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My new Scottish friend Stephanie Lightbown invited me to take part in a doll project she was working on with her students of the Kilmarnock Academy near Glasgow. For their art examination the students chose a poem or a subject from literature as inspiration for a doll project. This is what they picked:
Rosie: Angel-Demon
Rachel: Neptune / Sea God
Stacey: Ribbon, Bows and Buttons
Ailie: Peacock
Abby: Icarus
Kittie: Alice in Wonderland
Lucy: Octopus, sea life
Sharmaine: The Cat and the Fiddle
Sophie: Cakes and sweets
Earlier this school year the girls, all 16 or 17 years old, started making amazing inspiration boards guided by their teacher Stephanie. They also made lots of trials and experiments on what techniques to use to finish their projects. I was only involved in the sculpting parts and the painting of these parts.
Sharmaine was the only one who did not sculpt a doll’s head. She sculpted a cat.
It was interesting and fun to be part of such a special project. I love all they did and I love them all. On the pictures you see Rosie’s piece in progress and the girls in the snow holding their sculpted parts. When I will have the pictures of the finished products I sure will show them on my website. I am very much looking forward to see how everything will turn out.
The last week of October I was in France for my yearly Doll Holiday and Workshop Week. It is hard to believe but the weather was that good that several days we even could work outside in the sun. Colliii - Doll Lovers Online wrote about it on:
http://www.colliii.com/en/story/marlaine-verhelst-doll-making-course
More on my Paris page:
http://marlaineverhelst.com/parijs-eng.htm
This year’s NIADA conference was a wonderful experience. The location, the weather, the people, the dolls, the classes, the food, the black bear, everything was perfect. I just didn’t see much of the programs because I had a very full schedule. But I met a lot of very nice people and had a lot of fun.
One of the highlights was the conference souvenir: The Book. We all waited a long time for this BEAUTIFUL NIADA Art Dolls book. It is made by Shelley Thornton and Chris Chomick, who both did a great job. It is a big heavy hard cover book full of the best pictures of the works of old and new NIADA artists. I am very happy with the way my pieces are included, and I am proud to be part of this great organization. More info about (ordering) this book on marlaineverhelst.com/bookniada.htm.
It makes a great gift for the Holiday Season.
Time flies and the NIADA conference 2009 is coming up. The conference will be held from September 8 through 13 in Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts near Knoxville, Tennesee. The conference is open for everyone, not only NIADA members, and I heard already from several of my Texas friends and many others that they will be there. Great!
The conference is set up a bit different than other years. September is so much more convenient for me than mid-summer. In summer I always had to choose between my family holiday and NIADA, and choosing for NIADA could lead to a divorce.
The setting is choosen because this will give us plenty of room and occasions to have contact. It will be so much more intimate than staying in a big hotel. During and around the conference there are several interesting workshops set up. You can also take these classes if you do not attend the conference. Also the Gallery Show on Sunday will be open to visit for everyone. Check the Niada website for all details. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you might have any further questions.
I will be there for sure together with Ankie Daanen. We already booked our flights. And we hope to see you there. Don’t miss this opportunity to meet so many wonderful NIADA artists, to see their beautiful work, to learn from them and to have a lot of fun.
Marcie Hart has sent me the Byrum Spiritual Art Award. This award means: “You make a difference…… I know, because you have for me! Thank you for being such a creative and wonderful person.”
I really feel honored. Now I may send the award to six other people. Hard to choose. There are a lot of artists I admire and am fond of but I decided to honor and thank all the students I have met in the “Meet the Dutch Touch” class and my other classes. I would like to thank them because they are so patient, grateful and enthusiastic. It is always a joy to teach them and to be with them. And also I would like to honor all our “Meet the Dutch Touch” hosts. I have met so many wonderful people, so sweet and hospitable. I love you all.
To honor all students and hosts I would like to pass the Byrum Spiritual Art Award to:
Janet Bodin, who introduced us to Houston
Jane Darin, who was our very first US host
Barbi Kantor-Goldenberg, who is an absolute darling
Rosie Rojas, who is my favorite student
Marlene Slobin, who is the sweetest and a wonderful organizer
Lynne and Gene Olson, who turned Seattle into heaven for us
Thank you very very much for your friendship.
You all make a difference…. I know, because you have for me!
Marlaine
After a very successful DABIDA Day last April we accepted two new DABIDA Artist members: Kamilla Meesters and Charles Stephan.
Kamilla Meesters is a very talented new young doll artist. She makes realistic portraits with a twist in Living Doll polymer clay.
Charles Stephan sent in his Lamb Elfin for the 2009 DABIDA Doll Award and won second place.
Both artists work in styles that were not yet represented within DABIDA. We are happy to welcome them and we look forward to meet them and their work on the next DABIDA DAY on April 11th 2010.
Yesterday I finally called my old friends Jane and Joe Darin, who live in San Diego, to hear how they are doing these days. Jane Darin makes cloth dolls and is a sculptor. They hosted the very first “Meet the Dutch Touch” class in the US for Ankie Daanen and me many years ago. And not only that, but right before this class they took us on an unforgettable road trip from Albuquerque to San Diego visiting a.o. the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas. So calling them brought back so many good memories. Sometimes having a real conversation on the phone works better than email contact.
One of the running gags during this road trip was that Ankie and I, never been in a desert before, wanted to see a “real” cactus. The one with the arms. Years later we finally saw them in Tucson, Arizona and that is where this picture is taken. It is amazing where the dolls can bring you and how many “middles of nowhere” there are in the US.
Cleaning up the attic I found an old wooden cigar box. In my mother’s handwriting it said on the lid: “Marlaine 10 years old”. Inside was a collection of small objects sculpted with colorful childrens’ clay: an elephant that lost his head,a snake, a Mother Mary, a castle, a turtle laying on his back, a mother pig feeding her children…. All glued together during the time.
So this is how I started.
Just returned with Ankie Daanen from our fifth “Meet the Dutch Touch” class in Houston, Texas. The picture shows our Houston hostess Marlene Slobin, who did a great job again, with the doll she made in class. The class was held in the studio of Mary Wiggins who wrote a great report on her blog.
We met our friend Janet Bodin again and we found out what these deep canals across Houston are built for: what a rain! Never seen so much water in my life and believe me: we surely have some rain experience in The Netherlands. Mary’s huge backyard changed into a complete lake and for a moment we thought we needed to have a slumber party with our dolls.
And the good thing was that the weather couldn’t be better on the days that Ankie and I had some free time to sit in the sun so I got home with a sun tan.
But who cares about the weather when you can have so much fun together with making dolls. All twelve dolls in class turned out really wonderful. Marlene Slobin and Mary Wiggins will host the “Meet the Dutch Touch” class again in April 2012. That seems far away, but time flies. One of our students was Sherry Goshon, who offered to host the class in September 2012. Iowa, here we come!
I worked very hard the past few weeks to get new pieces ready. Not only on Sunday April 5th the DABIDA day exhibition will take place (special guests Brian and Wendy Froud, please look at the DABIDA website) but I also have to ship a few pieces to Japan next week for the World Ningyo Exhibition organized by Chieko Ogawa. I met Chieko in the US a few times when she was the editor for a Japanese doll magazine.
For the Japan exhibition I am going to send my piece “Waiting for a prince 3” and the brand new piece “Fly like a bird” that I show here.
Question: the hair of the doll is Tibetan Lamb. How do I keep it in this shape?
My friend and colleague Ankie Daanen will be flying to Japan herself for this exhibition. Lucky her!
