Monday, February 20, 2012

Painting has begun. . .

Such fun at doll class again today! This was my first day painting. I love painting things! I used to do flower pots and ornaments and such, because I just really enjoy it. All I did was the hair, which feels like not a huge accomplishment, but I really want to take my time and do this right. I'm really happy with how it turned out! I even remembered to snap a picture today:



I also read the article from the Doll Artisan magazine this doll was featured in, and saw that the estimated year for this doll, based on her hair style, is 1866. Until I read this, I really didn't know what I'd do for her clothing, but now that I have a year, this is a starting point for my brain to burst with ideas! ;)

Here is the dress pattern designed for this doll (Seeley, #MP57):



It's cute, but. . . I think I'm just not feeling it, because I think I need a super elaborate 1866 ball gown! I'm all excited to crack open my books and browse my digital fashion plate collection for ideas. . .

Next week, I'm going to bring Charlotte with me, as they had never seen a BJD. Charlotte is excited to get out of the house, but lamenting my not having made her a fabulous new wig as I have long been promising! Poor Charlotte. She sits in her chair and gets dusty while I have been spending all my time and funds on other doll projects! Maybe I'll finish one of my unfinished projects for her this week. . .

Monday, February 13, 2012

Let the porcelain doll-making adventures begin!

I attended my first doll-making class tonight, and am happy to say it was quite a success! I got all my pieces cleaned and ready for firing. I very much enjoyed the process. It was the perfect opportunity to let my perfectionist side run wild, because the idea is to make the seams left from the molds disappear, and because I am straight-out bananas, I chose for my first project a doll with detailed molded hair. Typical "Jenni" thing to do! But as I've said before, I do love a tedious project, and so I found it enjoyable. Also, I just plain liked the feel of everything in my hands, if that makes any sense. . .

I wish I had thought to take some pictures of this process, so that I could share here on the blog, but I was so focused that it never occurred to me until the drive home. Had my camera with me even, since it's still in my bag from my recent trip to Oklahoma. Ah well. You just have to imagine the doll from my previous post, but totally unpainted. That about sums it up! You know, even unpainted, I think this doll is lovely. I hope I can do her justice with the painting. I was not too afraid to do the cleaning steps, and of course I've not a worry at all about making her body and clothing, but the painting - that freaks me out! It does help to find out that the paint comes right off (pre-firing, of course) so if you make a mistake, you can fix it. And, I've done lots of random craft projects that involved painting - some very detailed - so the brush should not feel completely foreign in my hand. Still, at the moment I feel certain I will not posess the skills to make brows that match!

Also, and this isn't very doll-related but anyhow, I am patting myself on the back right now for going out and doing this. I feel like my driving anxiety is always holding me back from doing things, but I really wanted to do this, and even though it was my first time making the drive (Glenn drove last time), and it involved multiple highway mergings, and was at night, in the dark, which is the scariest driving of all, somehow, I did it. And without a panic attack. Awesome! It will only get easier after this, because I will come to know the route and not be so petrified that I'm going to get into the wrong lane. And do you know, I didn't even have to do any of the breathing techniques. Which is odd since sometimes I still have to do those when I go to the grocery store! I must really, really want to do this doll-making thing! :D