Missing waves and the sound of Seagulls

I grew up not far from the ocean in northern New England. I think whatever lays near you as you grow up is what stays close to your heart. I miss the lapping sounds of the ocean. I miss the squawking sounds of the seagulls. I miss those sounds overtaking all other sounds that surround me. I miss salty air. I miss the way the dawning light lays on the rippling water, I miss the way the moon reflects down and shines over us, providing nighttime light, just enough to see where we stand or sit or walk. I love knowing that I will pass one day but the beach and ocean will still be here, lapping, waving and reflecting the moon and sun all to the music of the gulls above. Nothing helps my aching heart more than the sight of New England’s water edges.

Boring

Did you ever read The Most Boring Blog in the world?…It was hilarious. I feel like that. I have nothing worthwhile to say. Noteworthy today….I bought Organic Ketchup. It tastes tangier. I don’t like tangy. I paid three time as much to have the one element I hate multiplied. I also bought t-bone steaks. I am vegan until t-bone steaks are on clearance. Don’t tell the Vegan Patrol. They may arrest me.

Dollmaking, my favorite pasttime

Finally, finally, finally, I had a 1/2 day to dive back into my favorite sewing project. My newly purchased tools for this purpose have been sitting in the studio for months….but my primary jobs come first.

dollmaking tools

 

Where to start, faces or hair first? For me, one leads to the design of the other.

 

doll hair

 

Loved the ribbon, I want to work with more of this.

 

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I have missed the feel of my sketch pencils in my hand. Oh to be a professional artist, but suffer, my dolls unto my hand.

 

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Ribbon hair.

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Wool Roving curly.

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Wool Roving Blond….. which awaits blossoms and birds, I want a nest in the hair. Than onward I will go to the huge basket of fabric that I hoard specifically for gowns and cloaks for dolls, to soothe the piece of me that desperately, so desperately, misses dressmaking.

Learning New Skills

If you have a business and no money to pay a big staff to tend to all your needs, you end up learning skills on utube or picking the brains of others who have stumbled along the path ahead of you. I have two crashed computers. I lost all kinds of information in them. But I was told to hang on and that I could try to retrieve it later. That moment finally arrived.

I was shown how to remove the hard drive.

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Here is my external case. Don’t ask me to explain its magic…. I just followed directions.

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Simply removing the hard drive, install it into the external case, plug into a working computer and voila! all the files are yours for the taking, removing, etc.

I found so much lost stuff!.  This was one skill I was so proud of learning!

Toys arrived.

The missing elements to Dollmaking have arrived and await my very enthusiastic attack. I also, in preparation, spent the weekend gathering all things I have tucked away for Dolls. I have wool roving, baskets of dress fabrics, odd artsy needlepoint, strange and wonderful yarn for hair and my favorite patterns I made so long ago.

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I cant wait to start but to do so means I need the day cleared of everything else. Every artsy person has a process, mine is to clear the day of everything and everyone and then dive into the art with music filling the air in the studio.

And how I miss dressmaking, the old fashioned cut-it-right-out-of-the-fabric dressmaking. With Dolls I have no limits, no one worrying, no one elses preferences to consider. Just me and what comes of the fabric. Again, I can’t wait. This is my happy place.

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But for now…..Yay! The last of my things arrived, I am poised to begin as soon as a clear day comes. Well, it won’t really “come”. I will have to smash everything out of the way to clear a day to have serenity and peace to drown in dollmaking.

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I cant wait.

Saving Crap is wicked good

Dolls were the first item I sold at craft fairs in the 80’s. They were also the first item that got me accepted into a real live professional art gallery. And  surprisingly there were woman who collected my dolls……I still have trouble actually stating that as a truth but it is.

This year, I am adding them back to my business as a secondary item. They will be my happy place. (Don’t you have a life that serves as a happy place? you are probably asking…No, I don’t….:)…)

Today was the day to collect all the doll making supplies and get them organized into one place. Lo and behold I found early attempts that I saved! How exciting is this? I have my very first sculpy doll! I also have a few bad attempts at heads…they really are bad, aren’t they?

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It’s awesome to save your firsts. I think it’s important to know where you came from, from where you started and understand your present expectation of yourself. Here are a few bad attempts at a head.

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I also was known to make some pretty good hands, although this would not be such an item.

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I can’t wait to get started. I miss painting, I miss fashion design, and I miss creating something that comes completely and effortlessly from my soul.  If only there were other like minded artists around here…..and maybe a genealogist or two. Then I could have a bigger happy place cuz I could have a friend…. in the meantime I will make dolls. They pretend to be friends….:)

 

I suck

Really, I suck at blogs. And I shouldn’t. They are worthwhile and fun.

I ordered supplies on Amazon. Doll stuff arrives and I get to play in my happy place. I also have my cutting table covered with Spring fabric for Apron Co. I am happy, supplies make me happy. I get to go forward into parts unknown and sew, paint ad design. Happy me.

Me…..and Dolls

I have made Dolls for what seems like a lifetime. They have been a continuous thread woven throughout my life. Whatever form my sewing takes, whatever part my business forms into an income, dolls have been my playground. They are where I have no cares, no expectations and no standards to meet. It’s just me, fabric, paint and free flowing creative mindfulness.

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Their forms take shape based on what I feel at the moment. Their hair and features also depend on my mood, my feelings or the music that I am listening to at any specific moment. They are born from my feelings more than any other work I produce.

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I have boxes of vintage fabric, containers of real wool roving and paints and brushes, all awaiting my free time. I have missed making them. They have not been in my life for years. I have eeked out a place for them to rejoin my life. They have their trunk of supplies in my studio, their own Etsy shop and await only my time. They are where I go for fun.

 

Susannah

Couture Weekend was a bust

One thing about owning a business is that it is like a 2 year old. It runs your life. You love it, but don’t be naive about who runs the show. I made one dress on Couture weekend and the rest are in pieces. My imagined 3 days of couture dressmaking fell by the wayside, I could almost hear Apron Company laughing its butt off at me.

On the other hand, orders went out. Phone calls were answered and the boring mundane things like accounting were not dismissed. I was dismissed.Well, my plans got dismissed.

But I am undeterred. I will add personal achievements and journeys to my schedule. The Dolls, of which I started as my very first product when I was a teen, are creeping slowly out from under piles and boxes. I love them. I really, really love them.

In my Doll days, I use to have a following. It was the first time anyone described me as an artist. There were people that collected them. I still love them. And I have found that as I age,  living a life devoid of what you love is a life that just plain…. isn’t as awesome as it could be…:)

So Dear Dolls and Dresses, I will keep you in my day one way or another, even if you only get 15 minutes, your presence will be there.

And one awesome thing about making art for a hobby. You don’t have to give a crap about sales!…HAHA! Dolls and Dresses can be just that, the dolls and dresses that I make because I want to. when I want to. and how I want to. If something sells, wonderful, isn’t that nice, but if they don’t, who cares? It’s the art and the journey that I adore.

And having that in place is important as it keeps me fresh for everything else I do…like designing Aprons, my other love.

 

Golden Leaf Gown Front

Above is the one gown that got completed on Couture Weekend. And lets not forget to notice the photography! Not bad for someone with no real time experience, just a Canon Rebel and Utube how to’s…:)