My trip tp NIADA in Tennessee

I don't usually put a lot of text in this blog, but I had such a wonderful trip to Tennessee a couple of weeks ago that I thought I would share some of my experience there.  I went to the NIADA (National Institute of Doll Artists) conference held at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg to spend a week taking classes and learning from an amazing group of artists.

I took two classes, one with Leslie Molen to make an Asian doll, Ling-Li Hua, and another with Diane Keeler to learn to sculpt a child's head in polymer clay. I learned so much!  From Leslie, how to insert eyes in a fabric sculpted face and how to color the face with chalks.  And Diane was a wonderful teacher who taught me how to sculpt a realistic face from clay - something I had never attempted before.  This is my Ling-Li.

And this is an in progress photo of my clay head.

The keynote speaker at the conference was Elsa Mora, a wonderful artist from California.  Her blogs are delightful - she makes friends and shares her extraordinary talent so beautifully through her words and pictures.  I was so happy to meet her in person and to experience her artful, entertaining, and moving presentation at the conference.  Please go take a look at her blog(s).  You will make a new friend.  Here is a photo of Elsita and me.

The NIADA conference will be in Chicago next summer and I hope I can return to reconnect with all the beautiful artists and friends!

Butterfly

This is a doll I made for an exhibit of dolls that hang on the wall, rather than stand or sit. That's a real butterfly in her hands, preserved with Paverpol. She's an original design.

Thelma's doll

Thelma will be 90 years old this week and this is her childhood doll - a German bisque doll. I cleaned her up and made new clothes.

Little Bo Peep

I started to make this doll for the Hoffman Challenge, but couldn't finish it on time to submit her to the contest. I like how she turned out.

Emily's doll

This an Annie I made from a pattern from De Powell for Emily.

More Bunnies

New doll

This is a doll that was inspired by a picture I saw on a blog. She ended up pretty cute and I think I will try some more based on this design. I don't have a name for her - what do you think?

Fuzz Bun

I signed up for an online class to make a polymer clay bunny. I had never tried to work with clay before, but this was pretty easy. Here is my first bunny.

John C Campbell class

I attended a weekend class in photography at the John C Campbell Folkschool in Brasstown North Carolina this weekend.

I learned a lot about how to take better photos of artwork. Here are some photos.

My dog

His name is JP and he's the best!

Snow!

We had a beautiful snowfall this week in Philadelphia - powdery, light, and really pretty. Would have been perfect on Christmas Eve. It was the best kind of snow - easy to drive in and by today all has melted!

Lots of Pixies

I made a lot of small pixies that I sold at Christmas time. Here are some photos.

Annies for Christmas

I made a lot of Annies for others to give as Christmas gifts. The blonde Annies went to twins Miya and Priya. The brown-haired Annies were gifts for three sisters.

New Annies

More Annies. They are fun to make.

New Doll

I had a "reject" head and started playing with it and look what happened! I think she came out looking pretty good. I made my own pattern for this doll and I think I'll try a few more like this, although the head may come out different.

Flower girls

From a pattern by Julie McCullough. Check out her patterns at www.magicthreads.com

More Annies

I have been making Annies from patterns by De Powell. Here are some of them. De's patterns are available at bowls-n-annies.com

Annie

I made this cute little Annie from a pattern by De Powell. Check them out at www.bowls-n-annies.com

New Photos

I made a light box to help take better photos. These are a few of my first photos using the light box. I think they are much better than the previous ones. All my original dolls except for the last one (with twigs) - made by Akira Blount.

Finished Fairies

Six fairies are finished. No names yet, but they are all different.