Finished on a Friday!!!!!

I've had an absolute blast working on these cute girls....and now they are all finished and ready to venture off to their forever homes.....  They are all cast from the same mould, the Kestner 111 jointed googly. All have custom, handmade mohair wigs & hand painted features.

Each doll is around 18cm high.

Dottie Dollie Googly Girls

Googly with Green

Googly in Undies

Googly Sailor Girl

Nautical Googly

Googly in Peach

Dottie Dollie Googly

 I have a few more of these girls in the pipeline, and there's still that mould making that I need to do....busy, busy, busy!!! 

Not so Wordless Wednesday!

Although we're having a mini heatwave here this week - yesterday was the hottest September day since 1911 - this little lady is full of mellow autumn shades.....

Another Izannah Walker style doll, she's my original sculpt, hand cast in air dried slip, hand painted, uniquely dressed and available here.

Izannah Walker Inspired - Mary Autumn Shades

Izannah Walker Inspired - Mary Autumn Shades

Izannah Walker Inspired - Mary Autumn Shades

Izannah Walker Inspired - Mary Autumn Shades

Izannah Walker Inspired - Mary Autumn Shades

 

Izannah Walker Inspired - Mary Autumn Shades

Izannah Walker Inspired - Mary Autumn Shades

Izannah Walker Inspired...

Since the beginning of this year I have spent most of my time working on an Izannah Walker inspired doll, for a class that I will be teaching at the end of the month.

 

My days have been filled with sculpting, mould making, casting, pattern making, painting, sewing and stuffing. It has been all consuming, overwhelming and a great pleasure.

 

I've been working pretty much 7 days a week, and into the evenings, designing, creating and falling in love with "Mary" my 11" doll, inspired by Izannah's gentle old dolls from the mid 1800's. She is named after my Great, Great Grandmother Mary Falvey, who was born in Colchester barracks in 1863, a mere stones throw from where I live now.

 

 I still have lots of work to do, preparing casts, patterns and worksheets for my students, but I thought it was about time I shared my progress here.......







My Sculpture in Paperclay

 

Making the Plaster Mould





Casting Flumo Greenware





Casting Flumo Greenware



The Casts Are Cleaned And Gessoed





Designing The Body Pattern

 

Photos Of Antique Dolls Inspired The Painting



Paint Is "Antiqued"

Crackle Glaze Gives An "Old" Look

Alternate Hairstyles & Eyebrows

 

 

Paperclay Sculpt, Flumo Cast, Painted Arm

Painted Booties and Striped Stockings

Bare Toes, And Clothing Patterns In The Making

 

First "Mary" is complete

My aim with this doll is not to make an exact reproduction of Izannah's work, but to capture the "feel" and style of her dolls, with an English twist.





You can see more of my inspiration for these dolls, on my Pinterest board which is full of original dolls, paintings, clothing and children from the mid 19th Century.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





Busman's Holiday

When you are self-employed it's hard to have a "real" holiday, even at Christmas!

 

This year I've spent most of my break having a busman's holiday, assembling, painting and dressing a reproduction Izannah Walker doll.

 

I'm running a workshop next year, to create one of my Izannah Walker inspired dolls. My sculpt has been created in Paperclay, using pictures of original antique dolls as reference material. Whilst photos are "OK", you can't beat using a real life model to sculpt from. As these dolls are so rare, I doubt I'll ever be able to see (let alone handle) one here in England.

 

So when I heard from Dixie Redmond that Little Hamptons were selling a cast head and pattern from original antique Izannah walker dolls, it seemed like my dream come true.

 

Hannah arrived on Christmas Eve, since then, at every spare moment.....

 

I've stitched.....

 

Attaching cloth thumbs

I've painted.....

 

Painting curls

Building thin layers of paint

 

I've distressed & assembled,

 

Body assembled

 

And finally, I've costumed....

 

Heavily distressed Izannah Walker Reproduction

Profile of finished doll
 

.....and what's  more, I've really enjoyed myself.

 

If you fancy making a copy of an original Izannah Walker doll yourself, I highly recommend Lynda's kit, she's a great seller, and you have 3 different antique dolls to choose from too. I think I will probably add another to my collection later in the year as well.

 

Despite being almost twice the size of my own Izannah dolls, this gal is going to be a great reference for my sculpting.