Doll Sculpture

After a non-stellar 2009 I felt 2010 would be a great way to refocus and try something new. Something I had wanted to do for a long time – learn to sculpt. My friend Debbie and I had lost parents last year, her father, my mother, and a break was what the doctor ordered. I was looking around on the internet at some favorite doll artists and found Patricia Rose Studio. (www.patriciarosestudio.com) Her work is inspiring. I visit her site often to admire her beautifully sculpted women. (The men are not hard to look at either.) I noticed a section for seminars and clicked it. She gave semi private classes. Hmmm! So, I wrote to my friend and asked if she would like to do this together? She works so hard and I do not work as hard, but I wanted to learn to sculpt. We began to plan. I contacted Patricia and we all settled on a date and sent money. We were committed then.

Patricia warmly welcomed us to her home when we arrived. There we stayed and played and learned and ate and slept and worked and worked and worked. For three days, we worked on these sculptures. Patricia showed us steps and we duplicated the steps on our doll heads and bodies. She showed us her methods for making an armature, and more under-armature preparations. Again, as she demonstrated the steps, we copied her. It was delightful. We discussed many facets of sculpting the figure. We looked at anatomy and the relationships of our body parts to each other. I learned things I had never given a thought before.

After three days, we said goodbye and returned home with our finished dolls. I have pictured my doll hanging on the sculpture stand and the finished figure. She looks wonderful. However, there are problems with her, too. She is not as smooth as I would like her and the paint is a bit blotchy. I use Genesis® paints for the first time. I love the way one can work with them and then dry when ready. I used Prosculpt®, too, for the first time. I think it helped that I had cold hands as the features stayed in position while I was working. It might be a real plus for me in the future. I must try this again, NOW. I ordered supplies and am waiting for them to arrive.

My plan is to dress this figure as a bride. Stay tuned and I will show you that process as I go along.

Kathi