Sale Time!

My artist talk was yesterday.  I was so nervous, but about 10 minutes in, I found my groove, and it went well.  I hope the students found it useful.  It was so nice for me to curate the show and create and give an artist talk.  Being a stay at home works the brain in other ways, but it was so nice to do some deeper thinking and writing, something I wouldn't have just done on my own.  Also, I went miles beyond my comfort zone for my public talk, but I didn't pass out, and life carries on.  Now I feel a bit stronger than before.  Cool.  So, to celebrate I will eat chocolate bunnies (celebrating looks a lot like regular life for me in that statement) and I will have a sale in my shop!!!  When you check out of Etsy just put in the coupon code ALLDOLLEDUP to receive 25% off!

Thanks so much!

Mimi Kirchner

Mimi Kirchner needs no introductions because she is very well known in the world of soft dolls. I love her work so much.  The shapes of her dolls are great----especially the broad chested fellows above and the big sweater grandmas.  They are just so comical, and they easily become animated in my mind.  I can imagine those sweater grandmas watching Wheel of Fortune and practically becoming one with the couch they are sitting on.  The men I see walking around in a manly manner and tipping their hats to any ladies in sight.

Here is a short bio that she wrote for her blog:

I am a Boston-based fiber artist. I live with my husband- Ben Hyde- in a Victorian era (1892) 2-family house. I have 3 kids who are mostly grown up and doing their own things. I graduated from Carnegie-Mellon University in 1976 with a BFA.

Her craftsmanship is unmatched.  She is just so, so, so good and exact about everything.  And all the little details send my heart aflutter.  People tell me they wish they had my patience, but there are various degrees of patience, and in the doll making realm, I think hers is the highest.  Look at that naked robot!  Yoinks!  So incredible!

I could snoop around at this photo for hours.  What are in all those drawers?!  Maybe things only Mimi sees the potential in.

She sent these foxes for the show as well as three others.  With Mimi's work, you can look at it for a very long time and keep discovering new things, which is one of my favorite parts about art observing, the continual surprise.  Her characters are so specific, you can spend a lot of time developing their stories in your head.  Do you know that the girl fox has a pig inside her purse?  A tiny pig!  I peeked inside it when I was hanging the show.  That had me smiling all day.  My goodness.

That black object on her table with the strap is some sort of magnifying goggle contraption.  I saw her using them on her Handmade Portraits video on Etsy.  Also, I think you really know your craft on a personal level to have so many scissors!  I really aspire to be at her level one day.  I think lots of soft artists look to her as their model for craftsmanship.

Thank you to the fabulous Mimi Kirchner!

Mimi's blog
Mimi's shop.

Jess Quinn of Small Art

I am a big fan of Jess Quinn. 

This is the first image I ever saw of Jess Quinn's.  She didn't have a big internet presence at the time, but now she posts her work regularly and I am never let down.

Jess has a degree in painting.  She makes her living off of her dolls and also does model making for a stop frame animation studio in Bristol.  She never seems to have a shortage of ideas, and she makes many, many beautiful things, each surprising.  It's as if she has an entire alternate universe stored away in her head!  I just think she is incredible.

She makes many types of dolls, some textile, some wood, some clay.

An elephant looking surprised, maybe because he woke up wearing a sweater.

A studio shot.  So colorful.

She uses which ever medium seems right for a particular character, Here is a quote of hers from her Etsy biography: Everything is made by myself and I love each process and material to be openly expressed, each stitch or paint stroke is visible a trace of my working hand. I love colour and have collected a fair amount of vintage fabric over the years, these are added into a lot of my work, a hint of nostalgia added to something new.

She is fearless with her materials.

Thank you Jess for what you bring into the world!

Her Etsy shop is here and her blog is here.

Jennifer Strunge of Cotton Monster

Jennifer Strunge is the one woman show behind cotton Monster. Jennifer graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art. During her senior year at art school she began making quilts with eyes and then gian soft sculpture pieces out of blankets. After seeing the delight that her monsters brought to people, Jennifer founded Cotton Monster. In addition to making monsters, Jennifer works for Black Cherry Puppet Theater, bringing puppetry programs to schools and recreational centers in Baltimore.

Her monsters are so bright and wild.  Jennifer uses a lot of recycled fleece and knits for these guys.  I have never seen a doll maker use re-purposed fabric in such a cohesive way. 

 

 

Re-using fabric for these monsters make me think that they come to life from a pile of dirty laundry.  Like, if you leave all your dirty socks under your bed, they will sprout teeth and start to form appendages and come alive!

She also does impressive custom work.  Look at this hat from a child's drawing!  Great!

Another hat.  I love these so much.

Her monsters are so sculptural and I think look especially nice under dramatic studio lighting.

Thank you Jennifer Strunge for your wild designs and delightful monsters

!

Jennifer has a great website and also an etsy shop.

Jessi Halliday Messalic from Simpli Jessi

Jessi is from Michigan and received her BFA from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. She works as a designer in an architecture firm, but "needed a part time muse" so she started making dolls under "Simpli Jessi".

I think Jessi's dolls are so sweet and represent a softer, more gentle world.

The expressions on their faces are fantastic.  To me it looks like they are great listeners and always amazed and astounded at what everyone is telling them.  It looks like they want to know more, like they are saying "ohhhhhh?!".

Here is a group she did for a show called Stitch Wars,

Works in progress.  The bodies of her dolls are made from linen, which gives them a soft, down to earth feel.

Her dolls are entirely handmade. Natural linens, organic cotton stuffing, felt, yarn and recycled fabrics are used in every doll - making each one unique and special. She is inspired from my childhood, from traveling, from meeting different people and from collecting their stories.

This girls hair is great.

Thank you Jessi for making beautiful things!

Jessi's blog is here and her Etsy shop is here.

Paola Colombo

For the next five days I am going to write a short description about the artists I invited to All Dolled Up. My talk is in 8 days! Yikes! Good thing chocolate bunnies have hit the shelves.

The Lovely Paola Colombo!

Paola Colombo lives in Verona, Italy.  Everyone calls her Pollaz, which is the name she sells her pillow heads under. 

I was first drawn to her works when I saw these oven mitts.  They are so funny, colorful and cheerful.   I love the little embroidered hairs, they look like they could be monster hands, but they are oven mitts----meant for getting pans of cookies out of the oven.  You just know Paola Colombo has a great sense of humor.

When I researched her further and discovered her pillow heads, I was even more delighted.  They all look like such cool guys, like people you would see at a party.  They are the kind of people that talk about music you never head of and drink really strong espresso.  I love them.  I love how they are all designed so simply, but each one carries a distinct specificity to it as well.   My favorites are the ones that use a surprising patterned fabric for the beards and mustaches. 

Paola has a degree in scenography from the Academy of Art in Verona, but while she was studying she discovered she had other interests.  Her mom taught her how to sew, and she had a friend challenging her to do more with the medium of fibers.  She began making handmade objects and selling them at punk shows.  Afterward she began to push herself more with needle and thread.

In an interview with Paola, which you can read here, she says that she likes to imagine everyone to have an alter fabric ego sewn by her.

I love the image on the bottom right where she has drawn the bodies for her pillow portraits.

spaghetti!#1, a photo by pollaz on Flickr.

She also is doing some very interesting and mysterious things with fabric and clay involving a cute little gentleman named Gustavo!  Check out her flickr set for more.  It looks like he like Spaghetti as much as I do.

Thank you Paola!

Visit Paola's blog here and her Etsy shop here.

All Dolled Up Gallery Shots

Here are the gallery shots of All Dolled Up!  I think theylook lovely and serene in the gallery setting of dramatic lighting and all white walls.  There's an air of joy and mischief in the room as well.  I just know that when the lights go off there are some plushie shenanigans taking place (or, at least I hope so!)

The artists of All Dolled Up are:  Jess Quinn , Mimi Kirchner,  Jennifer Strunge, Paola Colombo, Jessi Halliday Messalic and myself.

As with most interests in life, if you dig deep enough, you will find there is an entire sub-culture full of fellow enthusiasts.  Through the All Dolled Up show, Vincennes University has given me an opportunity reach out to a select group of my heroes from that softie-making community.  I have chosen these artists to showcase their work based on their sense of whimsy, imagination, design sensibilities and refined craftsmanship.  I have been amazed and inspired by each of these artists, and I am thrilled to be able to exhibit along with them.  I hope this show captures a child-like sense of wonder and awe in everyone who views it.

group shot

main view

Two of Jennifer Strunge's Cotton Monsters and a trio of Paola Colombo's heads

A Mimi Kirchner girl doll, Jennifer Strunge's Cotton Monster and three of Paola Colombo's heads.

Forrest-y group shot

Two of my mustache guys, A Jennifer Strunge Cotton Monster and three of Jessi Halliday Mesalic's dolls

Group shot

Wall of lovely oddballs

Bear Boy, by me, Daisy the bird by Jess Quinn and two heads by Paola Colombo

Woooosh!

Corner shot.

All Dolled Up will be on exhibit
Thursday, February 9 – Thursday, March 1, 2012.
Artists’ Reception: Tuesday, February 21, 11am – 12pm. Reception will be held in the Shircliff Gallery.
Artist’s Lecture: Tuesday, February 21, 2pm – 3pm – held in the Shircliff Auditorium, Rm. E101 in the Shircliff Humanities Building.
Gallery Hours: Monday – Thursday 8am – 9pm, Friday 8am – 5 pm, Sunday 12pm – 3pm

If you want to see even more photos, check out my flickr All Dolled Up set.