpture, but I wasn't satisfied with that so I decided to completely change her pose. The power part... :)

Then the task began to complete a rather complex pose. The humbling part. I kept at it though- and am happy with her results. Anyway, here she is, complete with a rather ornate headpiece. Hope you like her!

Deb

Been gone so much lately!!!!

Hello out there to any of you who might still be stopping by. My sincere apologies for not being around much this summer. It's been busy with the normal summer activities, and then on top of that my mom had back surgery about a month ago now. She had post surgery health issues and I spent a couple weeks going back and forth to help out there.

I continue to work in the studio- and will post photos as I can. I did a rather detailed commission piece this summer and the collector has given her permission for me to post work in progress photos of the piece. I will do that soon! Might be fun to see the long process my work goes through.

Thanks for stopping by- please check again in a few days or in the coming weeks- I promise to be more diligent with my posts!

Deb

From sweet and innocent to a bit on the Wild Side!

This is Teeke, a wild feral fae. She pauses briefly on a stump, listening intently for a familiar sound in the forest. I brought Teeke all the way to Alaska with me- she was happy to oblige me and those in the class there. Very patient for a wee wild fae...

And now for something just plain fun!

This is Mina, and she is trying to take cover under a flower- the raindrops fall all around her. This sculpt came together so nicely- and she was just a bit of humor for me-good timing! Her pose and expression worked just as I intended. I love it when that happens!

Well, back to work, I guess!

Finally getting back into the swing around here- much to do- many commission projects too! But, I miss listing on ebay so I tonight I listed Natalia. I will add more photos to the listing tomorrow when the lighting is better.

I don't know what it is about those redheads, but I sure love them!

Deb

Back from Alaska!

My husband and I just returned from our trip to Alaska were I was invited to come and teach doll sculpting. It was a great time- a long trip too- but certainly worth it! I am sorry I have been so absent from posting here on my blog, there was much to do to get ready for this trip of a lifetime!

It is absolutely amazingly beautiful in Alaska! Your brain almost doesn't believe what your eyes are showing it. I don't know how to explain it-and a camera is not able to capture it, certainly.
Below is a small iceberg, and as you can see, it is aqua blue. This is the actual color of the ice, it is not a reflection! On the other side of this iceberg there were about a half dozen sea otters, playing with their babies... Of course, the eagles were flying high overhead. It was rainy most of our time there but we still managed to get out and see the country.

This photo is of one of the many glaciers we saw there. They estimate the glaciers in this area are at least 10,000 years old. Just imagine what is frozen in those layers of ice! Typical tourists! Set the camera on a wall, set the auto timer and run like heck to get into the shot! We did have fun--
I will be back in a few days with new work to show you- thanks for your patience and for checking in!~

Deb

Leilana, soft and feminine...

I have been away from the blog for a while- happy to be back in the swing of things. I am getting ready for a class I will be teaching in Alaska in less than a month!! So much to prepare for.

In the meantime, I wanted to share my latest work with you. This is Leilana- a very soft and feminine reclining nude. You can see her on my ebay page if you want to see more images.

Have a wonderful weekend-
Deb