Other projects I worked on last year included encaustic, carving more stamps, paper cutting more of my own sketches, sculpting dolls, folding origami, and working in polymer clay.  I found inspiration in areas I never knew possible. 

This guy to the left is partially finished, but he's a happy little sprite.  Good thing too.  The clay I worked with was ridiculously hard and did not warm easily.  I created him at a beach retreat and had no plans, vision, or pre-conceived notion of what my results "should" be.  And out came this magical little sprite.  "...How lovely!" to quote Madam Mimm.

This month I decided to take a couple classes from A for Artistic.  They're online classes on all forms of doll making - sculpted in polymer and art clay through cloth dolls. One class even shows how to make a cushion chair for your doll to lounge in.  They're very inspiring.  Since, with the alters we're working with such wee spaces, I thought these classes would prove useful.  Then, I can also use the skills learned for my other creations.   

The 2 classes I'm taking are taught by Deb Wood, "Turn that Frown Upside Down" and "Sculpting Feminine Hands and arms".  I find making hands without armatures quite easy.  But, introduce the armature and I wanted to see how someone else approached it.  That's the great part about a class, you're paying for someone else to teach you the best method so you can avoid making some of the same mistakes they did during their trial and error period.  That is something very worth paying for because it saves Gobs of time if you actually listen and follow their guidance. 

I'm fascinated by hands and holding objects at present. And, I found these super awesome doll (maybe barbie) tea cups at an estate sale and am thrilled to put them to use. I created the armature, followed Deb's instructions for creating the hand and arm, but kept it simple so I could just experiment and try.  To me, it looks a bit cartoon-y.  And the armatures were totally see through in many parts of the hand.  But I kept on with Deb's instructions and it didn't turn out too bad.  I didn't add fingernails or the other knuckle wrinkles, but I did add "meat" to the heal of the hand and the padded spot just under the first knuckles of the hands. All in all, not to shabby for the first try.

The background was created by using heavy drawing paper and yellow and green Dylusions sprays finished off with a good shaking of salt. Then, I just cut a wee bit off to use for background.  See the arm is a tight fit, so a full box would only get in the way.

Next, following a suggestion from Peg, I added a sleeve.  She suggested polymer, but I wanted to try my hand at hand-stitching and doll costuming over the polymer. It was really fun how fast this little puff sleeve went together even with the step of gathering above the cuff.  Faster and easier than I would have expected. 

I chose a wee bit of my clown pants and floral skirt bias trim so that this alter would carry a little bit of me - bright and tropical color choices to remind us of the more cheerful side of life. We see plenty of grey, let us rejoice in the experience and shifts that colors can bring.  Even if these aren't your favorite colors, what do they make you think of? I once took a painting class and only worked in colors that I didn't like.  It was hard at first, but then it yielded paintings that were beautiful even in my least favorite colors.  

For the final touch, I used more of the background paper to create little cards that will sit inside the tea cup as wishes for the receiver, Kathy.  I wish you time to unwind, day dream, rejuvenate, rest, and find your bliss.  Those are all things I feel when I take a sip of hot tea and let myself rest. I know you are always on the go.  So, this will be your reminder (from bright and colorful Gwen  to take time out for yourself and enjoy your favorite tea.  It's amazing what things occur, shift, become realized or resolved, or ideas that click into place when we quiet our mind from the tension of the world around us.