You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘art dolls’ category.
you’re invited to “journeys and dreams” — my art opening at radio room
thursday, october 2nd
7-10pm
@ radio room on ne alberta.
in conjunction with my opening, i’ll also be hosting a benefit for children’s healing art project (CHAP), who is quite possibly the BEST (if not THE best) non-profit in the state. i’ll tell you more about them in a moment and how you can help, if you’re so inclined, whether you’re near or far.
yesterday i hung all of the pieces for my show, sans a couple that i’ll be getting up in the next few days (long story but part of it includes me knocking a fragile assemblage off a table thus having to fix it — oops!). my exhibit is comprised of 20 paintings, 2 dolls and 2 assemblages. i’ll probably have 3 more assemblages and two more paintings by the event. plus i’ll have a heap of small art prints and tiny framable paintings for those with a smaller art budget (like me).
during this whole process i’ve learned that i’m not very good at hanging, aligning things or making things look straight, even with the assistance of my sister. but we got it done and i think it looks fantastic, even if there are a couple quirky misalignments and height discrepancies.
i forgot to take photos of the fourth wall, and part of the third, but you get the idea. lots of art! and yes, i’ve been bitten by the color bug — i’m loving color play as of late.
this piece, entitled “nothing really bothers her, she just wants to love herself” is my favorite. if i recall, it’s 15×30″ — collage, acrylic, graphite and ink. i’ll try to get a better/head on photo during my opening. she’s a great representation of my deep adoration of malformation, disproportion and things that don’t properly match (all my hands are absurdly small, for example, and look like they were drawn by a child — love kid art!). it makes me happy.
despite having just hung, and the opening not being until next week, i’ve already sold two pieces which has me ecstatic. i am so grateful to be able share my art with people who enjoy it! it too makes me happy — i’m pretty giddy right now, truth be told. one gal messaged me on facebook after posting a couple of images and asked if she had to purchase it in person. nope!
these are the two that have found new homes so far. “one raven girl“…
and this piece, entitled “i can’t see the end of me“:
(clearly i’m still working on my photography skills.)
and here are a couple of close-up shots of two more pieces that are now available on the walls at radio room. this piece is entitled “finding feathers on her medicine walk” and is highly inspired by my new shamanic pursuits. her eyes are my favorite, slightly askew and off kilter, over a slightly-too-small nose. she’s 12×12″, collage, acrylic, pen/ink, graphite and water soluble wax pastels.
and “describing wisdom” — with a deer and an antler girl. she’s 6×12″, collage, acrylic, ink, graphite, charcoal and water soluble wax pastels.
(i’m seriously going to beg some of my photography friends to take better photos because these are so embarrassing!)
and this is my 3d wall so far. i’ll be adding additional pieces before the event.
and now for the good stuff!
children’s healing art project brings the healing power of art to children in crisis through a mobile team of teaching artists working in a partnership with hospitals, community organizations and schools. at CHAP, children are known for their creativity and ingenuity—not by their disease, diagnosis or disability. their innovative healing arts programs reach critically ill, chronically ill and disabled children (and their loved ones) with programs that strengthen, encourage and inspire. i love all that they stand for and do in our community and as a result decided to host a benefit for them. i am donating a 5% of all of my art sales during the opening night to them, and radio room is donating 15% of all food and drink sales during the event to them. in addition, envelopes will be available to make direct cash donations and a big huge box will be out from now until october 30th to collect donated art supplies to CHAP and the children they serve. they are always in need of sequins, model magic, beads and beading supplies, colored feathers, paints and brushes, non-toxic adhesives, collage papers, colorful pipe cleaners, blank t–shirts (kids sizes) and masking tape.
image copyright children’s healing art project (CHAP)
and actually, scratch that. it had originally been the plan to donate a portion of my sales to them from opening night only, but i’ve just changed my mind (looking at that precious painty face and colorful tiny toes). i will now be donating a percentage of my art sales from right this minute through opening night. so if you’re interested in a piece that is available, you can help CHAP to0.
i love them and i’m going to see about being a volunteer artist now that finn is back in public school and i have the time to do so. ❤
hope to see you at the opening if you’re in the area!
since i have to work cyclically lately between different mediums, sometimes i can’t decide if i want to create an assemblage or a book. they are, after all, the two things i’m most passionate about creating (though i’m still overly obsessed with the idea of creating a portrait i don’t hate). so this time i decided to create both in unison… a book inside an assemblage. it’s funny how i say that as if i’ve never done that before. i’m totally laughing right now. this is probably my forty-third assemblage with a book in it.
meet the second gal in my doll box series (the first, “exhibition of self” can be found in seth apter’s book “the pulse of mixed media” where i was one of the featured artists). i fell instantly in love with that little face of hers and had to create something special. at least i feel she’s special. ❤
like most people, she has her secrets; some are kept in the little drawer just above her heart, and others can be kept in the book within her belly. the drawer is actually not empty. can you guess what’s inside?
the book is made with bones upon the spine and a metal and shark tooth closure i fashioned out of miscellaneous found objects.
you can see several more detail photos on my site, here, if interested >>
what did you create today?
the third of my waxen dolls is miss rue — like a kanga.
miss rue is a sassy mama who stands 9″ tall. she carries her little one (and all else she holds dear) in the pouch in the front of her waxen vintage lace dress. she loves her knee-high boots and red stripey socks, just like me. rue comes complete with wall hanger on back.
miss rue is available for purchase and more photos are viewable on my website here >>
bess is a witchy little thing who stands 7″ tall with wings of bone and hoof-like feet. her vintage lace and waxen dress is adorned with an antique button that i’ve been holding on to for a very long time for the “perfect” special occasion. her head is a late 1800s victorian era doll head. she is comes complete with wall hanger on back to watch over you in your home (or wherever you’d like to hang her).
she is available for purchase and you can see more photos of her on my website HERE >>
i always feel like such an ass when i got extended periods of time without blogging or checking out other people’s blogs but the beginning of the school year is beyond insane and i’m not the courageous and omnipotent mult-tasker i used to be. in short, home school kicks my arse. and then it’s weeks later…
my arty to-do list is sooooo huge, but here is my plan (in response to email inquiries, some i’ve responded to and some i have not):
- catch up on the tallest book in the world project (two people did not include email addresses with their pages, by the way, so if you didn’t hear from me that’s probably why.) MUST finish this soon! this means: finish my pages, do the dedication/thank you/participants page. make covers. bind it. post it up for auction (after emailing everyone whose contact info i have to announce that my head has now been removed from my bum and things are proceeding, like seven years late, or so…)
- catch up on the zine and get it published for all of us! i didn’t forget or drop the ball, it just takes a bazillion hours and after the loss of my computer i lost my momentum. promise i’ll get it done, just can’t promise when.
- create some of the arty tutorials i’ve been asked about. more on this later… have to figure out where i’ll start.
- catch up on the 4.524 unread emails i have in my inbox (for some reason i initially typed “undead emails” and got a comical vision of zombie messages clawing their way out of my monitor — i think i need a nap!)
- initiate my next give-away — i already have a small pile of goodies, just haven’t gotten around to photographing or posting it (i wasn’t able to move my left arm for over a week, so that has something to do with it, but i’m fine now — it was just a pinched nerve, two misaligned vertebrae, a dislocated rib, a wrecked rotator cuff and a grumpy handful of tendons is all).
those are the main ones. just a few, but they mostly all big and cumbersome and scary due to lack of time. next item, post some of my most recent creations (that’s easy!)…
this one is the second in my keeper series, called the keeper of beach and bone. i like bones and beachiness.
and some side shots (i’m clearly obsessed with frozen charlottes, victorian era doll parts, bones, teeth, taxidermy eyes, shells and other such things):
and… (i haven’t decided if i should leave the bottle of teeth as a removable element or a permanent aspect — it’s currently removable because i like interaction, but the husby says that’s a not-great idea…)
the keep of beach and bone is now available in my shop: alicia’s art on the altered bits site >>
next, i’ve been obsessed with art dolls lately and have finished four (then started a fifth and sixth). this one is flying off to the other side of the continent next week. her name is… actually, i don’t know what her name is yet. i’ll let you know when she tells me… but she is the first of my waxen dolls.
(i’m still a horrible photographer!) her head is from a victorian era doll and i made the rest with lace, fabric, embellishments, found objects, wax, acrylic, and all sorts of other goodness.
this little gal’s arms and legs move and i totally love her stripey lace-bottomed leggings… so very alicia! her arms are tied on with little bows.
i’ll post more of my dolls this week.
happy love, a day late. we’re not huge valentine celebrators around here, but we’ll typically make each other something.
the little man woke me up with breakfast in bed that he made all by himself (cereal) and the most gorgeous card. the husb actually made me art! real, true life, visual art (i’ll photograph soon). his art is music and he doesn’t typically enjoy making things, but recently we had a spur of the moment “altered man” workshoppy art fest here with some friends. we all started in on altering some anatomical guy dolls. well, he finished his in secret for me and wrote me the most delightfully sweet love song (kinda sounded like an angry horror film narrator in a sexy nerdy way talking circuitry and electronics and love). needless to say, the dude he made me was packed full of electronic bits, circuits, an LED crown, wires, etc., standing on a heart shaped circuit board. i guess he’s sweet after all, eh?
i made him “us” last weekend, while so on top of things, but ran out of time making him the part two piece of “us as animals”. sounds worse than it will be, hah. anyway, us…
our hearts are all tangled and lovey. guess i can be sweet every once in awhile too. pfff.
xxox
Altered Bits Gallery and Shop
AlteredBits' Barterable Bits
Altered Bits Blog 