Tiny Mermaid

I just wanted to share a picture of the tiny mermaid I just completed.  She was a lot of fun to paint and bead :-)  

If you would like to join me in creating some Christmas in July decorations I am teaching a class on A for Artistic called Poinsettia.  Just click on the following link if you would like more information.

http://www.aforartistic.com/christmas-in-july-poinsettia-with-marla-niederer-cloth-doll-artist.html

Boudoir Dolls

When I visited my grandmother as a small child I remember that she always had a doll seated on top of the console TV and one on her bed.  The dolls were dressed in beautiful costumes with full ruffled skirts.  I was always fascinated with these dolls, and if I recall correctly, they were boudoir dolls.

Boudoir dolls were popular during the 1920’s.   When I started creating dolls I became intrigued with Lenci dolls and fell in love with the Lenci boudoir dolls. There were several different types made but the ones that fascinated me the most were the ones elaborately dressed in romantic court dresses such as those worn by Marie Antoinette.   Out of my love for these dolls I created Mistique and costumed her with all of the ruffles and frills I could imagine worn by a beautiful boudoir doll.

Mistique is a 17” needle-sculpted ball jointed cloth doll inspired by the romantically styled boudoir dolls of the 1920’s that I have always loved.  I will be teaching a workshop on how to create your own Mistique on May 22^nd online for A for Artistic.  This work-shop will present a multitude of cloth doll making techniques. You will receive instruction on needle-sculpting a cloth doll head, hands, and feet. The workshop will present techniques on creating hidden ball joints, using watercolors for cloth doll facial coloring, needle-felting an elaborate hairstyle, how to create an elaborate costume, and how to create beautiful doll shoes. All of these techniques will be presented while you are in the process of creating a beautiful heirloom doll!

Hope to see you in class!

Day 32 of 51 Days of Art

I woke up this morning on the 32nd day of my 51 days of art and decided to actually complete one of the many projects that I have been working on.  This is one of the sea nymphs that has been dancing in my head.

Kuan Yin Revisited

I started a cloth representation of Kuan Yin quite some time ago and for some reason she was set aside amongst my multitude of unfinished projects.  I worked diligently during the last Figurative Artists Consortium Retreat in Ottawa on her hand beaded lotus blossom seat and never finished her.  So I took her out this weekend, completed her lotus blossom seat, needle-felted mohair for her hair, and have little left but a few finishing touches to do.

For those who did not see the original post, and may be unfamiliar with Kuan Yin, she is known by many as the goddess of compassion, one who hears the cries of all beings. She is also known in Buddhism as a Bodhisattva, one who puts off Nirvana in order to liberate all sentient beings. Many representations of Kuan Yin depict her as a beautiful oriental woman in flowing gowns carrying a vessel filled with the waters of compassion. She is often seen standing or sitting on a lotus blossom. In the representation of Kuan Yin that I have created, she has golden colored skin and is seated in the Bodhisattva pose.