My Tribe

I spent the past week with my local sculpting tribe. As I was drafting my post about the work I created in the Kate church class I was thinking about how much "more" I have become since I took my first sculpting class.

It was a fluke! I had just joined a doll 'list' through yahoo groups and the very first week I saw a post about a doll class. I read through it and saw that it was in my town so I did an internet search for the Artist... Wendy Froud. as you can imagine I signed up immediately.

Not only did I fall in love with the art form, I feel in love with the people. Artists are a special breed, they push the limits, try new things and engage. Just being in the room at that first class was powerful. My first doll was not pretty. I had the least amount of knowledge in that class but I knew I had found something special.

The class introduced me to several local artists and I was invited to be part of a local sculpting group. Nothing formal, just a group of artists interested in the art of the doll. We get together once a month. Sometimes we work on projects, sometimes we just talk.

These women have become my friends, my artistic tribe. I admire them, enjoy their company and get to share their lives and art. Some of them are very well know in the Doll Art world, some are accomplished artists in other mediums, all of them are amazing. It has been an honor and privileged to be part of this group.

My art has brought me so much. I realized this week that every class I go to brings new people into my life. Some for a small time, some for life. My artist tribe has changed me. I have learned to push forward with my art, bend the rules and leap over boundaries. I've been exposed to new styles, new techniques, new materials and so much more. I've grown as an artist and as a person because of my tribe.

I am more because of my tribe. More confident, more engaged - not only with the art world, but with my family, and overall I am more present in my world.

Thank you to all of the people who have been part of my art world, those who read my blog, those whose classes I have taken and those amazing women that I call friend!

Class Progress

I love taking classes from world class artists. I have been so fortunate in that respect. I have a friend who knows people :0) and she seeks out artists and brings them to our area. From her I've also learned to seek out artists that inspire me and I look for classes taught by them. Traveling to a class and meeting new people who love the art of the doll as much as I do is fantastic!

Since April I've had the privileged of taking classes from both Deb Wood and Kate Church. Two completely different women with different styles of art, both of which are amazing.

Their styles of teaching are similar and different at the same time. Both of these talented artists are genuine, friendly and funny. Both share their talents, ideas, tips and tricks with others. They don't hold back. If you ever get the chance to take a class from either of them - TAKE IT!

Here is a picture of my project from the Kate Church class. I will be finishing it up this weekend and will post a picture of the final project then.

I am thrilled with this project. These two classes have re-energized me. My skills have improved, I am more confident in my work and I am having fun with my sculpting.  I am ready to start working on my own designs again!

Kate Church Class

Image from the NIADA website

I am so excited! I will be taking a 3 day doll make class with the lovely and talented Kate Church this weekend. We will be making a doll sitting on a wheeled animal(similar to above)... I promise to show you my project once it is done.

I have taken several workshops from Kate and I am looking forward to this one. She is generous and kind and shares so much of her knowledge.

Check back soon for a picture of my project.

New Toy!

Cricut Maker (image from Joann.com)

For graduation my mom wanted to get me something fun, something that she knew I would enjoy but wouldn't buy for myself so she got me the Cricut Maker die cut machine.

I have an industrial die cut machine from when I owned my retail store but it is old and heavy. Don't get me wrong, I still love it but this new machine does everything that my old industrial machine does and more. It is also lighter, quieter, and much smaller. Hobby technology has finally caught up to my beloved Pazzle pro.

The only thing I don't like about Cricut is their design space software. It is very limiting. To create new designs I still need to use my Pazzle software or Adobe Illustrator. I will learn their software but I'm sure I'll be using my own software since it is much more powerful and once I design something I can upload it to design space... an extra step but so much easier than trying to work in design space.

Overall I am thrilled with this new toy. I've already created a cutting file for a top hat to fit the size dolls I make. I need to make a few adjustments to the pattern but it cut beautifully and I can resize it to the exact size I need.

I see lots of fun ways to utilize this machine in my sculpting. Mostly for making clothing. I am working on a bustier pattern and a skirt pattern. Once I get a basic pattern designed I can customize and resize it as needed. Now if I only had a few weeks off work to play!

Next up... heading to a Kate Church class