Support Shell

Phase Two: creating a support shell for the rubber mold

Mold Creation

In the hopes of being able to make my dolls available to more people, I have decided to try my hand at making a mold and casting in resin. A little while ago, I finished sculpting the prototype, who I have named Polina. The whole process of making the mold ended up being between five and six hours, so I am dearly hoping that it turns out to be usable. On a side note, I apologize for the poor photo quality. I did not make the mold at my house and I forgot to bring my camera, so my mobile phone had to do the job. 

 The first layer of the rubber mold

 The fourth (and final) layer of the rubber mold

The Polina prototype, prior to being molded

Charlotte Temple Work In Progress

 

          

 


Dounia waiting in her undershirt and slip... 
for a dress and stockings... and some arms. For some hair as well.

Works In Progress

Sculpting is finished on one, the other is still lacking half her face and most of her body still.
Also, I've started making some new ornaments while playing with pumice medium... at the same time!

BACK INTO THE SWING OF THINGS

I have been trying to work on my day to day time management. So, I've made an hourly daily schedule for myself. I have to say that it's helped me be a lot more productive so far. Allotting a specific time to sculpt has allowed me to get a lot of dolls underway quickly. It's also helped keep me from becoming burned out from working on one item for too long.

Mirabel's dress (seen to the right) would have normally caused me to have a nervous breakdown. However, with my handy dandy new schedule, I haven't felt stressed about it once. There are lots of tiny rosettes to be made and then hand stitched, which takes a long time. Usually I would try to get it done all in one night, leading me to go to bed angry and frustrated. I now have a specific time during the day to work on clothing, which allows an invisible force to make me stop working before I become enraged.

Work in Progress

This is the first batch that I'm finishing up for the Strawberry Street Festival. Sadly, they're still nameless at this point. I'm hoping to have another batch of six finished by the time the festival rolls around next weekend. I'll be a very busy little bee this week.

Works in Progress

Samantha, Lucie, Cornelia, and Ida

Works in Progress: Saffron, Ann, & January

Work in Progress: Valentina

I've become a bit lazy when it comes to the blog and have hardly posted anything in the last couple of months. I got married in the fall and of course I waited til the last minute to plan the wedding. Then came Christmas. Followed by a much needed re-organization of the apartment.

Needless to say, things have been a bit hectic. Finally, everything is getting back to normal. Hopefully I'll be updating more frequently now.

Anywho, on the the good stuff. I'm a fall and winter person. Besides liking chilly weather, I find the whole atmosphere of the colder months to be inspiring. So, I decided to pay homage to this wondrous time of the year and make dolls inspired by each month. I'm doing them out of order, as I'm working on February now and January second. I suppose there's not any harm in that.

After spotting unfinished wooden candlesticks in the craft store, I decided to use that as the base of the doll. I then sculpted the bust on top of the candlestick and then stained the wood. The arms will be attached later with wire.