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| Needle sculpted Figurative Fiber Art Doll by Marla L. Niederer |
Okay, so I have
mentioned before that I have a propensity for chasing all things shiny down the
artistic rabbit hole. My artistic
interests have been varied throughout my life and continue to be so. That can be very distracting when trying to
focus on refining skills in one area but it also can lead to growth in the area
of focus. I have currently been working
on a project that has been taking considerable amount of time. But the more I work on it the more I see all
my varied artistic pursuits falling into place.
The project I am
working on is a Figurative Fiber Art Doll.
I started it in response to the critique I had on my work at the NAIDA
Conference last summer. I completely
revamped my Art Doll patterns to create this doll and this is the latest of
many revisions. If truth be told, it is definitely
not the last. Although I still need to
make further revisions in future Art dolls, I wanted to see how things flow
together so decided to complete this one.
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| Needle sculpted Figurative Fiber Art doll by Marla L. Niederer |
As I have been
working on this doll I have started painting watercolors with a group of
watercolor artists. When I paint with
watercolors on paper there are no expectations, no classes to put together to
teach, no paintings needed to be painted to sell. It is just the flow of water, paint,
paintbrush, vision, and being in the moment.
It has been a very calming experience for me and one that I plan to
continue.
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| Watercolor painting by Marla L. Niederer |
I have been using
watercolors to create facial features and skin tone on my art dolls for quite
some time but the added practice with watercolors, even though it is not doll
related, seems to be impacting my painting of my art dolls.
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| Needle sculpted Figurative Fiber Art doll by Marla L. Niederer |
Before I started
working on this project I was going through this renewed interest in
crochet. I hadn’t crocheted in over 20
years but when going for some shopping therapy after my NIADA critique I
stopped in a fiber shop and came across some fine silk crochet thread that made
its way back home with me. I didn’t know
what I wanted it for when I bought it but it was silk and shiny and soothing to
the soul. I played a little bit with
crocheting motifs with the thread thinking I was going to make some earrings
with them. That never happened but………
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| Needle sculpted Figurative Fiber Art Doll by Marla L. Niederer |
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| Needle sculpted Figurative Fiber Art Doll by Marla L. Niederer |
I have been an avid
jewelry maker for quite some time. I
typically make jewelry for myself and gifts with an occasional sale here and
there. So I started getting a beading
magazine this fall and decided to make this pair of earrings amongst other
things.
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| Hand beaded Maple Leaf Earrings by Marla L. Niederer |
Of course I also
had to embellish my art doll with some beadwork.
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| Needle sculpted Figurative Fiber Art doll by Marla L. Niederer |
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Needle sculpted Figurative Fiber Art doll by Marla L. Niederer
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This work is still
in progress. I’m hoping to have her
completed to exhibit at the Quinlan Philadelphia Art Doll and Teddy Bear
Conference and the Artistic Figures in Cloth and Clay Conference in Columbus
Ohio this spring. I will be teaching Art
Doll classes at both conferences.
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| Mardi-Gras Tassel Ornament Doll by Marla L. Niederer |
I will be teaching
Mardi-Gras Tassel Ornament Doll at the Philadelphia conference. You can find out more about the class and how
to sign up here.
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| Goddess by Marla L. Niederer |
I will be teaching
The Goddess at the Columbus, Ohio conference.
You can find out more about the class and how to sign up here.
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| Claudette by Marla L. Niederer |
And if you don’t
want to wait until spring to take a class, I am teaching an online class on
AforArtistic that starts this coming week called Claudette: A Cage Doll. You can find out more about the class and how
to sign up here.
Oh, these are lovely. Thank you for showing us the inspiration and new direction for your wonderful dolls.
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