Tulsa Association of Doll Artists: April 2010

4/24/2010

Spring Workshop - Doll Display

As previously mentioned, Angela asked the class to bring some of our work for her to see. We always enjoy seeing the talent of our TDD members!

Here is Jack's "aqua man".

In the background are some of Connie's hand-dyed & painted silks.

I wonder if he's met Pam's mermaid?

Beautiful detailing!

Jayne's mermaid beauty must have Brenda's jester tongue-tied. .

Don't you just love Jayne's Vacation Guy?

Shirley's Izannah Walker dolls. They even have little dolls of their own.

Jean's lovely ladies.

Maryne's Morris & Henrietta.

Morris was made at a previous workshop.

Maryne created Henrietta in an online class. She's so elaborate!

Carlyn's flying dutchboy shoe!

Carlyn's fairy queen hitching a ride with the aqua man. She probably mesmerized him with her dazzling rhinestone eyes!

This is Carlyn's storybook doll.

Laurie's Valentine doll. She was a cheery face at the library checkout desk in February!

Laurie's 'work in progress' another Pas de Deux doll.

She's going to be lovely!

We're so looking forward to seeing the finished Fairy Dolls. Hopefully some of us will have something to show at the May meeting. See you then!

4/21/2010

Spring Workshop cont.

Just have a few pictures from Day 2 & 3. We got so busy really working on those dolls! And we found an interesting use for large sized ladies cotton underwear..

This is Angela's piece, ready to cover.

Here she is demonstrating covering the head with fabric, then ironing out the wrinkles. We all agreed - wouldn't it be wonderful if we could just iron away our own wrinkles?

Face is nice & smooth. Time for some makeup.

Fairy wings! This was a fun technique to learn.

These three days were jam-packed with information. None of us finished our dolls by the end of class. You'll have to come back after the May meeting to see some beautiful fairies.

However, Angela asked us to bring some of our other work in for her to see. So over the next day or so, we'll be posting those.

Come back!

4/19/2010

Spring Workshop - continued

Welcome back to our Spring Workshop adventure. We're still on Day One! We learned a lot in just the first day. Now we're about to build the armature.

Tools of the trade.

Busy hands.

After the wire is bent into shape it's covered with felt and more paperclay. This end of the table was always very quiet...

Selecting a pose.

Oo la la!

Daria's doll must have dropped something.

Peek a boo!

4/18/2010

Spring Workshop

We just finished the most MAH-va-lous spring workshop with Angela Jarecki! It was challenging, informative, intense, FUN...everything we could ask for.

Angela is a delightful teacher and her work is inspiring.

Our objective was to learn how to make an armature based, fabric-over-paper-clay, fairy based on her doll, "Reluctance."

Day One. Class begins promptly at 9:00 AM. (on time? - something we're not used to in these parts!) First step - compress a styrofoam egg. Piece o' cake.

Step two: cover with paper clay. OK, we can do this.

9:30 AM. hmmmm. Can we really do this?

9:45 AM. uh... maybe we're in over our heads. Just kidding. We began adding features.

Angela guided & encouraged every step of the way.

It's an amazing process to push & prod lumps of clay and see it gradually become a fairy face!

While the face dried, it was time to begin building the armature. Check back tomorrow to see how that went!

4/12/2010

Laundry Day

Carlyn made this charming tableau for a silent auction to raise money for a Girls Club in Uganda.

The little girl is hanging her best dress and petticoats on the laundry line to dry.

Oops! It must have been her only dress!

Connie finished her "Work in Progress" just in time for the April meeting.

Connie tried her hand at combining patterns for the first time. It's a Patti Culea pattern using the torso from the Diane Little doll we did at the workshop (enlarged a little). Her little tank top is made from hand-dyed silk from a previous hobby-attempt.

Can she see the future in that glass ball?

Welcome!

Welcome to our blog! We are a group of people who love to create beautiful, whimsical, personalities from fabric, fiber, found objects, sequins, jewels, and embellishments of all sorts. In addition, each of us explores other art mediums, such as quilting, beading, embroidery. Most of all, we love to get together and have fun -- while making art! New members are most welcome.

We meet the first Saturday of the month at Hardesty Library in Tulsa, OK. However, due to covid-19, we have switched to virtual meetings. Follow us on Facebook @TulsaDollArtists, for more information or email dollartists@gmail.com.

Scraps 'n Threads

Our monthly meetings are held the first Saturday of the month, 12:00 noon (previously at Hardesty Library, located just north of 91st St. off Memorial in Tulsa; meetins are now held online) We always have lots of fun, share good information, and have a great display of our members' creations. You're welcome to stop by & visit, but we hope you decide to stay and create with us!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Jan 4 - First meeting of the new year!

Every Saturday in Jan - ribbon-jointed doll workshop

9-4 at Hardesty Library. No cost for the class; just the pattern & materials. Contact us if interested.

Feb 1 - Regular meeting & class on making polymer clay eyes.

Mar 7 - Regular meeting.

Apr 4 - Regular meeting.

Apr 18 & 19 - teddy bear workshop. Contact us for info. CANCELED

*****Below is the schedule we had planned for the remainder of the year. Obviously, it was dramatically altered by covid-19. In-person meetings, the library & state fair displays are canceled. Follow us on Facebook for information about virtual meetings and classes.*******

May 2 - Regular meeting. Bring your dolls for the display case to this meeting or before. We'll be showcased at Hardesty Library this month.

Jun 6 - Annual business meeting & luncheon plus a Sculpting class.

July date tba.

Aug 1 - Regular meeting & special workshop.

Sep 5 - Regular meeting.

Sep - we're planning a soft cloth doll workshop. TBA

We'll have dolls on display at the Tulsa State Fair. Dates to be announced.

Oct 3 - Regular meeting.

Nov 7 - Regular meeting.

Dec 5 - Holiday luncheon.

How it All Began

A brief history of the Tulsa Dolling Dames begins with 3 people who met at an elinor peace bailey workshop in May of 1999, and decided to start a doll club. A very simple beginning, but it has turned into a delightful 10 years of fun, friendship, laughter and an on-going knowledge of the art of cloth doll making. To some, a cloth doll is a simple “rag” doll made of left overs, or a bright redhaired Raggedy Anne or even a Cabbage Patch Kid lookalike. But to a seamtress, several pieces of cloth can easily become an art doll.

Jean Martin, Rae Sook and Scampy Rainey started the club and spent the first few months meeting in the back room at the Quilter’s Nook shop, wondering how to ever get the word out about art dolls. Jean finally made a small poster showing pictures of cloth dolls and information about the club and hung it up by the front door of the shop for all to see. One day a visitor [Daria Cash] who had seen the sign, looked in and asked “Is this the doll club”? Well, yes it was! And so it began.

Through the years those few have turned into an active club with up to 30 members at times. Mostly local, northeastern Oklahoma, but has included members from Texas and Arkansas.

We have well-known teachers come for classes and have gone to many out of state classes. But the very first class was held in Jean’s sewing room with the original three members and two ladies from her Dallas club.....the teacher being Anne Marie Brombal. We went on to have Diane Little and Gladi Alred from Albuquerque at Jean's house, stopping on their way home from a doll conference in Kansas City. A few members attended, as well as two more ladies from Albq. and one from Florida, all on their way home. Quite a group, and the laughter never stopped. As our club grew, we had classes at the quilt shop, then the local sewing machine center, and now at the library. Our teachers have included Christine Shively, Mary Tressler, Barbara Willis, Adele Sciortino, Barbara Schoenoff, Patti Culea, Angela Jarecki, Cindee Moyer and Arley Berryhill to name a few.

But mostly we learn from each other, as our club has many talented members who are willing to share what they know. We’ve learned beading, embroidery, quilting, paper art, marionettes, polymer clay, and cloth-over face molds. Anything goes where art dolls are concerned.

Some of our local projects have included displays at the libraries, booths at the quilt shows, with the added attraction of a trunk full of the Hoffman dolls each time, also a newspaper article with pictures, exhibits at the state fair, as well as a Christmas tree decorated with many small cloth dolls and donated to one of our art museums, to be sold at their yearly Christmas tree exhibit. These have proven to be a good way to educate the public on what an art doll really is, as many people have never seen this type of doll made from cloth.

This is only a few of the many activities our club has taken part in, but it will give you an idea of how something small can turn into a wonderful, fun filled life, “playing with dolls”. ~Jean