05.30.08
Fraulein Finished Foto
I just sent this pic in for the Expo Flyer.
05.27.08
Fraulein Finished
Well, after a long weekend of running around doing chores and errands, I finally snuck down to the trailer for a few hours and finished the Fraulein. Nice way to end a long weekend, even if I didn't get the dishes done or the catboxes cleaned.
These are just crappy workbench shots–angle is too high and makes her legs look short. I need to set her up in the photo box and shoot some real ones for the main website. That will be AFTER I clean all the orange cat hair off my black velvet backdrop–Rusty has decided the photo box is his personal nap pod.
She now has new hands that fit her, Swarovski crystal earrings, hair ornament, and shoe accents, gold bangles and a nice black lacquer base with gold trim. That, and I had to spray her hair to keep the fuzz down and the Marcel waves in place. Ready for EXPO!
05.14.08
Seed bead trivia
Now I know why the little suckers cost so much. It's not just because they're antique. Thanks to Jen Y. for digging up this interesting little factoid:
Beaded Lady
I did find myself with a little time to kill yesterday, so I strung some of those pesky seed beads onto some thin brass wire. This morning I tried them on the doll. Works for me! Now all I need to do is fix her hands, and finish her base. She could use some earrings too. That and there's a couple of glue spots here and there that need to be cleaned off.
05.13.08
Blinded by seed beads
My antique seed beads came in. Holy crap, they are even tinier than I expected! Got them from Barking Rock Farm. The black ones are 18/0 (40 to the inch), and the pearl finish are *gasp* 24/0 (50/inch). They look like microbeads with holes. I had to get out the super magnifiers to see that they actually HAD holes. Not cheap, the tiny 2gm bag of pearl finish beads ran me $15, and the black ones $8. They're a real pain in the arse to get on a wire too, but the size is PERFECT for miniature dolls. No more "Wilma Flintstone" beads for my ladies.
Apparently, round seed beads smaller than 15/0 have not been manufactured since before WWI. According to the folks at Barking Rock, these were made sometime in the 1800s. Cool.
I tried making a new pair of hands for the Fraulein this morning using Mark D's suggestion, but made a fine mess of it, and had to pack it up to tread off to the hated day job. I can see that it will work, it's just an unfamiliar technique I need to mess with a bit more till I get the hang of it. I did bring my new beads and some wire with me to work in case I find myself with nothing to do this afternoon.
05.12.08
Fraulein Kost Wigs Out with Mark Dennis
Spent the day Saturday at Mark Dennis' studio in Lancaster, PA. He graciously invited a bunch of us from PDMAG to come hang out at his studio and bring whatever projects we felt like working on for an informal day of sculpting, picking each other's brains, and general BS-ing. Several people said they were coming, but only myself and Bev Gelfand showed up. It was fun. Bev is a fellow miniature doll artist, in fact, hers are half the size of mine! All of us are planning to show at EXPO in August.
Mark's studio is unbelievable–a classic old barn restored and re-fitted to be a sculptor's sanctuary. Plastered walls join the hand-hewn beams, and every amenity is there, from the big windows and french doors letting in the natural light over the sculpting table, to the cozy sitting area around the wood stove. It's an artist's paradise. The place is also neat as a pin. Made me want to run right home and tear up the mess in the trailer!!!
I would love to take one of his workshops someday when I can scrape up the money. Watching him work was a rare privilege–he is truly a master. But he's more than willing to share his skills and help out us newbies. I worked on Fraulein Kost most of the day, getting her wigged and finishing the costume. I started work on a German sailor to go with her while waiting for the glue to dry on her headband. It was nice to find out that I'm not the only one who's created press-molds of my work to start from!! Bev does too, and is also working on some pieces to be cast in resin. "Why re-invent the wheel every time?" she says. Mark is even making his own "glass" eyes, from a tut he picked up on one of the forums. It's also nice to know that someone of his caliber is hanging out on the forums and picking up stuff from it like anyone else.
When we got done and started wrapping up later in the afternoon, he signed my copy of his book, and then took a closer look at the Fraulein. I told him I thought her arms were still too long, because something just didn't seem right about her. He nailed it–it's not her arms so much as her HANDS are too big. He then showed me a way of partially baking them before adding the fingers so that the size would stay correct and not increase as I worked them, which has been a problem of mine from the start. So, I think while I'm waiting for her seed beads to arrive, I'll re-make her hands.
Here's where she ended up at the end of the day:
05.09.08
Fraulein Kost revise
Haven't been able to work on her for a couple of days, but I did make some revisions.
I shortened her left arm by 1/4 inch, shortened her dress about 1/2 inch, and added the silk hankies around the skirt. What an unholy pain in the ASS those things are. Silk gauze gets all squishy and nasty when wet-draping with spray starch. I gave up after I ruined several of them, and then just dry-pressed them into shape with the mini-iron. The glitter paint around the edges melts just enough to hold the drapes in place. I also got rid of the heavy-looking fringe drop-sleeves. They'll be replaced with silk hankies like the ones on the skirt, which is what's on the original costume as well. I had to make some more, but haven't had a chance to drape them and put them on yet.
That, and I managed to find a photo of me in the dress. Unfortunately it's with Mr. Psycho. He did play a right nasty Nazi in that show, I'll give him that much. Wonder who he's making miserable these days… At least it's not me anymore, thank the GODS. I do miss doing theater sometimes, however.
For those who don't know the show "Cabaret," Fraulein Kost is a hooker with a taste for sailors, who ends up being a Nazi sympathizer. I'm thinking about making a German sailor doll to go with her.
05.05.08
Fraulein Kost
While kicking around ideas for new dolls, I pulled out some of the old costumes I designed for various shows I've performed in. This one was for Fraulein Kost (the Nazi hooker) in Cabaret. That was back in 1997 at Footlighters Theater in Berwyn, with Marc (shudder). But it's one of my favorite costumes. Maybe if I pull out all these fun costumes, it will inspire me to lose some weight and get back into them!
Here's the original costume–have to scan the photos of me in it yet.
Here's the doll so far:
I'm actually using fabric scraps from the original costume (I save everything, bloody packrat I am). This is a perfect example of two things:
1. Photos will show you all your screw ups when you can't see them right in front of you. Her left arm is way too long. Must fix. I don't think I Iike the fringe drop sleeves either.
2. Have your reference photos in front of you while you work. The dress is way too long–the applique scarves will drag on the floor at this length. Plus you can hardly see her cool fishnets.
I do think she's got the best eyes yet–I've gotten much better at making and insetting the fake glass eyes.
Haven't decided how I'm going to finish her base yet. I'm thinking of painting it a gloss black instead of doing the rosewood finish.