Sylvana, Guardian of the Dream Forest

Finally, she is finished. I photographed her outdoors using a birch tree as the back drop. I will have to figure out a good way to display her indoors.

Hubby helped me with the name. He has a great interest and knowledge about the origin and meaning of names and suggested Sylvana which means "woods" or "forest".

Leaf Doll - Almost Finished

I would hate to have to count all the stitches that have gone into this doll so far. And there are more to come.

I couldn't come up with a story/myth to go with her because I either don't have that kind of imagination or I can't be bothered to put forth the effort to think of one. Probably the latter. I do have a title for her after asking hubby for some suggestions.

Double click on the picture for a close up view.

More On The Leaf Doll

This doll is taking a bit of time to complete due to the amount of detail. The first picture is a sketch of my idea. The second is the leaf which is the body of the doll. I have made some sequined, beaded buttons which I have placed on the body for display purposes. This is not what the final layout will look like. I still have a way to go yet and wish I had more time to work on it.

I have no interest or belief in mythologies, but I thought it would be fun to create one of my own through this doll. I can do the visual but I'm not sure I am creative enough to write a good story. I'll have to give this some thought.

In Progress

I am working on several things at once right now. This is the top of a doll that is going to be very green all over. The body is all cut out and will be adorned with shades of green, including the sequined button on the bottom.

Me Spain, Hubby Netherlands

"MY" team won the World Cup yesterday. Hubby was pulling for the Netherlands. I was trying to be a gracious winner but I had to tease him, just a little bit and all in good fun. So I strung up a Spanish beer (Estrella) can in a prominent place as a reminder that "his" team lost.

This morning we had another chuckle about it. Then he smashed up a Dutch beer (Heineken) can and snapped a picture. This is how we amuse ourselves.

Below is the beginning of a new project to be posted soon.

Oak Leaf Doll

Yesterday I posted the top half of this doll. Today she's all done. Her skirt is based on a loosely traced oak leaf.

New Doll

I have noticed that a lot of art dolls tend to be dark and sometimes downright ugly. Even when I try to do "dark" as shown above, it still ends up being pretty. I guess I just like pretty dolls.

This is the top half of the doll I started today. I think I will have to put her aside and continue tomorrow as the FIFA World Cup soccer game between Paraguay and the Netherlands is about to begin in a few minutes. I can't say I'm much of a soccer fan (I only follow the World Cup every four years), but I'm pulling for Paraguay. Why? Because methinks the guys on the Paraguayan team are better looking. :

EDIT-I'm a worse soccer fan than I thought. It's Uruguay, not Paraguay. LOL.

Angel Assembled

Recently I discovered artist Carla Trujillo who creates the most wonderful art doll assemblages. What a talent to be able to put together old bits and pieces and create something as wonderful as she does. I really admire that.

Then I thought about all the "junk" such an artist would have to collect and store until each object found it's proper place on a new doll. I thought about how much fun it would be to make this kind of a doll myself, but I don't have the right kind of junk. What I do have is lots of buttons, zippers and fabrics, so why not make up some body parts out of cotton and then sew them together.

Here is my first effort. I'm so pleased at how the Angel turned out.

Forest Green Ornament

This is an ornament I just completed. I'm thinking I may use the image for a greeting card as well, or maybe, I will make something similar for the card.

Between now and August 28th, I am aiming to produce a lot of work, since I am participating in our local jazz festival art sale again this year.