Category Archives: Dolls

Hebden Bridge 2010 Winter Open Studios is nearly here

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My entry for the ‘Matryoshka‘ exhibition at Northlight Art Studios, as part of Hebden Bridge 2010 Winter Open Studios this weekend – 4th and 5th December, 11am – 5pm each day.  Artists will be opening their studios, and you can buy original art direct from the artists.   Fantastic original Christmas gifts for those people who’ve already got everything.  There will also be mince pies and hot refreshments in case you get hungry and thirsty…

'To Decorate'

'To Decorate' - collage and transfer on matryoshka doll

Part of my work explores dressing up and playing with dolls, and with this piece I have used images of a child playing at ‘being mummy’; dressing up, posing for the camera, pushing a teddy around in a cart.  These are layered over collaged fragments of ephemera such as recipes, fashion shots and marketing textbook chapters which can be glimpsed beneath the surface.  Their messages are subtle, but their substance creates a landscape.

This piece will be for sale at £100.

[i.d.] – digital storytelling

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As part of my new job, I have discovered Photostory3.  This has finally shown me a way forward for my i.d. project .  I have used the digital storytelling format to reflect upon my feelings when I look at these images of myself.   I remember when taking these pictures, I felt nothing in particular.  I was just an actor with a puppet.   Striking poses for fun, really.  Yet looking at them feels wierd …

Edit: I know the sound quality is awful.  I’ve just ordered a logitech microphone – let’s see if it improves things.  I hadn’t appreciated the challenges of getting decent sound recording on a PC.

Ophelia

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Ophelia sculpture

Ophelia sculpture

Ornate mirror, latex, plaster

This was the outcome of a course that I’ve just completed in ‘Casting for Sculpture’.  The hands are my own hands, with molds created from plaster and modroc, and then cast in latex.  The head was created by latexing a doll’s head several times to create a mold similar to those used in garden gnome kits (remember those?) and then cast in plaster.  The mirror came from a charity shop.  Ophelia refers to the character in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, who fell in love with a Prince and then went mad when he rejected her, ultimately drowning herself.

Playing with masks

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id with mask

id with mask

After the Hebden Bridge Parade, I’ve had the idea of making more masks.  I’ve been further inspired to do this by watching the progress of Thingumajig Theatre on their blog.  So here I’ve finally pulled out my sculpting materials and had a go at a doll-like mask.  I was working with modelling clay (like plastacine) rather than traditional clay, and it is rather horrible to use.  For my next ones, I’ll get hold of some proper ‘muddy’ clay which I much prefer working with.  This is papier  mache using brown paper (recycled packaging).  I’ve left it unpainted for now, as I quite like the colour and surface as it is.  Who knows quite where I’m going with this, but I’d like to keep playing.   Masks are quite interesting to me as a symbol of the way that people can wear different ‘masks’ or identities in the different areas of their life.