Victorian Art Doll Witch

This Year's Witch

Every year I create another art doll witch to add to my growing collection. Here is this year's version - she's a little Victorian-style, not a traditional witch.

 

Nina Owens Victorian-style Art Doll Witch



Close up - Victorian Art Doll Witch by Nina Owens

 I'm still exploring dolls using birdcages. This is an antique cage a friend gave me. True to Victorian-nature, her cage is filled with bottles of potions and elixirs. I played around with pan pastels for coloring her face. It was a new medium for me and I really enjoyed using it for her face.

From Quincenera to Ghost Doll

Remember last year's Quincenera Doll makeover? I had a couple more on hand and decided to turn one into a ghost doll. Unfortunately Michaels, where I got the original doll no longer carries them. You could turn any porcelain doll into your own ghost using the same steps.

Close up of face

I carefully removed the wig and spray painted it with white spray paint until I got the desired look. I also removed the eyelashes and removed the original paint using nail polish remover. Once I'd removed the paint, I sanded lightly and applied white gesso. I used gray and black acrylic paint to repaint the face. The clothes are hand-sewn on the body, with vintage trims added. For the interior of the ghost cage, I repainted an English cottage house to make it look more like a haunted mansion. I got the moss and Spooky Town tombstones from Michaels.

Treasures of the Gypsy Challenge

Birdcage repainted
 & highlighted

This year the Treasures of the Gypsy Challenge was "Charmed and Mystical Gypsy". The dolls are displayed and judged at the Houston International Quilt Show. The gypsy doll I created for the challenge was actually the first birdcage doll I made, however I couldn't show her until the judging was over. Unfortunately I couldn't attend the show this year, but I'm honored to say my doll was awarded Judge's Choice. I've detailed some of the progress in creating this doll. The head was actually the head I sculpted in Diane Keeler's workshop. She had just been one of the many "heads on sticks" in my studio until I decided to use her for this doll. I didn't have much time to create the doll as I didn't sign up for the challenge until the end of July and they had to be mailed to Houston in September. I removed all of the previous face and eye painting and repainted the face to more represent a gypsy. (She was previously blue-eyed). I had the birdcage on hand, I'd found it at Michaels in the garden decor aisle. The charms are from Michaels as well, most of them from Susan Lenart Kazmir's Industrial Chic line.



Attached to cage
Starting to clothe



Adding puff netting sleeves

Using ribbon for corset

Eyelets & mini brads for vest & shirt

With trims added front

Back view with trims

She has hair!

Crinkled hair



Close up of cage with charms inside

Finished doll prior to shipping

Close up finished Gypsy

Charmed & Mystical Gypsy on Display at Houston Quilt Show prior to judging

 

Here is the information for next year's challenge:

The 2013 Treasures of Gypsy Challenge: The Masquerade Ball

Announcing the Treasures of the Gypsy Challenge 2013: Magical Mystical Gypsy. If you would like to participate, send $25.00 US to Treasures of the Gypsy, P.O. Box 748, Mountainair, NM 87036.



Here there be Witches

Every year I make a witch. I started a birdcage witch this year, but she turned into the Goth Ghost doll shown on a previous blog entry, so I had to start another one. I'm really into making the birdcage dolls right now, even though this time of year it's hard to find the cages. I wound up going nontraditional for her hat, recovering a premade bought top hat with velvet. The bats in her cage are actually Halloween Recollections embelllishments from Michaels. The bat in her hand (which is hard to see in the photos due to the black on black) is made from wire covered with velvet since I couldn't find one ready-made that worked.

In progress

Adding hair



Hat



In grouping

More witches

From Quincenera to Dia de los Muertos



Original Doll

My friend Bridget at work had these Quincenera dolls from the Michaels sidecounter (only in select stores) in her cube. I was teasing her, telling her I'd remake them into witches or goth dolls. She gave me one to remake. I wound up doing a Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) version from her. Here is the progress:




Face Repainted

Doll deconstructed





Finished Dia de Los Muertos Doll

Another Birdcage Doll
     Every year I create another art doll witch. I had a fabulous tall birdcage that I bought earlier this year at Michaels that I decided to use to create this year's version. I started her on one of our Saturday Art Play Days at my house. When I got to pulling fabrics for her, I ran into a heathered knit I'd gotten a few years ago for a great price. It worked perfectly for a cardigan-style top for her, but totally blew my idea for a witch. As often happens with art dolls, she took an entirely different direction. Thus my turn-of-the-century gothic doll. Here are the steps I/she took to evolve.


Wiring & adding head

Adding batting

Finished doll

Detail of potions, etc. in cage





Birdcage Fairy
    I've gotten on a series where I'm using birdcages in my art dolls. Unfortunately this is not the time of year to find birdcages. I'm either going to have to hit garage sales, flea markets or wait until spring merchandise comes in for additional cages for more dolls. The first doll is in Houston, awaiting the Treasures of the Gypsy challenge at the Houston Quilt Show.
     I had the pleasure of meeting Amy Labbe of Art-i-Cake at Michaels Leadership Conference. What a truly delightful, creative, unique and original lady! Certainly a kindred spirit of my good friend, Jo Pearson! Jo gave me one of Amy's crown pendants from the Art-i-Cake line available at Michaels and I had a couple other components in my stash as well. Amy saw pictures of some of my art dolls and appreciated them. I told her about the crown and my plans to create a doll using the crown. Here is the first doll (I got a second crown and plan on doing another one). I used additional Art-i-Cake pieces in the cage portion of the doll.


Wiring the Body

Adding sculped head

Costuming

Inside cage detail





Finished Fairy (minus wings)

Finished fairy with wings



Over the Summer


Aunt Gladys, me & Mom

 

 



     Trying to catch up on my blog with just a brief look at this past summer. Mid-July is the twin's birthday, my Mom & Aunt. We went to P.F.Chang's again this year to celebrate.

     The end of July is ADAA, or All Dolls are Art Conference. I took a workshop with Angela Jarecki. The theme this year was World of Make-Believe and opening night we came as our favorite character.

My completed fairy from Angela's class

All Dolls Are Art
I took a 3-day workshop at the All Dolls Are Art conference with Lauren Vlcek in July. This was the first year for the conference which is held in Austin at the end of July. Lauren's workshop was a Butterfly Doll. Here are pictures of my completed doll:


Butterfly Fairy



Close up of face

                                                      Close up of flower detail

Really looking forward to ADAA 2012, the theme is the World of Make Believe. It's really shaping up to be a fabulous conferenc. Hope to see you there!

All Dolls Are Art Conference Information

With faces painted

Sculpted with air-dry clay

I created a 2nd centerpiece doll to donate. This doll had an unusual beginning. A couple of years ago my secret Santa at work gave me two big, red, plastic ornaments (I don't decorate anymore for Christmas & red is definately not one of my favorite colors). I always felt I could do something with them. At one time I thought I would do a puppet head with a hat - due to the shape of them.

As I mentioned earlier, the theme this year for our conference was Cirque de la Luna, so I made the face a moon, with a blue hat with stars and gave him a clown's ruffle collar. I created an acrobat clown to sit upon the hat.

I hand dyed, painted and stenciled the fabric for the acrobat's costume. (finally played around with the shiva paintsticks that I bought at the quilt show a couple of years ago.

Acrobat before dressing

Since I had two ornaments, I created two dolls, keeping one for myself. The ornaments were plastic soI had to use an air-dry clay to sculpt the moon face and hat, but I used Living Doll for the acrobat's face. I made the shoes from canes I had left over from Donna Kato's workshop.

Donated doll close up

My doll close up

Both dolls completed