Holiday Baking

I’m taking a small break from doll making and getting ready for Christmas.  One tradition our family has is to bake gingerbread and deliver it to our neighbors the week before Christmas.  Yesterday was gingerbread baking day!

the dry ingredients:  lots of ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg

the wet ingredients: buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and.....

the absolutely essential ingredient:  Steen's cane syrup

eight eggs per batch

ready for baking

gingerbread out of the oven

decorated and ready for delivery!



Miniature Top Hat

I took a class at Quilt Festival this year with Gilbert Muniz:  Make a Mini Mad-Hatter Topper.  This was a fun class & Gilbert is a great teacher.  I've made hats for dolls, but this one was not doll sized.  More like half scale human size.  It was great because I learned millinery techniques and used supplies I've never used before.

Clockwise from back:  buckram, french elastic, petersham, millinery wire.

The only one of these I've used before is buckram.

I wanted to do a "Christmas fantasy" hat, and here it is:

If you ever get a chance to take a class from Gilbert, I highly recommend it!

Houston International Quilt Festival 2011

Another Quilt Festival has come and gone. The doll exhibits looked wonderful this year with new signs indicating the different exhibit categories, and a third tier for display area.

I was fortunate to have a doll in each of the four parts of the exhibit.

This was my piece for the invitational portion:

Maiden Mother Matriarch

My Material Girls entry:

Marina and Starla

TAODA Storybook Doll:

A is for Apples

Gypsy Challenge:

Henry's Masque

My purchases this year were lots of greens and autumn colors.

Silks and wools, trims and beads

  I'm thinking of the Green Man and Forest Dwellers......

Autumn Elves

Here are a couple of Autumn Elves I made recently.  I chose some fabrics and trims from Pamela Armas' Treasures of the Gypsy.

Dressing Elf #1

Painting his face

The second elf gets painted shoes.....

Sewing on the ears

Autumn Elves

Copper Shade Tree Gallery

I recently delivered art to Copper Shade Tree Gallery in Round Top, TX.  It was a beautiful day and a nice drive from Houston.  The gallery just moved into a new location across the street from where they were before.  It's a wonderful light-filled space. 

a few of my dolls....

Round Top is also home to the Round Top Festival Institute, famous for it's summer music festival and year round concerts.  It has a gorgeous concert hall and beautiful gardens.

Round Top is booming!  There is a new group of shops moving in.  They were creating paths and beginning the landscaping when I was there.  It's going to be really nice! 

Debbie and Gerald Tobola are the owners of Copper Shade Tree Gallery, and the nicest people you'll ever meet.

Gerald is an artist himself.  He creates gorgeous pieces in copper. You can see a little bit of one of his pieces on the wall behind them.

The next show at Copper Shade Tree Gallery will be "Quilts by Men", October 26 - November 20, featuring Quilts by 16 men from across the country.  It should be a really fabulous show!

New Art Doll Book

A new art doll book has just come out titled Lark Studio Series: Handmade Dolls. 

I just got my copy and was excited to see that one of my pieces, "By the Waters of Babylon"  is in this new book. 

 The book is available now at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.  The doll is at Copper Shade Tree Gallery.

Yesterday's Open House

Yesterday was the open house at Lucia's Garden.  It was a wonderful day!  We had a steady stream of friends and visitors.  Lucia made her wonderful pumpkin bread and other goodies.  Path of Tea brought  declicious organic beverages.  The shop was filled with fall and Halloween decorations and ornaments, and of course I brought my dolls.  Here are a few:

Leaf Elves

Little Witches, Autumn Elves, and other Fall Dolls

Pumpkin Men

I'm happy to say that some of these found new homes.  Some will stay at Lucia's Garden through the end of October.

Many thanks to everyone who came to the open house and many many thanks to Lucia and Joel for everything they did to make me so welcome at Lucia's Garden!

Leaf Elves

I've been working on some leaf elves for the Fall Open House at Lucia's Garden.

Dyeing Silk Habotai for the leaf bodies

After dyeing the fabric with some fall golds and reds, I took the damp fabric outside and sprinkled on dry rit dye right out of the box.  This will give it some grainy spots - a trick I learned years ago from doll artist Dawn Kinsey.

Here are their little faces, which have been needle sculpted.  The darling little bunny pin cushion in the background was made by doll artist Leslie Molen.

Faces are painted

Here is "Autumn's Last Dance"

and "Maple Leaf Shim Sham"

 Shim Sham is a kind of shuffling soft shoe tap dance.  I think that looks just like what he is doing.

Lucia's Garden Fall Open House

Lucia's Garden is hosting a Fall Open House on Sunday, October 2, from 1-5 p.m.  I will be bringing Pumpkin Folk, Leaf Elves, friendly Witches, Harvest Angels, Autumn Elves and more! 

Lucia's Garden is located at

2360 W. Alabama

Houston, Texas 77098

713-523-6494
http://www.luciasgarden.com/

Lucia gave me my start in selling little Halloween witches at Lucia’s Garden many years ago.  Now I’ve come full circle and I will be bringing Halloween and Fall dolls to Lucia’s Garden for sale this October.  I’m honored to be back!



The Houston Area Fiber Artists will have our annual gallery show next month.  I'm excited to be one of the artists on the postcard !

 There will be a silent auction at the gallery show as well.  This is "Elodie", which I have donated to the silent auction:

Pumpkin Men

My website has been updated and I would love it if you would take a look when you have a moment. New work includes some framed hanging pieces, a couple of vintage bathing beauties, and my love affair with silk fusion continues…. www.janetbodin.com

 

I am holed up in the studio these days working on some fall projects, which is a good place to be in this 100 degree weather we are having here in Texas. I’d like to think working on pumpkin men and leaf elves will hasten the arrival of fall! I’m preparing for a Fall Open House October 2 at Lucia’s Garden in Houston. I was thrilled to be invited to show my art dolls at this beautiful little shop on West Alabama. http://www.luciasgarden.com/about.htm

 

Work in progress:

Dyeing Fabric for Pumpkin Men



Beginning to Sculpt Pumpkin Head

Sculpted Head Covered with Orange Cotton Lycra

Painted Features

Stitching the Head on the Body

Stitching the Stem on the Head