Happy Halloween, Chloe!

I have given my BJD, Chloe, a face up! It's not perfect, but I think she looks sweet. The biggest challenge was the eyelashes, but making the mouth look defined without looking like lipstick was a challenge too.



Chloe shows off the Kitty on the Halloween dress I made her.







So many of my dolls are posed holding a Teddy Bear. (No surprise there!) Chloe has fallen for this one made by Terri Effan.

My BJD is Here!

Meet Chloe. Isn't she sweet?


I had to start with that photograph because it is my favorite, but I suppose I should back up a bit. I have been reading the BJD forums and I noticed it is customary to document the arrival of a new BJD with a "box opening" photo shoot. Since this is my first ball-jointed doll, I decided to participate in this custom so here goes:

The box arrives.



(I've also noticed on the forums that it is also customary for the family pet to inspect the box and make sure all paperwork is in order. Missy seemed to instinctively know this was her job, and she went right to work as soon as I put the box down.)









Hello


Is all this stuff for me?




Cinder had to get into the photos too. (How come I can't get a good shot of just him when I want to?)




I like my dress.



Could you make my ears smaller, please? I think they are too big for me.



That's all for now. I'll take more pictures when I get her face done (which may be a little while)
For those waiting to see bears on this blog, you will soon!

Ball-Jointed Doll Artists Retreat!

I'm back from my retreat and it was great! It was a great learning experience, it was fun, and even exhausting. We sculpted a head, created the molds for it, and cast it in just three days. We also had a wonderful airbrush painting demonstration. I was very busy but I did manage to snap a few pictures. So here they are!

This is what I came home with--my original sculpt and the casted head. We used ball barings for eyes so the original looks quite creepy. I had wanted to sculpt a girl, but my head decided to be a boy! We only had four hours or so to sculpt the head, so I thought it came out pretty good considering.



Making the clay bed for the molding process...



Making the mold box...



Our classroom. (The lovely and talented Lori Metcalf, seated in front, was my roommate for the weekend! Thanks for everything, Lori!)



Our wonderful sculpting instructor, NIADA artist, Pat Lilich talks with Lori.



This is Donn Kinney of Bishonen House, our mold making instructor.



Here are two of Donn's amazing dolls...



And some alternate face plates for them.



I met so many wonderful (and talented) people, I really wish I were better at remembering names.

On the left is Yia Putman. She sat right in front of me and was a delight to talk to.



Lori and I pose with Yia's doll.



Sarah, AKA Batchix, with her incredible Machina dolls.



One person's trash is another person's treasure! The mohair scraps I brought were a hit with the dollmakers.



One tiny doll gets a new look from an unused mohair Teddy ear!



And look who I found at the BJD Artists' Retreat! Famous fellow Teddy Bear Artist, Art Rogers of Chatham Village Bears!



Saturday evening there was a Steampunk Ball and I took some pictures there too, but I'll have to post them later. I want to spend some time in my studio today...the bears are calling!

Playing With Dolls

I used to say, "I don't collect dolls, I just have a few that I really like." But recently, I counted my dolls, and I think it is safe to say that a grown woman with 25+ dolls, is a doll collector! My recent doll obsession, (besides sculpting them) is BJDs or Ball Jointed Dolls. I mentioned in my last post that next weekend I will be attending a BJD Artist Workshop and Retreat. I could not be more excited about that! I am also looking forward to the arrival of my very first purchased BJD. Modern ball-jointed dolls are a unique collectible in that they are completely customizable. They are hand cast resin, and are often made in Asia (which is why they are sometimes called Asian BJDs). A collector chooses the sculpt, the hairstyle and color, eye color, clothing, and the face-up (how the face is painted). Many collectors will even do the face-up themselves. The other thing that makes BJDs so wonderful is, of course, the jointing. They have ball joints at the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, ankles, and sometimes at the waist too, making them able to pose in very lifelike ways. As soon as I saw them, I knew I wanted to add one to my collection (yes, to my doll collection) But which one? There are so many choices of companies and sculpts-- and that is even before you begin to think about customizing!
I finally decided on Ange Ai Gaby from Custom House in Korea. I love her sweet face and small size. I also knew I wanted a child doll. Here is the picture of Gaby from their website.



When my little doll arrives home, she will look very little like that photo. She will be bald, naked, and unpainted. She will also have some random eye color which the company chose (which could even be purple--not my taste) But she won't be like that for long! I have purchased a wig and some eyes for her, and have the materials necessary for giving her a "face up". I also purchased some clothing patterns and an adorable pair of tiny leather shoes.




I have been very busy making bears for orders, and I have a show coming up soon, but today, I gave myself permission to "play with dolls". I think my doll will be arriving near the middle of next month, so I made a Halloween themed dress/outfit for her. The shoes I got have a cute black cat face on them and I fell in love with them, so I based the outfit design on the little cat face. I made a drawing of how I wanted it to look. I purchase a Bitty Bethany Pattern because the measurements seemed similar to Ange Ai, and made some simple alterations.I think the outfit turned out too cute! I hope it will fit her. The jumper is black velveteen and I made the Kitty applique from very thin leather to match the kitty on her shoes.





This will be her Halloween outfit, since I hope to display her with my Halloween bears and other decorations. I will have to make other outfits for other occassions.
I'll be sure to post her pictures when she comes!
Now back to Teddy Bears!

I'm Still Here!

I've been working on so many things at once that I have not been posting much, but I am still here and still making bears (and some bunnies, and some knitted scarves). Also, our power was out for a while due to the huge winds the hurricane sent us. In Ohio!!? Remember the post where I was contemplating whether or not I'd give up electricity before giving up making bears? I had a chance to try it out! What do you think I did during the power outage? I worked on bear on the screen porch and in the candle light until my eyes couldn't take it anymore!

I am also very much looking forward to next weekend for a chance to get away and emerse myself in sculpting dolls and surround myself with passionate and talented doll artists at the BJD Artists Workshop Retreat!!! The forum for the retreat has asked for a photo, and I didn't have a recent one I liked (I have lots of cute ones from 2-3 years ago before I gained 20lbs!) So I asked my son, Alex to take one. He took a few, and then told me to hold one of my bears. Wouldn't you know that the photo of me with a bear was the one with the most natural smile!
Here I am with The Little Drummer Boy, made for Teddy Bear and Friends magazine's Christmas feature.



I'll bring my camera to the retreat so I can post some pictures here. It sounds liek we are going to be very busy though so I do hope I remember to use it!

Where Has the Summer Gone?

This has to have been the fastest summer I can remember! I'm sure I said that last year too, but this year was even faster. I don't know where the summer went, but I started back at my teaching job last week. It is wonderful to see the students again and my mind is full of ideas for lessons and projects.
I have not been posting on here very much, not because I have not been making bears, but because it has been a beary good and busy summer with lots of custom orders and one fun show. But the highlight of my summer, and certainly one of the biggest highlights of my Teddy career so far, came in the mail about a week ago. I hope I don't sound too cheesy when I say it is a dream come true , but I have been wishing for this for a long time.Please check out pages 28-31 in the latest Teddy Bear and Friends magazine.

Sauder Village Doll and Teddy Bear Show

I'm back from the Sauder Village Doll and Teddy Bear Show! It was a delightful show. Most of the exhibitors were doll and/or Teddy Bear dealers, but there were a couple of original doll artists present and seven Teddy Bear artists. The collectors were wonderful, as usual, and five of my pieces (two bunnies and three bears) found new homes. Another bear found his new home as soon as I got back from the show.
It was also delightful to meet (in person--I know Bobbie from Teddy Talk) artists Bobbie Ripperger, Berta Hesen-Mensen, and to see Jacquie Pollitt and Marilyn Wagner again. We also enjoyed seeing Beth and Ben Savino of the Toy Store again.
As usual, I was so busy chatting with table visitors to think much of my camera, but I did remember to get a couple of shots of my table, and my handsome assistant.
This is most of my table. I couldn't stand back far enough to get it all in at once.


The Traveling Bear got cut off, but here he is.


Here is a closer look at Jax, Doodle, Flopsy, and Peter.


A closer look at my more traditional Teddy Bears...The Little Floppies, Pincushion, and Simon.


And last, but certainly not least, my handsome assistant Sean(AKA husband, best friend, soulmate, etc.) He was a great help, and of course I love his company. He is not able to come along often so it was a real treat.A treat for me, I mean!


As is always the case with traveling to shows, I was ready to be home at the end. But shows always leave me looking forward to the next one too! I'll let you know when that will be. For now I need to change gears a bit, and get ready to start teaching school again.