EJ Taylor class

Oh my goodness, how lucky was I?  Five day workshop with EJ Taylor.  I learned so much about paper clay and oil paint and full body sculpting.  The Flying Phoebes hosted EJ to teach in Northern California and I was lucky enough to host him at my house.  Of course he might not say that, because I'm a terrible cook, so I took him out to dinner every night.  Ha ha!  He is wonderful. 

The start of our day at Marcella's beautiful house as we drink our coffee and find out what we will be doing. 

We got right to work, sculpting heads out of paper clay and learning that we knew nothing.  But we all concentrated and worked hard. Of course we broke for food, candy and lots of coffee, laughter and good fun.

EJ was fabulous and gave us all indivdual attention and no one left the workshop disappointed.  Everyone's dolls stood on their own and were developing personalities.

 

Sally's doll practically walked off the table with all her attitude, of course

EJ Taylor

I cannot believe that I'm taking a class from the world renowned doll artist EJ Taylor.  It is an amazing experience.  Not only learning his  techniques, but also listening to his life stories and his philosophies on art.  I'm so thrilled to have him staying at my house while he teaches the 5 day class to the Flying Phoebe doll club in Hayward, CA.  He is showing us how to sculpt the head and hands and build the bodies on our dolls.  To see his amazing work, you must check out his website, http://www.ejtaylor.com/ .  He has always been my favorite doll artist.  Who knew that the stars would align and I could not only meet him, but host him in my house.   If you ever have the opportunity to take a class, do everything you can to make it happen!

Trade Shows and Selling

Well, I'm finally going to put my toe in the water and see whether I like the idea of selling my dolls.  It isn't something that comes easy, the letting go of a little piece of your creative spirit....but I know my dolls will enjoy the adventure of going to other people's houses.  But there are some dolls, like my Gnome Nanny and child that I just cannot bear to have leave the house.  They are both to dear to me to let go. 

I create the Bird for my little creature

So I fiddled all afternoon trying to get fluffy feathers to stick to this little bird.  Ugh!  They are up my nose and glued to my feet, but looking good.  Need to paint his feet so they aren't copper wire....but that will be after the glue dries on the feathers.  What a mess feathers are and I've never created a bird, so what do I know about what they look like.  You will never find this one in a backyard at your house, but if you follow a certain path in a hidden cave with a small stream ..... and then find the magic door unlocked...then you too may find him sitting on a branch....looking for the Birdman...

Sometimes he comes into the house and sits under my living room lamp...but that is only when their are lighting storms and his feather's get wet, then the Birdman knocks on my door and I feed them honey and seeds and they tell me all their adventures....

Another Fabulous Froud Weekend

I got to Petaluma on Friday morning around 7am and waited for the class to begin at 10.  Stayed in a funny old Victorian Hotel (Metro Cafe and Hotel) where the had make your own coffee and quiet signs all over so that you did wake anyone.  But it was very relaxing and artsy and seemed to fit the whole mood of the weekend.

 Three days of creative fun, exhaustion and birthing of new ideas and creatures.  Once again Wendy and Toby Froud generously shared their creative process with 15 lucky artists. 

Here is the fruit of our labor.  Fifteen little creatures all made under the watchful eye of our mentors who gave us tips and tricks throughout our time there.  Even the fur we used on our dolls was magical.  We were using left over fur that was used on the movie "Where The Wild Things Are".  On Friday we started the class with a meditation to find our creative energy and if we were lucky, to meet the creature we would sculpt.  All day Friday we worked on the head, getting the sculpt just right.  Saturday was heads and feet and wrapping the armature, then Sunday was painting and dressing.

And to top it off we had the class at the Petaluma Art Center and at the same time they had an incredible doll show. The show runs until the middle of September. If you have the chance to go, you will be rewarded with the opportunities to see dolls as diverse as E.J Taylor, Wendy Froud, Christine Shivley, Leslie Molen, and Kat Soto just to name a few.

Because Wendy and Brian were promoting their latest collaboration "The Heart of Faerie Oracle, Brian also came to play on Sunday.

My little creature just told me that he was a bird man, so now I need to make some birds to be around him.  I will publish a picture, once he is finished.

Secretive Merfolk refuses to talk

She refuses to speak.  In fact I think she is not happy that I found her hiding behind the seaweed in Half Moon Bay off the Pacific Coast.  She peaks at me out of the side of her eyes as if to say, shhh!  hiding here.  Maybe she isn't talking because I have not finished beading her skirt.  hmmm.....

This doll was truly a challenge and I learned so much working on her.  I have to thank all the hardware guys who helped me figure out the nuts and bolts I would need to support her heavy upper body.  Plus duck tape is a wonderful invention.  It really made a huge difference. I drilled holes in the Fimo, painted her gills, sculpted an upper body, all things I had not attempted before.  And I'm so pleased with her. I was inspired by the drawings of Tony DiTerlizzi from the Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide.

Working on a new doll

I've been working on this sculpt for two weekends.  I'm such a terrible picture taker, that the pictures never look very good.  This creature will become a mermaid, once gills, hair, tail, etc are added.  I enjoyed trying to do a full sculpt, but it really shows off all your mistakes.  No hiding it with clothing.  But even though it is not that great, I am enjoying the process of doing something a little different.