Avery- a vision of femininity

This is Avery. It feels so good to be back to work again! Avery is seated on a pillar made from mother of pearl abalone shells. I love the romantic softness of this piece. She is currently on ebay.

Deb

A commission "Work in Progress" series for you!

Hello!

I thought I would share a process with you- this is Zunel, and she was a commission I did a few months ago. The customer wanted a fairy with long, Rapunzel type hair, so I saved the longest fibers I had for her. They were soft, luxurious and about 14" long. I dyed them a very pale blond. Here are the fibers I was dyeing and a spool of thread to show a size comparison.


This is what Zunel looked like finished: And here is how she started. This is a wire armature, covered with clay and baked. Notice the segmented limbs- this allows me to pose her as I am working on her. The base is alabaster.

Upper body is now done and baked. Her breasts are pushed into that position because she will be wearing a bustier later.
What a messy work area!! Good grief. Anyway, the time is getting late but I am working on her lower body now. While doing that, I am careful not to handle her face, as the detail work is done there.
Now that gorgeous hair is on, her panties and tiny ballet slippers are also done. Now the fun begins! I LOVE COSTUMING! The poor dear needs to do something will all that hair so I can get her dressed! I called this a Bad Hair Day for Zunel. The customer wanted her absolutely dripping in Swarovski crystals and rhinestones. I spent hours and hours doing the beadwork on this sculpture. I was pleased with how she turned out- so was the customer!

Her wings were silk, hand painted and then fully covered with iridescent sheer glitter. By coating the wings with a sealer/varnish, then sprinkling on the glitter while the varnish was wet, it adhered the glitter and stiffened up the wings in one step. There were hundreds more crystals added after the photo above was taken. At the very top of this blog entry, that is what she looked like at completion.

Hoped you've enjoyed seeing this progression of photos. Some customers want to see WIP's (work in progress) photos, so we snap photos as we go. Thanks for stopping by!

Deb

Power in sculpting...

There is, you know. It is a powerful experience to sculpt- it can also be very humbling as well. This is Bianca. She originally was planned as a standing sculpture, but I wasn't satisfied with that so I decided to completely change her pose. The power part... :)

Then the task began to complete a rather complex pose. The humbling part. I kept at it though- and am happy with her results. Anyway, here she is, complete with a rather ornate headpiece. Hope you like her!

Deb

Been gone so much lately!!!!

Hello out there to any of you who might still be stopping by. My sincere apologies for not being around much this summer. It's been busy with the normal summer activities, and then on top of that my mom had back surgery about a month ago now. She had post surgery health issues and I spent a couple weeks going back and forth to help out there.

I continue to work in the studio- and will post photos as I can. I did a rather detailed commission piece this summer and the collector has given her permission for me to post work in progress photos of the piece. I will do that soon! Might be fun to see the long process my work goes through.

Thanks for stopping by- please check again in a few days or in the coming weeks- I promise to be more diligent with my posts!

Deb

From sweet and innocent to a bit on the Wild Side!

This is Teeke, a wild feral fae. She pauses briefly on a stump, listening intently for a familiar sound in the forest. I brought Teeke all the way to Alaska with me- she was happy to oblige me and those in the class there. Very patient for a wee wild fae...

And now for something just plain fun!

This is Mina, and she is trying to take cover under a flower- the raindrops fall all around her. This sculpt came together so nicely- and she was just a bit of humor for me-good timing! Her pose and expression worked just as I intended. I love it when that happens!

Well, back to work, I guess!

Finally getting back into the swing around here- much to do- many commission projects too! But, I miss listing on ebay so I tonight I listed Natalia. I will add more photos to the listing tomorrow when the lighting is better.

I don't know what it is about those redheads, but I sure love them!

Deb

Back from Alaska!

My husband and I just returned from our trip to Alaska were I was invited to come and teach doll sculpting. It was a great time- a long trip too- but certainly worth it! I am sorry I have been so absent from posting here on my blog, there was much to do to get ready for this trip of a lifetime!

It is absolutely amazingly beautiful in Alaska! Your brain almost doesn't believe what your eyes are showing it. I don't know how to explain it-and a camera is not able to capture it, certainly.
Below is a small iceberg, and as you can see, it is aqua blue. This is the actual color of the ice, it is not a reflection! On the other side of this iceberg there were about a half dozen sea otters, playing with their babies... Of course, the eagles were flying high overhead. It was rainy most of our time there but we still managed to get out and see the country.

This photo is of one of the many glaciers we saw there. They estimate the glaciers in this area are at least 10,000 years old. Just imagine what is frozen in those layers of ice! Typical tourists! Set the camera on a wall, set the auto timer and run like heck to get into the shot! We did have fun--
I will be back in a few days with new work to show you- thanks for your patience and for checking in!~

Deb

Leilana, soft and feminine...

I have been away from the blog for a while- happy to be back in the swing of things. I am getting ready for a class I will be teaching in Alaska in less than a month!! So much to prepare for.

In the meantime, I wanted to share my latest work with you. This is Leilana- a very soft and feminine reclining nude. You can see her on my ebay page if you want to see more images.

Have a wonderful weekend-
Deb

Lyla --Serenity and Peace--

This is Lyla- loved creating this fairy. I think she instills such a feeling of peace and tranquility when you look at her. The base is a round ball, like they have for putting in bowls as decoration, and then a wood block that I overlayed with gold foil. All the colors came together so nicely!

Hope you enjoy seeing her.

Deb

Amber's Dance

I had this piece listed last week and didn't get back to my blog to update, but thought I would add her photos now anyway. This piece was started months ago- and finally finished in late March. With all the cloudy days, I was fortunate the day I snapped these photos- as the appearance of fire is what I was after. Late afternoon sun streaming into the screen porch offered me the lighting I was hoping for. Very dynamic, isn't it!

Gosh, I love my job.

Amber is sold and already in the collection of a very faithful Patron.

Deb

I'm going to pretend it's Spring, anyway!

This is Gwyneth, my second Flower Fairy. I had a lot of fun experimenting with her dress- handpainting on silk with alcohol inks! Then to get the watercolor effects-- all very interesting. The weather is still dreary and cold- windy here so perhaps tomorrow I will have better luck getting good shots of her. These were taken indoors by a window- overcast day. Now great for capturing color, I'm afraid!
Deb

Ok, I give up. It's still snowing--and look at who...

I found in the snow! This tiny angel is sitting in a snow angel left behind after a weekend of playful fun in the yard. The look of pure joy on her face is just impossible to resist! You'll look at her and smile, I promise!

I named her Serendipity. A chance discovery- an unexpected surprise. That says it all!

Gosh, I love my "job"!!

If you could call it a 'job'! What fun! Please meet Naja, a tiny forest pixie. She's shy, but once she knows she can trust you, she slips her hood back to reveal the most brilliant blue eyes! In fact, her name, Naja, means brilliant eyes... How cute is she!!
Have a great week- it's still freezing here- tomorrow it's suppose to be about 15 below! Did anyone say, "Spring"? Good grief...
Deb

After a week away...

There was much going on on ebay this past week. Ebay is making some major changes to their policies and many people are in an uproar over it. There was a week long boycott last week and I am grateful its over. Well, some folks are continuing with it- but I don't see the logic in that. After all, ebay will be able to do as it wishes- and we are there as players.
At any rate, I spent the week creating Daigon, an Avairy fairy! She is adorned in brilliant feathers and rich fabrics of blue and purple. Loved doing her- trying some different techniques in the process. Hope everyone is safe and warm! Still pretty cold here. Hoping for spring!
Deb

A Pin Up style fairy- to tempt you! ;)

This is Hayden Elyse- a Pin Up style fae. I was pretty pleased with her, I think her body is among the best I've done to date. With each piece, we try to improve and it is an ongoing process. You can see more photos of Hayden by clicking on the small thumbnail photo off to the left...

Deb

"Flower Fairies" Kaela, 1ST in a Series for 2008

Who could resist the innocent little face? I couldn't. Meet Kaela, the first Flower Fairy of 2008. What fun it is to create these whimsical little beings. Her garment is made from silk petals, (of course!) and her little undergarment is reminiscent of the bubble suits of the 1950's. I am dating myself now, that's for sure!
I hope you can take a peek at her on eBay, the link is off to the left. Still blistering cold here- coldest winter I remember in a long time. Farmer's Almanac predicted colder and more snow than usual for this winter- boy were they right! Have a good week-
Deb

Wild Fairy--

This week I bring to you, Qitarah, wild and free-a Feral Fairy. It was fun to try something entirely different this time- and she is. Her skin is tanned and she is speckled with hundreds of freckles. Her piercing green eyes seem to look right through you. Beware- she could be lethal!

While these photos don't depict it- the weather here is still so darn cold, it's nearly impossible to be outdoors for any length of time. Especially with bare hands, trying to focus and hold a camera steady! I'll sure be glad when this terrible cold weather breaks. It's been about 20 below at night. ENOUGH ALREADY! WE GIVE!!!!!

;)

Deb

We're knee deep in snow...

...and these mischievous little imps are EVERYWHERE. Snow Pixies love to frolic in the snow-they make icy spots on the sidewalks so you have to be careful! You can hear them giggling when someone falls down. NOT very nice. Oh well, they migrate north when our weather warms up. Poor Canadians! ;)
Deb

We're ba-a-a-a-k!

Hello! Well, it's a new year and I already feel like I've accomplished a great deal! I finally got my website all updated- it was March when I did it last. No excuses- just didn't take the time to finish it. It went well this time, no problems so maybe I won't be so intimated next time. That's why blogging is so much easier! :)

I have a new listing starting this evening on ebay- the first for 2008. I am really proud of her. Sharia is her name.

I hope you like her! She wears tiny gold leaves temporarily over her breasts since ebay frowns on showing bare breasts. Here is a photo of her without those leaves....

I am also making progress on my commission list. I will write more about that later...

Hugs, Deb