Tulsa Association of Doll Artists: September 2010

9/25/2010

September Meeting - This 'n That

TDD Meetings aren't always just a display & sharing of members' latest doll creations. Often, someone brings a very cool or unusual "find". For instance, Shari brought these old patterns for Popeye & Olive Oyl dolls.

One time, Maryne brought the most exquisite, heavily beaded piece of fabric any of us have ever seen. It was her wedding dress!

All of The Dames have other artistic talents and interests. For instance, Maryne is a wonderful painter & sketch artist. A recent wrist injury put doll-making on hold, but she could still sketch!

And at every meeting, a member shares techniques and information in a short program. We are blessed to have author and Bead Ranch owner, Sherril, as an active member of our group. She once did a program on making this doll-size beaded purse.

This month, Jack "The Toolman" taught a little bit on making armatures.

Now you know why we so look forward to the first Wednesday of the month!

9/09/2010

September Show & Tell ...cont.

Welcome back to more September Show & Tell! Today we're excited to show you the work of our newest club member, Shauna.

Shauna has already been making dolls with creative paper clay and her artistry is quite evident!

Love this lady's gown of a variety of fibers sewn together.

We're excited to see where Shauna's unique artistic expression combined with cloth doll making will take her next! Click here to view Shauna's blog.

9/06/2010

More September Show & Tell

In this post you'll see what Shirley's been working on. She made this little doll from an Izannah Walker online class with Dixie Redmond. The face, arms & legs are creative paper clay.

After taking Jayne's class on face drawing, she got busy making these cute little pouch-ettes.

This Frosty Queen must have been inspired by our hot summer!

She's made from an Annie Belcher pattern, reduced 65%. This pattern can be found in Soft Dolls & Animals magazine. She's the epitome of cool elegance.

Wonderful dolls, Shirley!

Check back for more news from our Sept. meeting.

9/04/2010

September Meeting

The summer heat is behind us and we had a wonderful turnout for our September meeting. We discussed our upcoming Cindee Moyer workshop, pillaged a pile of fabric that Doreen brought (courtesy of her friend), had a program, and of course, our favorite part - Show & Tell! Joyce brought several wonderful dolls...

Don't you just love all this Suessical Fluff?

Whimsical Adorability!

Followed by some high fashion attitude...

Oh yeah. She's sassy.

And ladies of the Sea and Air.

Thanks for sharing, Joyce!

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