Women of the West

Another Quilt Festival has come and gone.  This year was especially exciting for me as I was part of a special exhibit titled Women of the West.  The exhibit consists of three quilt artists:  Ginny Eckley, Susan Ennis, and Kim Ritter; a bead artist: Kay Hendricks; and me with my art dolls.  

This is the first doll I made for the exhibit.  She is inspired by my ancestors who lived in Texas when it was still part of Mexico.  This is a replica of an authentic flag used during the Texas Revolution.

Come and Take It!

This piece was sold and is going to live with a collector near the town of Gonzales, which holds a Come and Take It Festival every year.

Winona and Pearl

Two cowgirl pals.

Miss Maybelle

A saloon girl

Maria Elena, Cantina Girl

Inspired by the cowboy song "El Paso" by Marty Robbins:  "Out in the west Texas town of El Paso, I fell in love with a Mexican girl.  Night time would find me in Rose's cantina.  Music would play and Felina would whirl."  

Bronco Bustin' Betty

Little Sure Shot

Little Sure Shot was Annie Oakley's nickname.  She's wearing some of the many medals she won in sharp shooting contests.  

Shenoah and Tehya

Native American mother and daughter.  Shenoah means White Dove, Tehya means Precious One.  

The gorgeous quilts and bead work can be seen on our website:  www.womenofthewestgallery.com

The icing on the cake is the book which describes each piece and the history behind them.

Books can be purchased here:

http://www.lulu.com/shop/kim-ritter-and-ginny-eckley/women-of-the-west/paperback/product-24276245.html

Doll Exhibits - International Quilt Festival

It's that time again!  The International Quilt Market and Festival in Houston is happening now.  We (the Material Girls Cloth Doll Club) set up the doll exhibits last week.  There are 4 parts to the doll exhibit:  the Material Girls of Houston Cloth Doll exhibit, the Texas Association of Original Doll Artists exhibit, In Celebration of the Doll (the invitational portion), and the Gypsy Challenge.   

These are dolls from the Material Girls.

The Dolls on the left side are part of the "white on white" challenge.

This is my piece for the white challenge:  "Forgiven", based on Psalm 51:7 which reads

Purge me with hyssop,

and I shall be clean:

wash me, and I shall be

whiter than snow.

She is entirely cloth, soft sculpture. Her lower torso is felted wool with angelina and various fibers, beads and sequins.  Her top is made of silk and cotton lace.  The base is crackle glazed.  The hyssop in her hands is made of felted merino wool.  

The Texas Association of Original Doll Artists exhibit is titled "Time On Our Hands".  

My piece for the TAODA exhibit is titled "Seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer Fall"

Again, these are entirely cloth, soft sculpted dolls.  Their bodies are made of felted merino wool, which has been hand embroidered, with silk blouses and a silk ribbon which links the seasons.

In Celebration of the Doll is an invitational exhibit and I am honored to be included again this year.

My piece is titled "Contemplation"

Her lower torso is felted with merino wool and various silk and wool fibers and beaded.  Her costume is made with brocades, silk, velvet and various trims and beads.

Later I will post photos of the Gypsy Challenge and other exhibits including the amazing quilts!

Eco-Printing and Art Dolls

My newest passion is eco-printing!  I love that you can take leaves and flowers from your own garden and print them directly onto fabric.  Here are two of my newest eco-printed dolls, which will debut at the International Quilt Festival this year in the TAODA "Past and Present" art doll exhibit. 

Remembrance and Anticipation

Both pieces are made with hand dyed silk satin, silk gauze and pearl cotton braid.

Remembrance is printed with oak leaves, which symbolizes strength and stability.  

Anticipation is printed with Chinese tallow and chinaberry leaves, symbolizing radiance and hope. 

IQF 2014

Another Quilt Festival has come and gone.  This year marked the 40th anniversary of the Houston International Quilt Festival.  The red and white quilt display to celebrate the Ruby Jubilee was stunning.

Of course for me the highlight of Quilt Festival is always the doll exhibits.

In Celebration of the Doll Exhibit:

My piece for this exhibit, "Sunshine Parade":

The Material Girls of Houston portion of the doll exhibits:

I had two pieces in the Material Girls exhibit:

"A Mother's Treasure is Her Daughter" & "Orelia"

The Texas Association of Original Doll Artists also had a display, "Block Party 2", which were dolls featuring a quilt block on some part of the doll.  

I chose to do the tumbling block pattern.

"Circus Tumbler"

Another portion of the doll exhibit is the Treasures of the Gypsy Challenge.  The challenge theme this year was Come to the Mardi Gras.  

This is the Best of Show winner in the Gypsy category, a stunning felted sculpture by Jennifer Schermerhorn:

I didn't  finish my doll in time for the gypsy challenge.  Oh well, there's always next year...

International Quilt Festival 2013

Another Quilt Festival has come and gone.  This year, with so many shows in the month of October, I only managed to get two dolls made for the International Quilt Festival.  One for the "In Celebration of the Doll" exhibit

"Sim Shalom"
("Let There Be Peace")

and one for the TAODA "Block Party" exhibit

"Quilting Queen"

This doll has 165 patterned quilt blocks in her outfit.  I used Log Cabin, Spools, Pineapple, Fan, Roman Square, Floral Applique, and Ohio Star.

Ohio Star quilt blocks on the Queen's mantle

Check out the TAODA blog for lots more pictures of the dolls.

Preview night is always the most fun.  I added to my Elise Peeple doll collection

and made some nice purchases of fabrics and trims

Just for fun, I took a ribbon dyeing class with Christen Brown

Here are some of the ribbons I dyed in class using different stitching and folding techniques.

Another successful Quilt Festival!