Winni and Pooka (notes)

I have happily been sculpting away on a new little girl! She has proven to be a good stretch for my sculpting abilities, and I must admit I am very excited as I watch her coming to life.

My son Ruben has been asking me to make LARGER dolls (so he can hold them, I think). Alassea was the largest sculpt I have attempted, and now Winni joins company with her. As a young child, she will measure 8 inches standing. And she has sparkling German glass eyes, my first attempt! I love them! It takes hours to paint eyes to come even close to the realism of these. Lovely, lovely.


Winni is a full sculpt, and is only slightly moveable in several of her wire joints. Her right arm extends to cuddle Pooka, and her waist and hips bend just enough to allow her to sit or stand on her metal flower base...which is still in progress.

Her face was sculpted using our families newest baby as a model. Not intentionally...but baby's face must be on my brain because I (we all) can't keep our eyes off her!









When I showed Pooka to my youngest children, Kaiya gasped and asked if I caught him in the barn! His face actually has the same expression of a little bird we found on the 3rd of July. He was flopping around in the grocery store parking lot with a broken wing and leg. His mama was still trying to feed him. As we were watching him, an unwary shopper kicked the little bird out of the way probably thinking he was a piece of trash. That was when we decided to scoop him up and bring him home. He lived for three short days, and is now buried next to my two rosebushes along with more than a few tears...








Winni and Pooka will be flying onto ebay by Friday or Saturday as time allows. I hope you will stop by to meet them when they do!










ALSO, my commssion is now complete and should be on her way to Canada by tomorrow. A most wonderful collector worked very closely with me to design her, providing the incredible iridescent shell for her to ride upon. She decided to name her faerie "Limpet" after seeing her preliminary pictures.








Limpet is a diminuative French Gnome Faerie only 4 1/2 inches high. She plans to visit the East Indies by sea and has enlisted a resourceful fish to help her along her journey. Limpet has gathered rare sea treasures and tucked them into side folds in her skirt. She wisely plans to offer them once she arrives as a gentle gesture of good will. From what she hears, historically there were few faerie-kind in that area...and even less now. So, her reception may not be with open arms. Nonetheleass, she feels the visit is worth the risks. The Elves have told her that the region is in dire need of faerie blessings, and she is determined to bring them!



Oh, the joys of where our imagination takes us and the child-like whimsy of where we might end up when we get there...


Thank you for visiting!

Rose

Princess of Pearls (notes)

The idea for Princess Tali came to me along with a very old oyster shell my sons discovered as they were digging a big hole out near our barn. To fill with water and float leaves and sticks...and jump in as a matter of course.

Our home is near the Pacific ocean, and there are several oyster beds nearby. No doubt the original farmers who built this farmhouse enjoyed oyster bakes in their back yard as they rested from their dairy work.

Studying this beautiful shell, I recalled that my mother cherished several strands of pearls given to her by my father. One in particular. The pearls on the necklace slightly varied in shape and were pale golden in color. I was told they were "natural" pearls from the persian gulf. Thus, Tali's story...









Princess Tali was a labor of love...and determination. I sculpted three heads for her before I was happy finally with the fourth one! The painting of her face took an entire day here and there. Her tail is made from three colors of fimo designed to resemble mother-of-pearl (on the inside of the pearl oyster shell).

She ended up taking MUCH longer than I expected, but once finished, I was startled to discover that she resembled my mother!









So, I styled her hair just the way my mother wore it when dressing up in her black dress and pearls on special family occasions.









The anniversary of my father's passing was on the 4th of July...just as Tali was being finished. So yes, she was indeed a labor of love...and I am enjoying her company and the sentiment she brought with her very much. I hope you will as well.

Rose