Last month was very exciting as I was able to attend the Quinlan Doll and Teddy Bear Show in Philadelphia together with the Professional Doll Maker's Art Guild. 

My husband and I drove up from Florida and stopped to enjoy a few days with my oldest daughter and my granddaughter who at the time lived in North Carolina.  Such a beautiful state.  The trip was long but so worth it.  Flying is out of the question since I have to tag along my scooter everywhere as I cannot walk.  I also could not possible imagine packing all those dolls and leaving them up to the baggage handlers at the airport.  OHHHH NOoooooo!

Once at the show, I attended classes and got to show my dolls at the exhibition center.  It is so exciting to see artists and collectors admire my humble creations and to see their beautiful works of art.  I had the best time with all my artist friends and met many new ones which I am certain to see again in the future doll shows!! Here is a picture of my table at the show!

 

 
These are some of the new dolls I sculpted for the show...

 

 

and of course, My Don Quijote goes with me everywhere!!

 

 

At the dinner I was presented with the Gold Contest Award from the Art Guild for my "Einstein's Second Passion.  He won second place in the advanced category.  What an honor!

 

 

 

 

And as if that wasn't enough glory...I just found out he also won the Doll's Magazine Award of Excellence also called the Diamond Award for 2017.  This award was given to him at the International Doll and Teddy Bear Show in Asheville, NC just last week.  I am so sad I could not be there to celebrate!!  Maybe next year......

 

 

International Doll and Teddy Bear Show and the "REASON" People

 

I believe there are a couple of reasons why people show up in your life.  One is to stay there for a lifetime to serve some sort of purpose, to teach you something and to help you figure out who you are, as in Eddy, my husband who constantly tries to teach me unconditional love.  (Still trying!) 

The other, is people who come into your life for a "REASON"....It is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally, or spiritually. They may seem like a Godsend and they are! They are there for the reason you need them to be. 

 

I got to spend a week with many of those special people at the IDTS show in Asheville.....

 

Each one had a special gift for me.  Some brought experience, friendship, some laughter and some were there to teach me something I needed to learn.  Whether it was a lesson in sculpting and/or a lesson in social skills which I am known to lack. (thanks Debbie Weimert) I am becoming a "social bug" with your guidance. One extraordinary group of beautiful people.

 

Now, as far as the show.....

 ...it started on Thursday with an awesome class taught by my dear new friend, CEO of the Professional Doll Makers Art Guild, Jack Johnston.   I think this was Jack's last class as he is retiring.  Going fishing at the beach full time!  So sorry I did not get to meet him sooner. 

 

 While in the class my "helper" (husband) set up the table at the Guild's booth for me and I was so pleased at how well everything looked and how he set it up using the beautiful wood stand he had built earlier for me.   I had my own table and took 11 of my dolls to the show.  It was so gratifying to see people and collectors stop by my table and admire my dolls.  Many of my well-known artist friends came to see them and shared their suggestions and praise.

 

I was at the show as part of the Professional Doll Makers Art Guild.

The PDMAG's new CEO is Cherie Fretto, my Mentor and very special friend. (It is mainly because of Cherie that I have advanced so much.) Jack has also chosen Apryl Jensen of Sculpt University and Making Fairies for President of his business, Art Dolls.com.  I was a member of the Sculpt University for a while and learned so very much from April.  I also own many of her online classes

 

My table at the Guild's Booth

 

During the show I met face to face with my very first teacher Deb Wood, President of International Art Doll Registry of which I am a member of.  I took my first online class with her on December 2014.  It was her Mermaid Class and it seemed like yesterday.  Can you believe it has only been 2 years????

She came to my table and we talked for a bit, brought tears to my eyes, it was like she was looking right through me and reached out and touched my soul.  How awesome!!

 

I met Adele Sciortino, such a lovely person.  It is through her site Aforartisctic.com that I take many, many sculpting classes from different artists.  My dear friend Lori Pratt was there to cheer and encourage me as usual.  I met Lori last year at the show.  Her and Natalie Ruiz, always taking the time to stop by and discuss my doll making progress.  Kellie Beckett making me laugh and making me feel part of it all. And all the other new friends I acquired, too many to mention.  You don't know how much I appreciate that. 

 

For the past few months I had been working with Cherie on a Guild project and was familiar with the names of all it's members.  I had the best time putting faces together with the names!  The Guild has grown so much and I am so honored to be part of it.  Here is a group picture of all the artists from the PDMAG who attended the show.

 

During the show I met a very special lady (Sharon Ann Wells) who really liked one of my dolls and on the last day her mother bought it for her.  Sharon said my doll looked like Kat Von Dee.  I have to admit I did not know who she was talking about and had to google it, LOL.....

Her mother (Brenda Gill Wells Hartsell) is my friend and fellow artist at the Guild.

  She was so happy it made my heart sing.  Such beautiful ladies!

 

 

The culmination of the Show was the Banquet on Saturday night.  I had a lovely time sitting with people I really admire and whom I owe a world of gratitude to.  For it is because of each one of them that I have surpassed my expectations of where I wanted to be as an artist by now.  Jack Johnston, Cherie Fretto,  Linda Ehrenfried (who I look up to and told me Don Quijote was it!) and Debbie Weimert.  Each one for a very special reason. 

 

 

It was during the Awards presentation that I found out I had won two very prestigious awards for My "Don Quijote" doll.

 

 

 

Professional Doll Makers Art Guild Gold Award 2016 and

2016 Industry's Choice Award of Excellence sponsored by Dolls Magazine

 

 

Many of the artists in the PDMAG won awards.  It is such an honor to be among them.
Congratulations to all!

 

Here I am with Jack, and the President and new CEO of the Guild, Cherie.  Thanks guys for making my dreams come true!

 

 

Eddy and I are very thankful..... I am aware that some of these "REASON" people will at one time or another just go away but I know that at that time the need I had will have been met, my desire fulfilled and their work will be done.  It will be sad to see them go but I will forever hold them close to my heart, for they have helped form this new me.  I sincerely hope I touched their lives too even in a small way.

Dama De Blanco

 

NOTE:  This post contains sculptures and photography depicting nudity in an artistic form. Viewer discretion is recommended

 

LADY IN WHITE......

I came to the US as a young child and really can't remember much about Cuba.  Through my sister, Pally, who did not have the chance to immigrate with us early in the 60's, I have learned much about the country I was born in, before and after.   Because of numerous government screw ups including and not limited to loosing her application for permission to leave the country, my sister got to experience much of the terrible heartache of being a young bride away from her family, having her first child without our mom by her side and the unbearable hungry nights and brutal experiences of the newly formed communist dictatorship. Hence, she would be forced to remain there until the end of that decade when all efforts by my parents to pull her out of there, finally paid off.  Of course at 9 years of age I was clueless of what was going on around me.

Later in life I would sit and listen to her tell a few of those horrible stories and it would actually shrink my heart.  Most people cannot relate to why she is so passionate about Cuba even after more than 50 years but I would suggest to you that it would be difficult to sit with her for an hour listening to her stories and remain judgmental and uncompassionate.

This is why when she asked if I would make a doll for her that would represent oppression, liberty, silently suffering and all those emotions put into one as in for instance the Ladies in White, I thought to myself it would be an impossible task but I would certainly try!

She decided the theme would be Ladies in White and gave me a general idea of what her interpretation of the art doll would be.

Here is a bit of background on the subject.

The Ladies in White as defined by Wikipedia

Ladies in White (Spanish: Damas de Blanco) is an opposition movement in Cuba founded in 2003 by wives and other female relatives of jailed dissidents. The women protest the imprisonments by attending Mass each Sunday wearing white dresses and then silently walking through the streets dressed in white clothing. The color white is chosen to symbolize peace.

You can read more about it here.....

The doll was completely designed by her including the way I painted the flag.  Each step in the process was approved by her and her instructions were followed by me as closely as I could.  I am happy I was able to capture the essence of what she wanted in Dama De Blanco.

Here are the pictures throughout the process. 



Her head, breast, chest, arms and legs are made from Polymer Clay, the body is armature wire covered with cloth.



Trying on the Fabric


 

Hair???

Painting The Cuban Flag.  In this case, she wanted the illusion of the Flag 

Painting the Face, not too much make up

 

Completed Art Doll, Front and Back 

 

Close up

From her side

Tears in Eyes.....

 

 I hope everyone likes it as much as I do.....As far as my sister, she says I completely was able to capture the emotions and the essence of what she had in mind.  That makes me very happy!!!

The Fates

While researching "Greek Mythology" for an art doll contest I wanted to enter, I came across the following:

The Moirai or Fates were three sister deities, incarnations of destiny and life. Their names were Clotho, the one who spins the thread of life; Lachesis, she who draws the lots and determines how long one lives, by measuring the thread of life; and Atropos, the inevitable, she who chose how someone dies by cutting the thread of life with her shears. They were often described as being ugly and old women, stern and severe. Three days after a child was born, it was thought that the Moirai would visit the house to determine the child's fate and life.

Immediately I thought of my sisters and I who although we emphatically deny it, constantly try to control everyone's lives, mostly our kids and grandkids.   Experts at the art of manipulations, each one of us has our own style and very well proven techniques.

 

 

I guess "the ugly and old" is not going to go very well when my sisters visit my blog and see the post.  LOL

They were a lot of fun to make.  This time I used Creative Paperclay instead of my usual Polymer.  It is very hard to work with cause the surface dries quickly and although you can sand it down after it dries, it doesn't end up looking as smooth.  The other bad thing is that you have to wait at least 24 hours for each section to completely dry before you can go on..  After it dries if you need to fix or add something, all you have to do is wet it a little bit and add more clay.  I don't know, I guess it's not for me....I have tried to work with it a couple of times but I cant seem to get the results I want.

I know some artists who do amazing work, my favorite is Hannie Sarris.  It is so sad that she passed away and I can no longer get her fairy book.  I would love to have it!  If you have the time, check out her work.

I won!!!

I found out that the International Art Doll Registry was holding it's July Contest and the theme was "Mermaids".  I immediately went to looking around the net for some inspiration and found this beautiful art piece on the Devianart site

The artist is from France (and the piece is called "Follow My Lead".  I immediately fell in love!  You can see her work here at  DevianArt - YGGDRASILE. 

I sent her a note asking her for permission to use her art as inspiration for making my doll doubting she would reply, but was very surprised when she said it was fine with her and to send her a picture of the doll once it was done.  I then began my sculpture trying to capture the essence and flow of the beautiful piece of art.  I think I somehow did....in my own way.

I was really happy with the results and I finally entered the doll in the contest.  As I waited for the deadline to arrive I became really anxious as more and more beautiful mermaid entries were popping up on the site each day.  Finally, the day arrived and it was announced that my "Serene" had won in the Novice Category!  What an honor.....

I immediately wrote Christelle and sent her a picture of "Serene".  She was really happy with the doll.  I so appreciate working with such a wonderful artist.  Thank you for your inspiration Christelle!

Please visit IADR so you can enjoy the site and check out the winning dolls!

The next contest will be harder as the stakes are raised.  I can no longer enter as a Novice.  It took me like 5 tries to win Novice, I expect it will take many more to rise up to the Intermediate Catgory.  Oh well, I have all the time in the world and if it is for me, it is meant to be or the other way around, I forget how the saying goes...

Officially in the PDMAG Artist Pages!!

I am so honored and happy to see the pictures of my dolls in their own special artist page at the Professional Doll Maker Art Guild, just look under "M" and there I am!

I have worked so hard these past 3 years in order to accomplish this.  I thank God each day for showing me the way, even if he had to practically slap me in the face!!

Today, I became a OOAK Artist!

Last week for father's day we went to visit our kids in South Florida.  While we were there my daughter Karina and I went to Michael's to get some things I needed for a doll I had in mind.  It was going to be the "Queen of Hearts".

I had something already planned, but when we were looking at the different ribbons her mind just filled with creativity and she started to blurt out a series of ideas of what the doll would look like.  I was amazed at the look on her face.  All of a sudden, she was feeling the creativity flow a million miles an hour! How wonderful to see that look in my daughter's face.  At that moment in time, only I knew what she was feeling and it was totally wonderful to share this with her.  Priceless!

I came home all excited and ready to start sculpting.  Every day, I would ask her different things such as, "is she going to stand alone in her pedestal or does she have someone else with her?";  "is her hair red or black?".  There are so many questions that you ask yourself when you are making a doll.  So many things come up while you are sculpting.  So much fun sharing these decisions with her.

Every day after work she would send me "pins" with her choices and little by little the doll started to take form.  It was so much fun.  She would have an idea and I would have to figure out how to make it happen.  The roses in her chest, the cards falling from her hand.  The watch the rabbit is holding, the umbrella.  It took almost a week and finally "Queen of Hearts" was done!!  

The best thing is that this doll was what made the Professional Doll Maker's Art Guild decided that I was no longer and apprentice, I was ready to graduate to an "ARTIST"
and my daughter Karina helped me accomplish that!

I will soon have my own page at the Guild as an Artist.  Once it is up I will be sure to announce it.  It will be an honor if you visit me there.  Art Doll Guild