Meet Lavinia The Gypsy

Here she is: my first cloth and clay doll! She is a little rough but not too bad for a first effort! I've never sewn and stuffed a doll before, I've never sculpted a face from Paperclay over cloth before, I've never made a doll skirt before and I've never made a wig before. So, all of those things are now behind me. It has been a huge learning curve for me working with the Paperclay; it's not as smooth as polymer clay and it's messier to work with. I'm not sure if I like using it or not. I'll keep experimenting with it along with the polymer clay and see which one I can have better luck with!

So she's a PRIMITIVE doll. She's not supposed to be beautiful or perfect. I wish I'd given her some more color in her face but the photo turned out more pale than she actually is. She still has that alien look but I'm learning how to add "bulk" to the face.

One thing I have to do is let it go! She's finished now and I'm proud that I completed her. The photo below is the best of the worst photos I took of a closeup of her face. I wish I was a photographer but I can't stop the shaking lens syndrome (even with the feature that is supposed to do that for you!). But for what it's worth, here is a closeup of the sculpted face:

Yes, she DOES have a surprised look about her! I need to work on making the eyes a little smaller. ;) But no more picking on the poor thing; she has enough to worry about just being a gypsy. Now on to the next challenge...

I'm enrolled in another doll class with Nancye Williams (see sidebar for her links). This is a primitive doll made from polymer clay. I'm also going to try another doll in the style of Lavinia but with a different motif. And I'm working on a canvas using some of the Digital Grounds transfers I've made. So, off I go. Results will be posted soon.