Lenore's Story

Lenore--Concept and Design

 Lenore is a collaboration that I did with my son, Carson.  He likes fantasy art so I thought the Edgar Allan Poe challenge would be a good theme for us to collaborate on and come up with a doll that he would like to keep.  He came up with the concept drawings and I executed the design.   Here is the drawing that he did for the doll and costume.   I had to change to pose so that her face wouldn't be hidden behind the book but tried to keep everything else as close as possible to his concept.  

The costume was a challenge because the feathers had to be cut down to size to fit the dress.   Many of the feathers had to be sewn down individually to the dress.   Carson also designed the back of the dress to include a cape like train that was attached at the waist.  Here is the concept drawing and actual fabric train and back of the dress.  

 

The books she is sitting on were covered with fabric and then I printed out titles of books that Edgar Allan Poe wrote.    The book that she is holding contains the entire poem of The Raven, which I shrunk down to fit the book cover I had made.  

  

Creating Lenore

Lenore is a full body sculpt from polymer clay.  Here are some pictures of Lenore in process.  

When I sculpt the head I photograph it from all angles because it is easier to see when features are not quite symmetrical or balanced.  

  

A full body sculpt is baked in a series of steps.  I baked her head and then added it to her skeleton torso.  Because she is seated and her legs are crossed I next sculpted and baked her legs.  
You can see in this picture that I start with a basic skeleton shape and then fill
out the form.   

   

The next step was to fill out her torso. After her torso is baked, I then sculpt her arms, hands and feet.  And, of course, I always want my girls to have some sort of underwear and Lenore opted for a thong. 

 

  

After she is baked and before her costume is put on her make-up (face paint) and hair must be added.  

Before hair is styled, she looks like she had a wild night and just woke up.  

  

Lenore- Edgar Allan Poe Challenge Winner 2021--People's choice

The Challenge Doll this year was to be inspired by Edgar Allan Poe.   I chose "The Raven".   In the past I have made each of my sisters a special doll and this year I decided to dedicate this doll to my son, Carson.  Carson is also an artist so I asked him to collaborate with me.  He sent me concept drawings and I went from there.   This was the result of the collaboration.  

 Lenore is a full body polymer clay hand sculpt. No molds or patterns were used.  Her dress is made from silk with a silk tulle overlay.  Real feathers were trimmed to size and hand sewn to her dress.  Her hair is styled from mohair.  She has been hand painted in a Goth style.  Her shoes are hand made from leather.  She is sitting on rebound books which represent other Poe works.  In her hand she is holding a miniature book with the complete printing of “The Raven”.  Everything was handmade especially for Lenore.   

   

In the Pink

I recently took an online class with Ankie Daanen entitled Blue Blue Girl.  The class is available at http://www.aforartistic.com/.  Although I have sculpted in paperclay before, I am always exploring different methods of using the medium.  Instead of cloth for the body, Ankie uses Styrofoam for the base in the body and head.  The upper arms and upper legs are wires wrapped with stretchy bandages. 

 

I followed the construction methods but decided to use my own vision for the costume and face sculpt.  She is whimsical and definitely not BLUE.   She is "IN THE PINK!"  Her costume is made from a variety of silks and is hand beaded.  Her hair is mohair and her face is hand painted.  Hands, legs and face are all hand sculpted; no molds are used. 

Her stockings are made from swiss dot soft tulle.  

More Adventures in Textile Art

During this shut down, I have found the need to explore new ways to create art.  I've been reading about different methods using textiles and paint to create art.  One article that I read was from a 2007 Quilting Arts Magazine which was written by Jeanne Raffer Beck and titled Textural Surfaces for Stitch.  In the article she detailed ways to develop improvisational compositions using a variety of techniques and materials.  All the techniques described start with a fabric background (which might also be painted) and is then layered with hand painted scrim, painted fusibles, fabric, yarn, Tyvek, thread, Angelina fibers, organza, etc.    Really the layers can be anything you have on hand.   You can either start with a composition in mind or just let it develop.  

Underwater Seascape

The first one pictured here called Underwater Seascape was not planned.  I just developed  during the creative process.  I started with a piece of unbleached muslin, add a layer of  painted fusible web and then started adding bits of scrim, yarn, painted Tyvek, and Angelina  fibers.  I finished the piece with hand stitching   and a few beads.  It is approximately 8 x 10  and  is matted and framed but no glass.  The frame is 11 x 14.  

  

Abstract Cityscape

The second picture was more planned.  The painted  fusible web reminded me of an abstract city scape so I positioned the layers with that composition in mind.  The layers are hand painted scrim and organza.  I used hand stitching to create "windows" and define the buildings.    8   x 10 picture matted in 11 x 14 frame