Dolls In Progress

I thought it would be fun for you to see "in progress" photos of some of my dolls. I have randomly taken these at my studio worktable over the past few months. I enjoy seeing how other people work and what their workspace looks like.  I always start out with a organized table, then slowly it becomes messy the more I come up with and try.  I start with a sketch, but then I "audition" lots of items before I decide on the final look. Enjoy looking!

Need to make a trucker hat for HillBilly...

Getting Crazy Lloyd ready for dental work

Laying out a utility belt and face for Dynamite

Lulu & Lila began as a pair of vintage gloves 

Assembling just the right parts for Robot RX036Y1

I can't remember. Just how does a straitjacket work, exactly?

Blushing Bride as I assess her pinned in place dress and veil 

Tomato & Groom drying in the sun together...ahhh

Four Dolls In Three Day - I Was In The FLOW

I never quite know when an idea for a doll will completely form. At least once a week I do some quick sketches of doll concepts that have been on my mind. I set the drawings aside, then glance through them every day or so. Last week I sketched on Monday; made 23 little clay skulls on Tuesday; did laundry on Wednesday; made four "bodies" on Thursday and cleaned house on Friday. That was my week. BUT if you were inside my brain all week you would know something was brewing with the Monday sketches.


Friday night I felt bad that I hadn't made one doll all week. I started working on the new superhero idea. I love the idea of superheroes. Even more, I love the innocence of children's belief in superhuman powers. I bought this cool t-shirt at a thrift store that looked like it had been printed from a comic book. The screen printed design had the words "POW" and "TNT" in great comic book colors. Well, once I decided how to cut the fabric everything else just flowed. 


Have you ever read the book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience? It is about being happy and when you are "in the flow" everything else falls away and you are in the moment with whatever task you are performing. I highly recommend reading it. The author explains that once you master a task you cannot get "back in the flow" until you push yourself to go beyond your set skills.  Interesting stuff.


I finished Dynamite Superhero at 1:30 am. He's available at my etsy shop. (See the side bar for link.)

Saturday morning came bright and sunny and so did my creative energies! To my studio to regroup and clean the "designing mess" from the night before. Every superhero need a worthy villain, right? Hence, Hector The Masked Villain was born, also available at etsy. (Dave though he looked like he had S&M tendencies but I refuse to go there!) 

As I was waiting for Hector's paint to dry I decided to make a striped jumpsuit for my next doll with no name. With that accomplished, I hand stitched a zipper around the doll's head. What if I cut the head open? Now this has a lot of possibilities...Frankenstein, zombie brains, removable brains; lots of new ideas for dolls! 

But I had just finished a fuzzy white and pink striped jumpsuit. That didn't go with the "removing brain idea". Pink is girly. Can still be creepy though. What if I don't add a brain? Airhead Annie was born! Her skull opens up to reveal nothing. It did take me most of Sunday morning to finish all of the hand stitching of the striped jumpsuit. Listing her on etsy tomorrow.

Saturday night Dave and I watched a documentary on the history of burlesque. It was so interesting on how the original burlesque women started in the business. Burlesque became popular during the depression when women needed to make money any way possible. Some made $1,000 a week! Most didn't love the work but needed the money to support their families. And a lot were married. Anyhow, that's where my next doll idea emerged from. I quickly made her. She just came together easily with items I gathered around the studio - presenting Betty Burlesque. I haven't listed her yet. Still kinda attached to her. I may keep her for awhile. Oh yeah, you just gotta see her backside, it's lovely! (I added and old garter clip at her shoulder blades to hang her on the wall.)

My Booth Is FINALLY Ready!

Since I have never done a festival on my own, creating a booth was priority number one! I can have stuff to sell but without booth photos you can't really apply to most festivals. The Doo-Nanny was such a godsend! They didn't require a booth photo to attend and it inspired me to get one made by the Doo-Nanny date of March 25-27. It happen to coincide with the other festival applications due now.  I also think it's pretty serendipitous that my first festival should have the name "Doo" in it! Pretty cool huh?  


I have worked on my booth for over two weeks; thinking, planning, sewing, organizing, etc. I set it up in my garage this week and finished tweaking it Saturday.  I still have to finish a few items that are "holding a spot" right now but I'm pretty much ready to go.


Here's how it looks. Let me know what you think!

Front View

Right: mostly dolls hanging from little nooses!

Left: mostly altered vintage paintings

Close-up of sign and little work table

Left Outside: Panel has pinned interactive cards for anyone to draw/write to
answer the question Who Doo You Love?
The right outside panel question is Who Doo You Want To Be?

Where Do My Dolls Come From?

I just finished three new dolls and added them to my shop.  As I am photographing them, I realize I have developed crazy stories in my head for each one while I was making them. Believe it or not, this is a new revelation for me. Being crazy is not.

The process of creating dolls is still fairly new to me in my life of crafting. I use to only craft or paint when I would get inspired to make something I saw I liked but couldn't afford or thought I can do that, why pay for it? I think I have made maybe two dolls my entire life.

Who Doo dolls came about when I wanted to create items to sell with my husband, Dave Cook, at his conventions and festivals.  He is a pretty well-known artist in Atlanta for his tongue-in-cheek horror art, roller girl poster art and zombie portraits. You can see his cool stuff at his I Draw Monsters website. 

I first did some research on voodoo dolls, which totally freaked me out!  I'm not crazy superstitious or anything, but thinking others might use my dolls for ill will or good for that matter I didn't like.  I knew I wanted to make dolls  out of old items of my grandmothers, my childhood, personal old clothing and jewelry, antique finds and thrift store items. So who knew what all that may bring with the world of voodoo.  Playing with words to not be voodoo but still a little creepy, Who Doo was born. As I create a doll I ask it, who doo you want to be? Call me crazy, but it slowly emerges to me with a complete personality! (I know, I just creeped out on voodoo makers and hear I'm telling you my dolls have complete personalities. I told you I was a little crazy!)

I usually start with a pile of items I like. Such as this vintage "hair wrap" which I bought at an antique shop. It is still in the box intact.  I hold on to things until I work out the idea in my head. Then I take it out and look at for a couple of days. A mummy wrapped with his ribcage (maybe a sliced seashell) exposed...

Or I also like the idea of someone, like Betty Page, becoming a doll so I gather items I think may go: pleather pants, netting, lace, chains, a pin I was making...

I've been thinking of old hippies that have passed on as inspiration and came up with this pile of goodies. Don't know if it will all gel in my mind into a doll but it's a beginning.

So the dolls slowly arrive out of my imagination, usually a little demented, crazy or strange. I have done the "mainstream" art all my life, but the "dark side" of creativeness is pretty dang fun!