Sketches and a Masking Tape Railroad

It's going to be a handmade holiday gift giving year for us. It's fun for me, and really our only option after a baby's broken arm and bad, private insurance. I hope the recipient's like their gifts. They involve felted sweaters turned into body-part warmers (sounds kinky, but no, I am just trying to be vague in case the recipients peek at the ole blog), photo contraptions, stenciled t-shirts (FUN), and special fluffy bed adornments (again, trying to be vague).

In between those projects and during Walter's napping sessions, I have been planning some new dolls for an exhibit I am curating and also taking part in. More on that and the lovely participants later. I wanted to do something thematic for the show, so I settled on Villains and Super Heroes. Here are a few sketches. I want to keep things simple, but also I want some extra detail to make these dudes (and dudettes) special. Also, I am not married to the idea, so it may change. However, I was really inspired by these photos of old super hero costumes---click here to see them.
I like the idea of my villains already in their jail garb, but fancified (bow-tie). I really am into the sketch below of the guy in the half bear mask and furry unitard. You know that when he is done fighting crime that he drinks a bottle of merlot in front of a fire place in his super hero cabin.


Lastly, it is a jittery time for my family. We are waiting for some news that could either bring some immediate change or not. Waiting is not one of my strong suites. Although, it does make me very productive in non-productive types of things. Today, my play time with Walter became very involved. We made masking tape choo-choo tracks going through multiple rooms. At one point the giraffe shown below functioned as a type of tunnel. Wild fun.