Vermeer: Lady trying on pearls

       Vermeer is one of my favorite artists.  I had an opportunity to make a doll after a woman in one of his paintings .  It was great fun and quite a challenge to get the color of her coat right.  I had to dye the fabric several times to get the exact shade and brilliance of color.  

     The "fur"  is silk velvet dampened and ironed flat.  The "ermine tails" were created using a Sharpie permanent marker to mark the silk fibers.

                               Happy New Year!

Red and the Wolf finished

This beautiful bed carved by Nicole Marble and dressed by Judee Williamson was made for Red and the Wolf. It was shown and sold at Tom Bishop's Chicago International Miniature Show.  If you haven't been to this show try to get there.  It's the best show in the US.

Red and the Wolf

  Red and the Wolf were made to go with a bed made by Judee  Williamson and Nicole Marble. I made the Wolf like a doll with shoulder plate head, paw arms and paw legs on a wire armature with cloth body.  The tail was a piece of stiff wire with squirrel fur folded over it.  They were great fun to make.

Reds shoes are red leather and her cape is wool.  The wolf's nightie and cap were made from an old hanky.

Going Visitiing

Jean and her canaries are going visiting, perhaps to see her daughter or son.  The carpet bag is by Sylvia Rountree, The Dolls Cobbler. The birdcage is from Bespack.

New Haunted Village

I'm off to the Denver Show this week with my new fun creation, a Haunted Village.  I've spent most of the summer designing and making the houses.  They are one inch high or less and can be lit up like the Christmas Village.  I guess making the witches got me to thinking about Halloween.  

Castle Room: more details

I thought you might like to see a close-up of some of the details in the Castle Room.  The dwarf and the table design are by Todd Krueger.  The table is by David Krupick and the books and metal sculpture are by Erika Van Horn.

Castle Room : Details

Todd Kreuger at his sales table at the Chicago International Show this past April. Check out the great sleeping Dragon on top of our Castle Room.

Todd made the wonderful candles in the Tree of Life niche.

Castle Witch: completed

What does this ancient crone want from her minion? I wouldn't want to be him.

Todd Krueger made the dwarf and the other wonderful items surrounding my witch.  In the next few days I'll be posting close-ups of the details in this scene.

By the way, it's great to be back. My garden and yard look terrific but it's time to get back to miniatures.

Isabella and her baby in bed

This lovely bed was made by Nicole Marble and dressed by Judee Williamson of Williamson, Walton - Marble specifically for Isabella and her baby. You can see this piece at the Chicago International Miniature Show April 20, 21 &22.

Castle Room

 This is my latest attempt at something new.  I coated a wooden room box kit with paper clay textured like stone walls to create this Castle Room.  I'll dress an ancient sorceress in white and grey.  Todd Krueger is making some figures and gargoyles and supplying a table full of books and other sorceress tools to complete the scene.

The detail shows one of the wonderful wall torches made by a British artisan and the bat detail under the gargoyle's lair ledge.

This piece will be shown at the Chicago International Show next month.

Isabella and her baby

 This tender scene is one I particularly like creating.  The nightgown is very simple.  Two squares of fabric make the bottom of the gown.  Sew strips of lace together for the bodice.  To make the sleeves sew the lace insert in the center of a piece of fabric about 5 inches long and 3 inches wide.  Then cut two sleeves from it placing the insert down the center of the sleeve.

Cat & Dog Steps

Does your miniature dog or cat need help climbing onto the bed at night?  These fun cat and dog steps were made by Nicole Marble of Williamson, Walton Marble.  

Nicole asked me to paint the steps for her. It was a challenge painting on a flat surface.  I'm used to painting my sculpted porcelain cats and dogs, like this rolling cat.