PLAY DATE

Welcome to my friend, Jeri's, art studio.  Jeri's studio is utterly amazing...she has been collecting art supplies and tools for years....and has just about everything a mixed media artist could ever want complete with two pure white guardian kitties.  I had the pleasure of being invited to join this awesome group of women from the Orange County Art League for a play date.  One of their members, Carolyn Waitt, chose the project for the day and sent everyone supply lists.  Our project was going to be creating art dolls from old tins.....well I didn't have to think hard about whether I was going to go or not with my new found love of making art dolls.  I chose a small sterling silver tea pot for my doll.

Everyone worked at their own pace, shared whatever they brought with one another and shared techniques and helped out in brainstorming.  The culminated talent in this group was amazing.  And speaking of talent, meet Cindy, above.  Cindy is a fabulous mixed media artist and loves working with fabric.  She started out with a tin box, took off the lid and created a dimensional doll.  The crows wings and heart are all hand stitched and beaded.  I love the contrast between tin and fabric.  Love it Cindy!

This is Carolyn, the person responsible for this great project.  She really came prepared and with lots of ideas as she worked on four different dolls at once.  Love her use of those old metal curlers for arms on one of her dolls and the handles of antique silver spoons for another.  Tiny light bulbs, electrical components, bottle caps and faucet handles all found a place on one of Carolyn's dolls.  Just proves the point of don't throw anything away...and be creative in repurposing.

Linda's little retro doll is complete with a hand sewn felt purse.  Her crown is a plastic shampoo bottle top treated with a rusting solution.....so clever Linda.

Now Debbie had a different take on her doll.  She formed her doll's nest out of Spanish Moss hanging from the trees right outside the studio door.  I would like to see what her little talcum powder tin doll turns out to be like.  Beautiful smile Debbie!

Kim started with a Harlequin doll which she took all apart and hand painted her face in kind of a day-of-the-dead fashion.  Her doll's body is an old cigar box.  Love what she did with the legs.

I didn't get pictures of everyone...so sorry to those of you who are not included here.

This sweetie was created by Barbara.  The accordion pleated paper collar amazed me...loved it!

This is my little girl, Cosette, sitting next to my latest purchase from Julie Haymaker Thompson.  They just seem to go together don't you think?   Her little legs were my first attempt at using paper clay and some of the painting techniques I learned from JoAnnA Pierotti at Art Is You last month.  Another new product I incorporated into Cosette in attaching her head to the tea pot was Apoxy Clay.....great stuff....thank you Michael DeMeng for introducing me to this.

The Orange County Art League gals get together once a month to make art, kindle friendships, share, support and grow.  Do you have an art group you are a member of?  Or perhaps you have wanted to get a group together but haven't yet.  Now's the time...don't wait.  Getting together with like-minded friends is so very nurturing and rewarding.