Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Featured Artist - Nita

In order to share some of our dollmaking history and get to know each other better, we will have a sort-of-regular 'spotlight' on different club members.  This month's featured artist is Nita!  (And pay attention - it might be your turn next!)

Name: Nita
City: Indianapolis
Club Member since: Approx 2004 (I think)
Picture site or blog: needlepullingthread@blogspot.com

How many dolls have you made? Too many to remember!

When did you start making dolls? Approx 1995, after I retired.  (The picture at right is of her 2nd dollie ever.)

What other crafts do you ‘do’? embroidery, beading, crochet, mixed media art, jewelry making
Do you combine your other crafts with your dollmaking? Yes, I often use beading, embroidery and crochet in my doll making.

Why did you choose dollmaking? I love working with fabric and making it into a 2 or 3 dimensional object.
What is your favorite part of making a doll? I really don't have a favorite one, but if I must choose it would be creating the face.

Which of your dolls is your favorite and why? I have 3 or 4 favorites, I like the Humpty Dumpty we made with Katherine Walmsey because it awakens my inner child. I like my Peacock Dancer, she reminds me of my long ago dance teacher. I like my raggedys becasue they are huggable and make me feel good.

Did you play with dolls as a child? Yes, loved them literally to death.

What would you like to learn next? I would like to learn more about cloth over techniques, more about trapunto and more scuplting.
Do you like using patterns or making your own designs? I do both but prefer to use other designers' patterns because I do not like the trial and error of creating a pattern.
Do you have any favorite designers? These are just a few... Barb Schoenoff, Barb Willis, Patti Culea, Deanna Hogan, Allison Marano.

Monday, June 21, 2010

June 2010 Meeting

Our June meeting was very small, with only 7 members in attendance.  So, we had a very cozy swap meet.  We also tried a critique of each other's dolls, to learn more about the artistic theory that goes into doll design as well as to get feedback about our dolls.  It's definitely an idea that needs some tweaking, but hopefully it was useful to all who participated.

We also had some wonderful show-and-tells!  Katie finished her Patti Culea class doll from Magic, Mischief and Mayhem of Spring 2010, Xuiying.  And Jude brought her Holly doll, from Cyndi Mahlstadt's class at the same MM&M retreat.