Ooh, Hello Dollie!

My Dollie brooches have all been made using broken, discarded bisque heads. These were the "industrial waste" from the German dollmaking industry in the late 19th and early 2oth century.

 

 

Whilst browsing on Etsy today it was nice to see a completed original bisque doll from the face that I call Greta.....

 

Left - Original Bisque Doll

 

Bottom Right - My Broken Bisque Head

My Greta Dollie Brooches

 

I didn't imagine she would be so short in "real life".........

 



Wordless Wednesday



Busy, busy Monday....

I've been a bit poorly over the weekend....we had plans to go to London to catch up with friends, and to my cousin's 30th fancy dress party, but the 'flu kept me confined to base camp, without much energy to do a lot.....

 

Today I'm back painting brooches....

 

 

And organising some other bits and pieces, ready for The Secret Vintage Fair which I'll be trading at this Saturday...

 

 

Available for sale for the first time will be my new cotton tote bags...

 

Johnny & Joan - Grace Drayton

 

Sailor Girl - Dottie Dollie Original

Mabel Lucie Attwell Collage

 

If you come along, you may well need one or two to put all of your new found treasures in!!

 



Wordless Wednesday



Vintage Silver Charms

We have a vast number of vintage silver charms now in stock, so if you are a collector, or if you are looking for an unusual gift for a special someone we should be able to help you out.....

 

There are too many to list on Etsy very quickly, so I will be putting some on Facebook where you can buy them via Paypal Invoice.

 

Vintage Silver Animal Charms

Vintage Silver Charms -  Slippers, Cars & Boats

 Vintage Silver Charms

 

Vintage Silver Charms - Shoes

Vintage Silver Charms

 

Vintage Silver Charms

 

All of the above charms pictured above would be £8.00 each, or any 3 for £20.00 +p&p

 

I'm pretty sure we have something for every occasion, and every taste.....they make great pendants as well as bracelet charms.

 

We have moving charms, opening charms, crystal and enamel charms. Some of the opening charms would be ideal for hiding secret love notes in.........

 

 

Please let me know if you are searching for something specific and I will see what I have in stock.

Brooches Galore

Finished painting my new batch of brooches.....

 

Greta & Edith

Cutie Clown

Cutie Bunny

Elise

Cutie Kittie

Cutie

Matilda

Molly

Dollie Brooches



Ron Sims - Visual Genetics

We went along to The Minories Art Gallery this morning as Ron Sims was giving a talk on the last day of his exhibition, Visual Genetics.

 

Ron's work has been filling almost the whole gallery since January, including the cafe, corridors and the upstairs ballroom.

 

 

It was great to walk the entire exhibition this morning with Ron, who explained how his work has developed over time, starting with works produced during the 1960's when he attended Colchester School of Art.

 

Ron Sims - 1965/66

 

Work from this period was figurative, but beginning to head toward the hard edged, dark and light images.

 

As time progressed, the pictures became far more "cubist", with the structure of the inside and outside of the subject being visible, in an almost architectural style.

 

Ron Sims - Colour Studies

 

The colours in Ron's work are beautiful, a mixture of harmonious colours, contrasting colours, and even simple tonal blends.

 

 

Some images are easy to "decipher", but others only become apparent after reading the title, and taking a few steps back!

 

Ron Sims - Cat with Whiskers  & Vicarage Dog

 

Ron Sims - Yawning Dog & Dog Howling at The Moon

 

Although there are lots of dogs, cats, horses and even a hamster on show Ron revealed that he doesn't have a pet himself.

 

Ron Sims - Long Thin Cowboy

 

Although I have to say that the paintings are my favourite, there were also a number of printworks in the exhibition, and Ron teaches printmaking at Gainsborough's House in Sudbury.

 

Ron Sims

 

Although the exhibition is closing today, there will be another chance to see some of Ron's work later in the month. A selection of work from the exhibition will be shown at the Art Workers Guild in Bloomsbury from the 18th - 23rd March 2013.

Painting Day

The light has been terrible again today - I really wish we could get some serious sunshine!!!

But I've been painting brooches anyway, it's hard to get good photos in the greyness.....but here's an idea of where I am with it!

 



Where does time go?

I haven't blogged for weeks, because there's been quite a lot happening......

 

I took a trip into London, and visited the Becoming Picasso exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery

 

 

It's not a huge exhibition, just 18 pictures spread across 2 rooms, representing works from 1901, an epiphany year for the 19 year old artist.

 

The first room shows impressionistic works, inspired by the works of Degas, Lautrec and Van Gogh. These paintings were exhibited in a Paris exhibition in the early part of the year. 

 

 

Whereas the second room shows how much his work changed in the second half of the year, after the suicide of a close friend. The paintings are the beginning of Picasso's "blue period". It's a great opportunity to see some great paintings which have been borrowed from around the world.

 

 

The Courtauld is a gorgeous gallery, I love the Degas bronzes, which are on show just outside the Picasso exhibition.

 

 

Whilst I was I round the corner, I walked up to Trafalgar Square to browse the Impressionist paintings at the  National Gallery

 

 

I also had a visit from 2 of my cousins from Canada, and we spent the day at Colchester Zoo. I haven't spent time at a zoo in years, and early on we were struggling to see any animals.....I think they were all staying in their warm shelters, and eating breakfast.

As the day went on though we found lots of interesting creatures, I think our favourites were the sea lions.

 

 

There is an fantastic walk through tank, and they "swoop" over and around as you walk through, this was a great experience.

 

 

On the work front, I've been making some fabric dolls, based on vintage paper dolls and postcards from my collection....

 

Brainstorming with paper and fabric

Valerie 11 1/2inches

 

PC McGarry 8 1/2 inches

 

Valerie, PC McGarry & Peggy

 

After a lot of cold and grey weather, at last we've had a little sunshine, and the crocuses are just starting to open up.....

 

Today I've spent the day painting......I have a batch of brooches on the go, and I'm preparing to turn my sailor girl into a fabric doll too.

 

I'll be trading at the The Secret Vintage Fair in Colchester on the 30th March, do come along if you can. I can't tell you where exactly it will be yet, because it's a SECRET, but it will be a truly memorable day.......

 

 



Wordless Wednesday