This one is called The Un-Namer. I made it for the Art Doll Quarterly Bendi Doll challenge. I had made a smaller version of this doll several years before, it was the first doll I sold. Although this doll didn't make it into the magazine as part of the bendi doll challenge, it did show up in the gallery section of the magazine a year or 2 ago.

Pin Dreams. mixed media 8 x 4.5 x 2.5", 2004.

This doll comes from a recurring dream I used to have. It is made from a ring box, craft wood, polymer clay, feathers, charms, cording, straight pins and mirrors, painted with acrylics and dye-na-flo.

I really like things that open, or that you can see though or into. The contrast between what things really are and how they seem at first is fascinating to me. Lots of opportunity for irony as well. ;)

Anne Hesse came and taught a 2 day class on her Journal Doll this past September. We had a blast and learned more than I had ever dreamed we would. ;) Anyway, my son left his Etch-a-Sketch in the car and I had to steal it and make a doll out of it using Anne's pattern. So now he's got the coolest etch-a-sketch on the block!

"Sketchie" 16" tall (seated), swimsuit fabric, etch-a-sketch, beads, bottlecap. 2004

Here are some Sheila-Na-Gigs I made on my own from the pattern made for the Goddess Round Robin project.

Sheila o' the Shore, 2004. cloth, felt, shells, beads. 4.5 x 5.5"

Sheila o' the Veil, 2004. cloth, felt, beads, mirror. 4.5 x 5.75"

Sheila o' the Deep Earth, 2004. cloth, felt, textile paint and lumiere. 4.5 x 5.5"

Sheila o' the Stars, 2004. cloth, felt, dye-na-flo, beads. 4.5 x 5.5". Private collection.

Sheila o' the Moon, 2004. cloth, felt, mirror, confetti. 4.5 x 5.5"

Although the scanner shows them as dark, the mirror and confetti are actually silver.

Sealed for Your Protection - 8.5 x 5", mixed media, 2004.

This one is 100% fiber-free (what good's a rule if you don't break it?). I made it for a self-portrait ATC swap.

It's Always the Quiet Ones. mixed media, 8.5 x 4.5 x 3" closed, 2004.

This doll was made in a lunch bag swap. Both my partner, Cheryl Lorenz, and I filled a paper lunch sack with fabric and all sorts of goodies to make a doll with. Then we swapped bags and made each other a doll with the contents of the bag and whatever we decided to add of our own. Cheryl sent me a paper mache mannequin, not knowing I had been looking at them speculatively for quite some time! I had a hard time sending this one off, but I know she has a good home. Thanks to Linda Crawford, the swap host. It was great fun.

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors, cloth, fabric paint, gel pens, glitter spray, beads, wire. 9 x 6.5", 2004

I seem to have a thing lately about the relationship between beauty and danger. This one really sparkles! Thanks to Cheryl Netter for her great photography (of this and many other dolls) and to the patternmaker, Lynn Sward. It was published in the Winter 2002 issue of Quilting Arts Magazine for their art doll challenge (I only missed the deadline by a year and a half!).