Lori Metcalf Dolls

Live Model Class

2011-11-20T14:48:00.004-07:00

This is the sculpture I am working on in the live model class. This has been a fun class because it has had so many new things that I have not tried before. One is working with WED clay, a water base clay that we will fire in a kiln. Second is working from a live model, this has been very challenging but also very exciting. Third, is that I have never tried to capture an ethnic look, so this has also been a challenge.

I think one of the next times I am in class I will take a picture of the model with my sculpture, I will post and see if you think I am capturing her likeness.

Updates to Sculpting Class

2011-11-20T14:10:00.009-07:00

A few more updates to the sculpture in the class that I am taking. The top picture so me trying to add hair
The hair has been more of a challenge then I had initially thought it would be. The teacher explains it in shapes and ribbons. Easy to say but not so easy to implement.

The bottom couple of picture show more progress on the hair, I think it is getting a bit better.

The bottom picture of the latest updates. I think I am getting close to finishing this sculpture. Then I will need to start the molding and casting process.

Two Steps Forward...One Step Back

2011-10-07T20:27:00.006-06:00

Here are a few updated from the previous week at my sculpting class!

Last night was my sculpting class again. I enjoy this class, but there are some things that make it difficult and frustrating.
One is the drive, it is a 30 or so min drive to the class, then you add onto that, that I am 30-35 minutes in the opposite direction at my job and that amounts to a lot of driving.
Second is that it is only 2 hours, but he lets you come and work when you can so I try to go early and get a bit more time on my sculpt. Some of the students that live close can come on other days and work. Makes me wish I lived closer.
Third, the class is not a structured class… meaning that you are pretty much on your own and the teacher moves around and helps where needed. This is good in some ways and not so good in others. I think I crave more structure then what is given in the class, but I also don’t want to be held back when someone new arrives so I don’t really see how this will change, except maybe my attitude about it.
There is a bright side note to this issue. Starting the middle of Oct. he (the teacher) will start a 6 week live model class, so that will be a structured class where we will be sculpting a bust from looking at a live model. I think this sounds difficult, interesting and fun. So I think I will sign up to participate. And on a side note, to this side note, the model will be an African American woman so I can see if I can capture the nuances of this nationality… that should be fun and challenging!

Some more updates, and a reference shot to give you an idea how big she is.

So my evil sculpting nemesis, symmetry raised its ugly head at me last night in class… Aughhh!!! I think I will never shake this!! One of the struggles of sculpting this way is that I am used to holding the small doll head and being able to move is around in my hand to see all the angles that you need to make sure you are as symmetrical as possible. Not that I always succeed even with the small doll head. With a head this size and it bolted to a wooden block, standing on a sculpting stand, you area bit more limited at being able to pick it up and look at it in all the different angles. Sure you and see the profiles, bend down and look up at it etc. So the instructor came by to look at my sculpture and commented that one eye was set back a bit from the other. Really??? Stink! Now that he pointed that out I had no choice but to fix it!! Two steps forward...One step back

She still needs lots of adjusting, I'm not sure about her hair. It will just have to wait til next week.

More Progress

2011-09-18T21:13:00.003-06:00

A few more updates from the head I am working on in class. I think I am getting a resemblance to the reference photos I am using, but I am not going to post those until I am finished and if I am happy with the outcome.

Right now I know that this looks a few years older then the photos I am working from. So I will need to try and remedy that this week at class.

One big problem that I see is that I will probably not finish this in the 8 weeks of this class. Good thing it is an ongoing class. I have a few more weeks in this session though so I hope I can get a bit more done.

New Art Advetures Continued

2011-09-18T20:59:00.003-06:00

A few more updates on the face that I have been messing with. I think I am starting to get a better feel for the clay, but still not certain I like it.

I messed with the left eye (in the photo), it still is off, so I am not to pleased with that. The other proportions of her face seems a bit better.

Tried to fix her left (in the photo) one more time and I think it finally looks a bit better. I played with some hair.... hmmmm, not sure about this. I guess we will see what the teacher says when I take it to class on Thursday.

Finally FInished (I think)

2011-09-18T20:50:00.002-06:00

So I think I am finished with this doll... Finally!! I know that she needs wigs but she was made for my brother and sister in law and the last few fairies that I have made for them, she redoes their wings with stained glass.

So I don't know if I will make any wings. I need to talk with them and find out what they want. I have some pretty blue wings on transparency I think would look nice.

I kept her hair long, that is what the customer likes :) It is hard to see in the photo because her hair is so dark but there is a tiny braid around her head. I think it looks pretty good.

New Art Advetures

2011-09-01T20:14:00.006-06:00

I have had a few months of feeling rather stagnant in my sculpting so I enrolled in a traditional sculpting class at an art center. I am trying my hand at a portrait sculpture. But I will be happy with a general humanoid likeness at this point in the process. I am really struggling with the softness to this clay, and unlike polymer clay there is no rubbery ness to it. I know that is not a word. But polymer clay has some bounce so to speak to it and this clay does not. I wanted a challenge and a new way to look at things and to try something new so I guess I got it! Hopefully
I will be happy with the finished product... Time will
tell.

Got some extra clay and was playing around with it to try and get a better feel for it. So I just messed with doing a relief try face. I was feeling pretty happy about her and then took her to class. Hmmm all I can say is I feel like I know nearly nothing about sculpting. The teacher gave me a few ideas so help me. One of my biggest issues is that I want everything to be smooth. The instructor feels that I am smoothing too much.

Last picture shows the teachers adjustments on the right, me trying to copy what he was teaching on the left.

Almost Finished!

2011-09-01T19:48:00.006-06:00

How long have I been working on this doll? I don't even what to think about it. But I made some good progress this week.

I got the painting done, her face, nails, and a light wash of color on her body

Here is a picture of her skirt, it is made in a peddle design. Layers of sheer white with pinkish, periwinkle dots and then sheer peachy pink. The color reminds me of the color of ballet tights when I was a little girl in ballet class.

Her top part of the dress is made from fusible fiber in a opal type color. You can't see it in the pictures but the iridescent color in the fiber is the same beautiful ballet pink color as her skirt. I used a silk fusion method that my older sister taught me to stick the fiber to her body. Around the back is some cute rosettes and then in the front I randomly sewed seed beads to the skirt.
I thought I would be able to finally finish her up but when I got into my storage of hair I was out of black! Since she has a very Asian feel I think she will need the black hair. I also think it will be a nice contrast with her outfit. Until her hair arrives she will have to wait.

Boston and Back... and other things

2011-08-21T09:11:00.008-06:00

So a few weeks ago my husband, two sons and I drove across the country to Boston so we could set up my oldest son in his family’s new apartment. My son will be attending Babson University and he and his wife have three children (a two year old and newborn twins) so it was out of the questions that they try to do this move on their own. It was also a nice way for us to spend some time with our oldest son before his new life starts across the country.

So we knew we were going to need to drive 10-12 hours a day to be able to get to Boston and start setting up the apartment before my son’s wife flew in with the babies and her mom. The first day across Wyoming seemed to be endless miles of rolling green velvet hills.

Seriously it looked like velvet to me!

We ended day one in Lincoln Nebraska, hot and muggy and limitless corn fields was all I can remember about Nebraska.

The next day was a blur I can’t even remember the name of the city we spent the night at. The only thing I remember is that I went for a run that night and there was a large cemetery by our hotel. I love running around cemeteries! They are always well maintained… clear of traffic… and come to find out what ever town I was in the runners that live there like to run around cemeteries also J The really cool thing was seeing fireflies in the cemetery!! I love them!!

I think I have a very romantic image of farms, I know the reality would not be an easy life.

So on we went… the next night was spent in Schenectady NY, and I feel in love with this city!! I can’t really put my finger on exactly why this city felt so nice, but it was lovely and quaint and felt very pleasant. I told my husband I would like to retire there and open a sweet little book store. I don’t think he has bought into the idea.

On to Boston… my son loves in Norwood and it was about a 4 hour drive from Schenectady to Norwood. The next couple of days were a whirl wind of moving furniture, unpacking, repacking and moving. (You don’t need to know that whole story). Then after all that we rode the subway into Boston and had a few hours to look around Boston.

What a fun place with tons of history, I can’t wait to visit my son and his family while they are there. We had dinner in Little Italy, and OMG!!! It was so yummy! It was wonderful to relax and enjoy dinner with my sons and husband.

The next day Emily (my son’s wife) the kids and her mom flew in and I got to spend a couple of days with all of them before we flew back to Utah. Like I said… it was a whirlwind! But nice to have them settled a bit before we left and good to know where they will be.

As for the “other thing” well I am still working on the flying fairy. I can’t believe how long it has taken me to finish this doll….Aughh my heart is just not into this project the way it needs to be. But I really need to get her done so I can move on to something new….nice segway LOL I have started a sculpting class at the BDAC. It is crazy that I have to drive all the way to Bountiful (30 or so miles) to take a sculpting class, but I am excited to learn and try some new processes and work with some different clays then I am used to working with. I am nervous that I won’t be ready for this, but after months of feeling stagnant I think this class will be good to shake some of that feeling. I guess we will see.

And one last thing and this is a gripe! What is happening to all the doll magazines? For the past little while every time I go to get a new doll magazine I can’t find them. The ones that I used to gobble up and anticipate every month are not there. Oh but I can find 6 different woodworking magazines, and I can’t even count how many scrapbooking/paper craft magazines there are. It makes me feel like my hobby/art is not valued…I am a bit miffed. I guess I am going to have to see if I can get a subscription.

Best of Show!

2011-07-02T13:31:00.007-06:00

So I entered my angel in the Bountiful Davis Art Center's Show. They had called me to let me know that she had been accepted into the show, but they didn't say that I had won any awards, just that I should try to make it to the opening of the show. I figured they had said this to all the artists that had been accepted into the show so I didn't really pay too much attention to what she had said.

Here is a photo at the awards ceremony, I was happy with the way they displayed her and I think the lighting in the gallery is pretty nice. She is right as you turn into the main gallery I was amazed!

Here is a shot of her on the pedestal. You can see the ribbons that she won, the big one is the best of show and the red one is for my sister Denise Maisak winning 2nd place in the needle work category for the costume. You can check out here flicker page here.
They pinned up her dress in the front to show her sculpted legs and the shoes that I made. I never really liked her legs so I can't say that I was really thrilled with this, but I was just happy to see her in a show.
I was overwhelmed to get Best of Show and also to win some award money for this show. I have to say it felt pretty nice to finally get a bit of recognition for my art. I hope that this is just the start and more will come!

More Progress

2011-06-21T20:31:00.005-06:00

A bit more progress on the flying fairy. She now has hands and arms. Her proportions look a bit off in this picture. It would probably help if a had a good camera instead of my phone. In person they are not so off.

Here is another picture at a different angle, I think the proportions look a bit better in this pic. All I know is I really need to finish her up so I can work on something else. I am getting to the point with her that I either need to finish her or throw her out.... I will try to be patient and finish her.

Slowly Getting There

2011-06-21T20:19:00.002-06:00

So I don't think I have posted some of the health issues I have been having. I was diagnosed with a pelvic stress fracture a bit ago and have been going to physical therapy to get fixed up. Tonight while I was at PT I finally got to run on the treadmill without the harness assisting me!! You can't imagine how great that felt for me!! I feel like I am on the road to recovery. Things are getting Better Now :)

Flying Fairy Take 2

2011-05-03T20:39:00.005-06:00

So the previous try at making a flying fairy was not acceptable this is something that my brother-in-law has asked me to make for him, and as much as I like fairies but am a bit tired of them. After this one I need to try something new.

Here is a shot of her face... I think the book I am reading about some Chinese sisters has somehow seeped into my fingers. I really was not intending on making as Asian looking face so I hope my brother-in-law doesn't mind. She seems a bit masculine to me, but hopefully I when she is painted and has hair that will change. I also don't really care for the glass eyes that I used. I would have liked to use white beads and paint the eyes but again that was not what the customer asked for so I used glass eyes. I think the pupils are a bit to big.

Here are a couple of body shots so far. I hope to add the rest of the arms and legs this week.

Updates on Memory Doll

2011-04-02T21:50:00.005-06:00

Here are a few updates on the doll that has been giving me so much grief. I still don't know if I will finish her... still not certain I like her. I guess I will see how I feel about her as I work on her a bit more.

She sits on a pedestal that has been covered with some gray and orange paper and some other decorations.

So there is a story behind this doll. If I ever finish her and sell her the money will go to the NAMI organization, in the name of my friend that I lost almost 6 years ago. The NAMI organizations color is gray, you know like breast cancer is pink and Aids is red. The orange is because when our family does the NAMI walk in our state we all wear orange.

Hopefully I will get her finished soon, but since I am not really liking the way she is looking she has been placed up on the shelf again, until I can figure out what needs to happen with her.

More in Moab 2011

2011-03-25T08:15:00.004-06:00

After all the running was done we took a drive out to the visitor center at Dead Horse Point.

Here I tryed to get a picture of us with the view in the background... Hmmmm I am not to good at doing this with my phone. Even with me new iphone I can't seem to get it right.

Some nice lady decided to help me out and take our picture for us.

I wish we would have had better weather for this picture but it is still one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Moab Half Marathon 2011

2011-03-20T19:20:00.005-06:00

Waithing for the bus ... all the lovely people who volenteer to help out at this event. I am always so greatful that they are there.

So I have ran many 1/2 marathons before but this was the first time I ran one with my husband. I was so excited to share this experience with him. This is one of the most beautiful races and one of my favorite. Bill has never really wanted to run with me, but after the surgery on my knee he started to run with me. I think at first I really wanted him with me because I was afraid that I would start hurting and wanted someone with me. But the more we ran together the more we started to enjoy that time together. When he agreed to run this race with me I was overjoyed.
We checked in to our hotel and got our race packets, then dinner and sleep :)
In the morning we boarded the buses for the ride up the canyon.

Once they drop you off up the canyon you we had about 45 minutes before the race.

So Bill and I stood around trying to keep warm with 5000 of our new friends.

Here we are walking up to the start line with our new friends :) It was a great day, a bit windy for my liking but other then that I loved it!

Bill at the finish line!! He had enough energy he probably could have run another 5-6 miles!

Oh The Frustration!!

2011-01-30T16:13:00.005-07:00

So here is a doll that I had wanted to finish for a contest that I had seen out on the web. The deadline is tomorrow, as you can see I will not make the deadline :( Between my new commute and added stress that I have been having with the new position at work and then trying to train for a half marathon in a few weeks I have not devoted enough time to her. Today I thought I would be able to get her done, but then..... CRACK!!! You can't see it in the pictures, still need a new camera, but her shoulder has cracked.

I am so sad!! I have not been feeling particularly creative lately, feels like I have lost my ability to sculpt. I know that some of it is because I just don't have the time to do it.
I will try to repair her tonight, if I can't get it to work she will sadly sit on my shelf until I feel I have the ability to fix her. My dear brother in law has patiently been waiting on me to make him a new fairy... so I need to man-up and try to get it done. I hope that soon I can get over this hump and on to a more productive/happier time.

Christmas Vacation

2010-12-21T10:50:00.001-07:00

I’m so excited to have my Christmas vacation from work… today is my last day! I don’t have to be back to my desk until January 4th! I have a massive list of all the things I want/need to do here is what I have so far.
Get some good running done in the morning
Work on and hopefully finish the doll that I’m working on
Start a new doll
Sew
Read, finish the book I’m currently reading
Spend some time with my grandkids
Spend some time with my children and husband
One day is already set up to help my sister organize her sewing room. I will try to get some photos of this process because I think/hope the transformation will be amazing
I would like at least two pajama days… I will settle for one, but I’m hoping for two. These are days when I don’t get out of my jammies (duh) it can be combined with the reading/sculpting or sewing sometimes it is just combined with a movie or two.
So there is my list so far, I may add or subtract from it as needed.
I hope that you have some wonderful plans for yourselves and for you families, during the holidays.

Almost Christmas!

2010-12-06T12:56:00.005-07:00

It’s that time of year when time seems to fly even faster than normal. Christmas is fast approaching and I am almost ready! Party dates are forthcoming with all the fun festivities they involve. I am looking forward to spending time away from my day job and hope to be able to work on the newest doll project that I have in process. I will try to get some pictures soon, but don’t hold your breath waiting… it might be a while.

Over Thanksgiving break I was able to go snowshoeing with my brother and I hope we can do it again over Christmas break, I had a wonderful time. I don’t get to spend that much time with him so it really made it special! Also I hope I can spend some time with my grandkids that is always wonderful!

So I hope that you are all getting ready for your own Christmas/Holiday festivities and enjoying this wonderful time of the year. To me the best part is getting to spend time with the ones you love.

Collective Soul :)

2010-11-06T19:08:00.003-06:00

I love the band Collective Soul. I bought tickets to their Wendover concert for Oct. 22, 2010. The concert was already close to sold out and I had to buy separate ticket for my husband and I, so we were not even sitting with each other... but I just really wanted to see them. It had been a long time since I had seen them in concert. In fact it was 11 years, because it was the night my first grand daughter was born.

We stopped in Toole for gas and dropped into a Taco Bell for some chow... and who would walk in!!!

You got it the Collective Soul band!!! I could not even breath! So I took a couple of picture of them ordering food and talking. Sorry guys!

Then my husband asked Dean if I could get a picture with him. When I finally found my voice I explained how much I loved them... so much that we (hubby and I) could not even get seat together.

They are such nice men that they fixed it so we could get better seats together!! Wish again that I had a better camera with me. But I can tell you, I will remember this day and that concert for the rest of my life!

Their music has been with me through all the runs to train for my marathons.

Finished Angel

2010-11-04T08:16:00.005-06:00

So I got the angel doll finished and entered her into the Springville Art Contest. But she did not get accepted into the show. I think she looks too doll and not enough sculpture, if you know what I mean. I don't think many people think of dolls as art, sad but true.

I like the way she turned out, but I really need to try to get more movement into my work. I'm defiantly stuck in a very doll looking mode and I don't think that is very marketable. She is bigger then I have worked before but I kind of liked that.

Someday soon I hope to get a better camera so that takes better pictures. Hmmm don't see that happening anytime soon, but I can wish.

For now she is above my fireplace... she will probably stay there for a while. I think I will give her to my mom for Christmas, since the last doll I gave her was hideous!

2010-10-15T15:46:00.003-06:00

Gothic Little Red Riding hood

So I finally got a doll finished and some pictures taken. As always I apologize for the quality of the photos. I will try to take some pictures with the camera later, but for how these were taken with my phone.

So let me know what you think of her... your likes and dislikes are always welcome.

Early Anniversary Trip

2010-09-06T19:09:00.008-06:00

So in October Bill and I will be married 30 years... Yes can you believe one man can be so lucky LOL... just kidding :) But time has really gone by so fast, I can't believe it will be 30 years.
Well we took a trip to San Fransisco and had a wonderful time!

Alcatraz Island

Sausalito art festival.. great art...fantastic scenery!

China town... drug Bill all over the place!

Muir Woods hike was lovely! The trees are not as big as the redwood forest but they are still quite big.

Took a quick picture of the stage at the Orpheum Theater before the seat Nazi came over. I'm still listening to the soundtrack. I loved it!!
We had a great time! It's so hard to come back and get back into the normal things in life. But I guess that what vacations are all about. Hope we don't wait 30 more years before we take another fun trip together.

A bit more work on the new doll

2010-09-06T18:58:00.004-06:00

I have done a tiny bit of work on the new doll, I have also bought the fabric that I will dress her in, but boy I have been having a hard time finding time to work on her.

I'm liking her quite a bit... this is a new process of making a breast plate, I have had a bit of trouble but seem to be doing a bit better now.

Here she is with a bit more paint. Most likely her eyes will be light blue or gray. This is just the dark outline color of her eye. I think she will be blond also... so what do you think so far?

I Won!!

2010-08-19T17:46:00.002-06:00

I won greeting cards from doll artist Sarah Niemela pretty cool huh!! So excited! Thanks Sarah :)

More new work

2010-08-08T20:40:00.007-06:00

So I have put the flying fairy to the side for now, I don't know yet what I will do with her, most likely she will end up with her eyes being dug out and the rest of her tossed. I know this sounds rather harsh but come on she is not helping the situation... she has turned a terrible shade of yellow, when I try to add new clay it's lovely and pink, so I don't see how she can be fixed. The other doll is still at my sisters being costumed. So I have been working on a new doll.

Here she is with her head attached to a breast plate. This is something new for me to try... so far I think I like this process but we will see how thing go when she is cook and cooled off. Let's hope that all goes well. This head is about 2 1/2 inches tall, a bit bigger then I usually make, so this will also be interesting to work at a bit bigger scale.

Working on the new dolls

2010-07-07T21:17:00.006-06:00

Updates on the new dolls I have been working on. I have painted her face, got her tights on and pantaloons. After messing around trying to make her a dress, I finally gave up and sent her to my sisters for her to make her costume.

Any guesses on who she will be? I'm not going to tell you yet.

So I'm very unhappy with the flying fairy that I was working on in the previous post. She has turned very yellow, looks like she has liver trouble, so I'm putting her to the side for now and will try to figure out how I can fix her later. I will try to start another flying fairy soon. But for now I'm just having some fun with this little girl.
Sorry for the poor quality of the pictures, I have just been using the camera on my phone and it doesn't do a very clear close up.

New Dolls

2010-05-29T16:31:00.004-06:00

So I have been working on some new dolls. The first is a fairy, for now I'm calling her Crackzilla because she has been a complete pain!

I thought I would try Kato Clay, and have so much trouble with it. I love the finished look of the clay but I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong... It has been cracking so much I don't know if I will be able to finish this fairy.

As you can see by the pictures, I have had to fix her numerous times and I'm still not close to completing her.

Karl, who asked me to make this doll, wanted a flying fairy... so here is a funny picture of her flying in my oven while she was cooking a bit :)

Here is another doll that I'm working on. I thought this was a rather sweet face. I have some plans for her running around in my brain but I'm not saying anything yet, so stay tuned.

Here I just drew some eyes on her, so you can see what she might look like. Boy after looking at the pictures my room looks very messy... I will try to at least clean off an area to take the pictures so you don't have to see all my messes.

California Trip - Getty Museum

2010-05-29T16:16:00.008-06:00

We just got back from a wonderful trip to Southern California. It started as a trip to take my Mom to see her oldest brother, but it happened that the week that Bill had off for vacation was the week that my siblings could take Mom to California. So for my family it was also a family vacation! One day my cousin took us all to the Getty museum. What a treat!!

I took some pictures with my phone of a few of my favorite paintings and sculptures. I missed a few that I loved, and I should have taken some pictures with my family members in them... oh well :)

It was a fantastic vacation getting reacquainted with family we had not seem in years. Relaxing on the beaches and of course going to Disneyland :) Wow what a great time!!

Bumble Bee Girl

2010-04-08T20:13:00.007-06:00

Aerodynamically, the bumble bee should not be able to fly, but the bumble bee doesn't know it so it goes on flying anyway.

This quote by Mary Kay Ash was the inspiration for the little bumble bee girl that I made. This past few months have been a bit of a struggle, trying to define myself in a new way is not something easy for me to do. Somewhere along the way I came across this quote and inspiration struck that I need to be more like a bumble bee and define my own path... not think or worry what others are labeling me with.

It has bee a long time since I have sold anything on ebay, but I posted her out there. I hope someone will love her and enjoy the meaning of her.

Ebay Auction for this bumble bee girl

Fear

2010-04-06T14:07:00.004-06:00

I have not been blogging much because I have been out of commission so to speak. I had posted a while back about having trouble with my left knee while running, as it turns out I have needed to have knee surgery. When I went back for my post op visit, I was told that I should not run any more, so I have been very sad and trying to deal with the loss of some of my goals and personal identity. How can I not run? It’s as much a part of my life as breathing, as brushing my teeth everyday. It’s unimaginable to have this taken away, so I’m trying my best to not give up hope. As I was recovering I started to work on a sculpt of a little girl dressed in a bumble bee costume, I will post pictures soon and put her up on eBay. There is a quote from the founder of Mary Kay cosmetics. She said

“Aerodynamically, the bumble bee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumble bee doesn't know it so it goes on flying anyway”. Mary Kay Ash

I realize that fear is something that always holds me back I think it is the same for many of us. Fear that we will somehow not make our goals, fear that things I made or do will somehow be unacceptable. We listen to others and let that fear take over instead of listening to our hearts. I don’t know if I will every accomplish all the goals I have set out for myself. But I’m hoping I can at least not let fear hold me back from trying.

Melancholy

2010-02-18T10:54:00.004-07:00

There are occasions when you need to take some time and reflect. I guess this is one of those times for me. Starting mid December I was getting some regular knee pain when I was running. I did the usual of icing and stretching etc. But it continued to get worse! I have experience numerous running type injuries during the years that I have run, and I have always recovered and been able to continue with my running. After a visit with the doctor I have been on a no running schedule, much to my disliking, I have had to find alternative ways to get my exercise bug satisfied. He prescribed some anti-inflammatory medication, then after a week of them I could try running on the treadmill again. Last night had been my trial to see if I could run again. I only made it ½ a mile before I was in too much pain to go farther. This was devastating to me! My option now is to have cortisone injection when I see the doctor on Tuesday. I’m really not looking forward to this and wonder if this will be the fix to get me over the inflammation in my knee. I will keep you posted.
I have also been trying to get some doll work in but my doll mojo has also decided to take a break. I have all the ideas floating in my head but as I try to bring them to life I have only been disappointed with the efforts. Wow when it rains it pours! I know that time will heal my knee and eventually the flow of ideas with reach my hands I will sculpt with some success, but until then I will tread water.

Deanna's Birthday Doll

2010-02-06T16:23:00.006-07:00

Today we, my mom and siblings, celebrated my sister Deanna's birthday. I'll be nice and not post her age, if she wants that out there she can do it on her own blog. I'm the youngest of 4 girls and one brother stuck in the middle of us. All are very talented individuals, Deanna is a weaver. This was a big birthday for her so I knew that I wanted to create a doll for her. She has in the past commented that she would like one of my fairy dolls, but when I started thinking of what I wanted to make for her birthday I knew I needed to make a goddess doll. Deanna is also an Aquarius, so water needed to be a part of the sculpt.

Deanna is the ultimate profectionist, with an uncanny eye for detail and color combination's. I have learned so much from her and have always appreciated her insight and thoughts about my dolls.

So to my dear sister I hope you enjoy your goddess doll, and realize that every woman deserves to feel like a goddess. Love ya always!

Sister Date Doll

2010-01-16T16:39:00.002-07:00

My sisters and I have been having periodic "Sister Dates" they are comprised of doing some craft/art projects together. It's always a great time, laughing and joking and feeding off each others talents. Over a period of I think three sister dates, we made doll bodies, wigs and dressed these 1920 replica boudoir porcelain dolls. I finally got a picture taken of mine. Not a very good quality photo (I took it with my phone and the lighting was not good) but I at least wanted to mark that I had finished her. She is still sitting in my bedroom. I really quite like her.

Hazy Days of Winter

2010-01-16T16:26:00.004-07:00

For the past few weeks Utah has had some of the worst air quality in the nation. As a runner this makes it difficult... do I run in the pollution and risk breathing all the bad air, or do I banish myself to run of the treadmill and save my lungs but risk my mental stability. I for one have been running on the treadmill... this has not made happy running times for me. I did get one reprieve, today I went snowshoeing with my running friend and our husbands.
Once you get up above the pollution and in the mountains it is fantastic! Blue sky, sunshine, warmer temps and sparkling snow! Ahhh it was good for my soul to see the blue sky.
We are supposed to get storms this up coming week, lets hope it will clean out our air!

The blue at the top of the pictures I posted is not the sky. I took them while in my car, so that is the top of my windshield.

It's Been so Long

2009-12-16T13:03:00.002-07:00

I have been so remiss with my blogging lately, and I deeply apologize. It’s not that I have not been doing anything worthy to blog about, just that I have not had the time to actually sit and write about it. I open my blog every night when I get home from work, and quickly check to see all the updates on the blogs that I follow. By the time I have read through all your updates, it’s time to get other things done.
I have had a few wonderful wintry runs around Ogden City and the Christmas Lights. This year has seemed to be particularly hard for me to enjoy my running. We started off colder then usual and I don’t remember having so much difficulty with slipping as I have this year. Maybe as I’m getting older it’s more the fear of falling that I don’t remember having so much.
I have also been enjoying my new sewing machine. Even though I have always loved to go into fabric stores and look and all the color and texture combinations, it has become even more exciting with all the added project ideas that seem to be swimming in my head. Now to find more time to get it all accomplished.
My sculpting has hit a point of frustration!! I really need to sit and bust through this mental block that I'm having with it. It's not good for me when I feel like this.
I'm looking forward to the long Christmas shutdown that my work has every year, and hope to put the time to good use.

The Nutcracker

2009-11-22T16:23:00.004-07:00

This past Saturday my sisters, mother, brother, sister-in-law, nieces, and my daughters, daughter-in-law and granddaughter, all went to see the Nutcracker. We have been going to the Julie Moffit ballet schools performance. The only down fall of the day was that I was a bit late due to parking issues. Besides that it was a beautiful performance, and lots of fun for me to be with my lovely daughters, daughter-in-law and granddaughter. I hope we can continue this tradition for many years.

Wonderful Fall Run

2009-10-17T12:25:00.004-06:00

Yesterday I had a wonderful run down by the 21 street pond. I love running in the fall, the leaves have changed and the temperatures are perfect!

This is a picture of the path around the pond. I feel blessed to be able to live is such a beautiful place and to be able to run and enjoy it. I have to take full advantage of this before the snow flies.

Just another view of the pond before I headed back to my car.

Sweet Little Halloween Witch

2009-10-11T19:41:00.005-06:00

Well here is the little witch that I have been working on. She is stylized very different from my normal work. I needed to mix things up.

I was surfing the web a while back and came across two artists that I loved the style of their paintings. Jasmine Becket-Griffith and Mark Ryden. So I thought it would be fun to experiment a bit with a different style of look to my dolls. I don't think this will be something I do all the time, but it was crazy fun to change things up a bit.

So let me know what you think... she will be posted on ebay this week...Wish me luck :)

Fall is in the Air!

2009-09-24T21:25:00.003-06:00

I love this time of year. I love the food that is associated with this time of year. I love the colors... the feel in the air... EVERYTHING! So I'm I bit early in changing my blog background... but Halloween is just around the corner and soon it will be here! I love Halloween so I have to get started early!
I have been so bad about posting and I do apologize, but I have been busy. First I have a little Gothic doll getting dressed at my sisters. I will post pictures of her as soon as she is dressed. I didn't post pictures before because she is a departure for me and I'm still not certain if I will like her.
Then we were out of town for a few days. It was very nice to get away. We were in Vegas, and had an incredible time!
Last... I'm working on another doll but I can't post any pictures or even say too much about her, because she is for my oldest sister... and I know that she will reads my blog and I don't want her to see her til her birthday :)
I will try to post more often.

Baby Steps

2009-08-26T19:20:00.003-06:00

So yesterday I took a baby step without even realizing it until later in the day… Let me go back so that I hope I can tell this so it will make sense. I have blogged before about always making some sort of excuse for my art. I have blogged about not being able to call my doll room a studio, because studios were for professional artists and I’m just a hobbyist. And most of the time when people find out about my doll sculpting I always preface it with “It’s just a hobby” or “I just do it for fun” Both are true statements, but they also seemed to undermine my talent. It’s true that I’m not comfortable thinking I have talent, or to say out loud that I’m artistic. I don’t know why, maybe it sounds pompous to me, but I’m just not comfortable getting compliments or making statements about myself.

Another side not to the story (boy I hope this all makes sense when I’m done) a year or so ago I helped out on a team building activity at work. One of the things we had to do was draw on an apron, things that were important to us personally. Across the bottom I drew my family… then on the top mountains, I really love the mountains here in Utah. In the middle I drew three things… me running… a bike… and an artist’s pallet. I don’t paint, but a lump of clay would have looked weird.

So, back to my original point, I had to wear that apron at work yesterday to help serve up root beer floats for a fund raiser. When I was back to my desk a co-worker asked about my apron, I told him they were drawings of things that were about me. He pointed to the artist’s pallet and asked if I was an artist. I said yes but I’m a sculptor, and explained that I didn’t want to draw a lump of clay my apron. And there you have it!! I said “I’m a sculptor” no excuses or explanations. I was able to just let it be and be happy with the statement. Who knows maybe soon I will be able to say “I’m an artist”! Or “I’m talented” Whoa… hold on there… just baby steps.

She Finally Has Wings!

2009-07-30T19:16:00.002-06:00

Here are some updates of the fairy... she finally has her wings! For the most part I like the way they turned out.

Her sexy rear view :) The wings cover a bit, but that is OK... you don't really want it all hanging out.

The sun was coming through the window a bit, even though the picture looks a bit too yellow I liked the way it made her wings look.

Birthday Run with Sue

2009-07-26T12:05:00.004-06:00

Yesterday was mine and Sue's annual birthday run. We both have July birthdays and we started this tradition about 7 years ago when we met and became running friends. Last year Sue had running injuries and so we were not able to do it. It made this year all the sweeter! This top picture is of us at The Oaks restaurant in the Ogden canyon, it's part of our tradition to have breakfast here after our run. You can just see a tiny bit of the river behind us. It's a fun place to eat.

This is a picture of The Oaks restaurant, where we have breakfast. It's lovely to sit outside by the river enjoying breakfast with a wonderful friend.

Look how dirty our legs were after we ran!! 11.43 miles round trip! We ran from the top of wheeler canyon to Ogden outlook. I wish I could run with the camera so I could have a picture of the view from the outlook.

Here we are after our run... sweaty and smiling that we have accomplished this run again!! It was so fantastic!

The view from the parking lot/dirt lot at the top of wheeler canyon, looking off to the west, this was the direction we ran. I think the far peeks are where we ran to.

Bear Lake 2009

2009-07-24T16:12:00.006-06:00

This past weekend was my families annual Bear Lake camping trip. This trip consists of 4 generations of my family camping out together. Thanks to my dear daughter-in-law Emily, I took these pictures off from her facebook. Thanks Em! This first picture is my oldest son and his son Lincoln. It was Linc's first camping trip, he was a trooper and seemed to have a great time. I love this picture!

Here is sweet Lincoln again sitting in the froggy pool early in the morning.

Silly Kaitlyn playing cards with Connor... I'm sure there were a few other people playing cards but I don't remember who it was... and you can't see them in the picture.

This is my oldest daughter's darling daughter September. You can't tell by this picture but she is a sweet little redhead girl. She was pretty good at keeping the hat on her head to protect her from sunburn. She pretty shy too, so I wonder if she was purposely hiding.

My oldest daughter family had already left when we took this picture. But this is the rest of us... plus my Mom and my cousin's son Connor. We were all happy to have him stay with us for the weekend.
Most of the trip consists of relaxing in and by the water. We also usually have some art/craft project to do. This year we brought colored t-shirts and bleach and had a fun time making unique shirts. You can see in the picture that Mom, Nickolas and Connor are wearing theirs.

More Fairy Updates

2009-07-10T11:24:00.004-06:00

Here are some updates to the latest fairy that I have been working on. Seems like I have been working on her FOREVER! I'm ready to be done with her. After much fussing I think I finally got her hair styled OK... I always knew that I wanted her to be brunette, and I was always thinking of a shorter style, but it ended up being pigtails.

Here you can see her top. I was tempted to leave her bare breasted, because I worked hard on them and I thought she had a rather nice pair. But in the end I just could not do it. In fact I still think she needs a bit more to her costume, I just don't know what it is.

Rear view... yep baby has some junk in her trunk. Again I worked hard to give her a nice round fanny... I had a hard time covering it up :)

Another view that shows her body art, and different angle of her face.

Last pic is a full front view. I have drilled the holes in her back and I"m working on her wings. They are almost finished. So my questions are... Does she need more? More what? Hmmm this is where you can take it too far and ruin the piece or not take it far enough and leave it with an unfinished feeling. I think I will leave the base just black like it is. Her head is a bit big for her body so I'm leary to add anything more to her there. But maybe something else. All suggestions are appreciated.

Our Gidget

2009-06-28T07:53:00.010-06:00

Yesterday was a sad day when I had to say good-bye to our family dog, Gidget. She had been a part of the Metcalf clan for about 13 years, I don't think my youngest daughter remembers life without her. Our oldest daughter had "found" her on the way home from school and begged to be able to keep her. She was so small she could not even get up the stairs of our house. For me it was not love at first sight. I knew she would get big and having a dog was a big deal for our small home. I wish I had more pictures of her when she was that small... but that was before we owned digital camera's so all I have are the hard copies. Maybe one day I will scan them into the computer.

My children quickly fell in love with Gidget, and she and her ever shedding fur became a permanent fixture in our home. She was the best running partner when I ran the trails of the mountains close to our home. Never venturing too far from me... keeping a good pace.
She was a smart dog... many times I would find big bags of dog bones in the back yard, I'd ask my husband why he left the entire bag in the yard after he bought them. He would say... he never purchased them. One day our neighbor came over to explain that Gidget had been escaping our back yard... going into his garage when it was open and stealing the bag of dog bones! What a crazy dog!

Kaitlyn and Gidget

I was hoping that she could make it through the summer, but it became painfully clear that this was not going to happen. It was evident the last few weeks we had her that her ability to move was fading. The stairs to get to the yard were too much for her. I feared she would fall when we were not around and be hurt. Gidget always seemed happier in the winter. She would roll in the snow and chase it when we snow blowed... summer was not her season, too hot with her big black coat.
Bill and I drove her to the vets... he had us lay her under a tree by the office. He didn't want her scared, and Bill and I agreed. She laid her head on my lap and slowly feel to sleep. After she was gone, we covered her with a blanket. I will miss her so much.
We had fireworks last night in the neighborhood, our city's founders day. Gidget hated fireworks. It was weird to not have her barking and whining, I'm sure at the next thunderstorm I will feel the same, she hated them too.

She will be missed

Let the Craziness Begin

2009-06-17T10:35:00.004-06:00

I few weeks ago a friend of mine asked me to join his Wasatch Back Relay team. For those if you that are not familiar with this race here is a link that will explain what it's all about. Anyway my friend had a team member drop out due to injuries and needed a replacement.
After my last years experience I had thought to myself that this race would be just a once in a life time thing. But like so many times in my life the clouds of forgetfulness fog my brain and I agreed to join their team. Let alone, there have been a few co-workers talk to me about joining a 2010 team! We runners need to plan our torture well in advance. And I have surprisingly agreed to join them yet again. I have been contemplating what chemical I'm missing in my brain that makes me think this will be something I will want to do another time?
So I will venture out this Friday and Saturday with this team and hope I can run my parts without slowing the team too much. I'm glad they are not competitive, I don't think I could do it with them if they were. But you still don't want to be the weak link.
I will try to take some pictures and if I survive I will post my 09 report of how things went. But until then... pray for me that I will come through without too much more damage to myself.

Fairy Updates

2009-06-12T19:57:00.005-06:00

So here are some updated picture of the fairy that I have been working on. She is painted and partially clothed. The bottoms are the color her outfit will be. I just tied the top across her chest for modesty :).

Here you can see the back of the boots I sculpted and the back of her bikini bottom, not much too it but I thought her bottom was so nice I had a hard time covering it.

On other angel of the front of her. You can see her body details and the front of her bikini bottom.

Here you can see the fronts of the boots. They have swarovski crystals in the front. So let me know what you think of her so far. I really need to get myself busy and finish her up. My mind has already started to think of the new things I want to create, so I know it's time to be done with her. Wish me luck that I can complete her soon :)

Love

2009-06-05T14:55:00.004-06:00

I found this quote somewhere I can't remember now; and had saved it to post. I forgot about it, then found it again, so I'm posting it now. I have been married for almost 29 years, my oldest daughter has been married for 10, and now my oldest son will be celebrating his first year of marriage this weekend. So to all of you I dedicate this quote.... Love you all!

"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are.
Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two.

- Captain Corelli's Mandolin.

"Love is the beauty of the soul." --St. Augustine

Updates of Fairy

2009-05-28T20:43:00.006-06:00

So it has been a while since I have posted updated pictures of the fairy that I have been working on for my brother-in-law. I have had a few set backs for have now triumphed and so I'm here to
show you what I have accomplished:)

Cemitry is somthing that I have been really trying to work on, by the looks of these photos I still need alot of work at it. I don't know how other artist feel... but I have a love/hate relationship with my sculpts. It usually starts out as love... but as I progress and see my mistakes it slowly turns into hate. Or just dislike I should say, and that is where I am with this sculpt. I have a good dose of dislike. But I hope as I paint and dress her I will feel better about her.

Ogden Marathon 2009

2009-05-17T10:48:00.003-06:00

So I finished my seventh marathon yesterday. 4 hours 5 minutes and 7 seconds. It was a beautiful day, I could not have asked for better weather conditions. Cool at the beginning, I wore my sweat shirt until about mile marker 3, then nice til about 4 miles from the finish, then got a bit warm but not too bad. I was really hoping for a better finish time. To qualify to run the Boston Marathon I need to complete a marathon in 4 hours. I know it seems crazy to many non running people, I get asked why it's such a big deal to run Boston. It's hard to explain... maybe it's because you have to qualify to run it that makes it seem so important, maybe just the history to it. Anyway it's a goal that I have thought about after the first time I ran a marathon.
So what do I do with it now?... Goals are something that at one time you hope to accomplish... right? When do you give up and say this maybe something I will never accomplish. It's difficult to think about, I hope I have not got to that point just yet. I have goals with my running... goals with my sculpting... goals with just my life general. Maybe it's just that I need to rework some of these goals. I defiantly have plenty to think about for the next little while.

Long Runs

2009-05-04T10:08:00.002-06:00

So the past few Saturday I have been running my longest runs in preparation for the Ogden Marathon. This is something that I always struggle with, and I don’t know if I will ever really get comfortable with long runs. I will be running seventh marathon and I’m still surprised that I can run that far. I didn’t start running until I was in my 30’s, I was always an active person, but never sports minded. Running has slowing become as much a part of my life as eating and sleeping. I have formed friendships that will last my lifetime, and garnered experiences I will never forget.
When it comes to preparing for a marathon, long runs are vital. Slowly building up your miles so that you body and mind can get used to running for more then three to four hours. Really… as I’m typing it does sound insane! Why would someone do this to themselves? It’s something that I really don’t have words to express. Most people would consider it torture. But I think it’s that internal drive to see what we can accomplish. Whether it’s running, school, art, we all have a need to accomplish things we can be proud of. That somehow sets us apart in a small way.
I feel privileged to belong to this small group of people that can call themselves marathoners not everyone can or will do it in their lifetime. I know that I will never stand on the winner’s podium and have my name announced. But I’m still out there every day adding up those miles on my legs.

New Baby Updates

2009-04-12T18:08:00.008-06:00

So here are some pictures of the baby that I made for a contest. Unfortunately she did not win so my loss will be someone's gain. I will probably post her on Ebay within a week or two. I think she turned out to be pretty cute. This is the first time I had hand painted eyes on a baby. It was fun but I think I will need more practice with it. It's funny how I go through a love/hate relationship with the dolls that I create. I have to get to a place with them that I'm willing to let go and sell them.

I will need to take some better pictures, the lighting was not optimal, but I still thought she looked cute. I hope that someone on Ebay will love her as much as I loved making her.

Sister Date

2009-04-03T22:02:00.003-06:00

I have three of the best sister anyone could ask for! We have a great time when we get together. This year we have made a commitment that we will have sister dates as much as our schedules can do. I didn't get any good pictures from our first sister date... we made scarves with different textiles and sovly (I water soluble product) you stitch the fibers between the solvy, then wash it out... lots of fun! I will try to be better so that I can post all the projects that we do. So we had a great time doing this altered art project... I think most of us have added some other bits and pieces to our projects after this picture, but this picture was taken after a few hours of working on them.

Moab 1/2 Marathon

2009-03-22T16:40:00.003-06:00

So I spent this weekend in Moab, Utah running the half marathon with a couple of girl friends. Moab is one of the most scenic places you could ever visit, and the canyon that you run down is spectacular! I really do love this race. I post my miles and times on Fast Running Blog and trust me there are some fast runners posting their times and miles on this blog. Of all the bloggers that participated in the Moab 1/2 I was the slowest... so humiliateing :( I'm probably an embarrasment to the blog. I really don't know what has been up with me lately, if it's age, or that I'm not training effectivly. But I seem to be slowing down considerable and it's making me a bit sad. Also when I participate in running events, I have a hard time pushing myself I think the way others do. Don't get me wrong, I run hard, but not usually until I know that I will make it to the finish line. I don't trust my body, my training, or something. The thoughts of running til I puke don't make me want to run, so I usully hold back until the last few miles before I pick up my pace a bit. I was able to pass quite a few people at the end, but still ended about 5 minutes slower then last year.

New Fairy

2009-03-11T20:31:00.004-06:00

My brother-in-law is one of my biggest fans :) The fairy that is in my profile picture was made for him and his wife. They have been asking for another one for a while...so I figured I should get myself busy and do it. I really like 1940 style pin-up art, and thought I would like to try something along that style. She is kind-of a cross between action hero body and pin-up body. Will have to see how she evolves. Sorry for the picture quality... I will try to get some better shots of her as I go. But I would like to know what you think of her so far :)

Baby in a Contest.... Please Vote for her :)

2009-03-02T20:12:00.005-07:00

So I have this baby in a sculpting contest. Here is the link www.rebornbaby.com The baby's name is Ellie! I know she looks rather weird...but they could not be painted, and they said just pictures of the head and limbs, some of the pictures they had them dressed... guess I should have done that. But Please!! Please vote for her it would be awesome to win.
Thanks.....Lori

Valentine Baby

2009-01-27T19:56:00.004-07:00

So here are some picture of a mini baby that is up for sale on ebay. She is dressed in her Valentines best! Wish me well for my auction, and hope you like her!

My Thyroid Haze

2009-01-26T15:19:00.004-07:00

Well I have not posted here for a while, and on top of that I have not worked much on dolls.
I have not been feeling very well lately, I have battled my thyroid problem for about seven years now, and the past 6 months have been some of the more difficult to deal with. After much internet searching and reading and refural from a friend I went to a homeopathic heath center. They say I need to be on the natural thyroid medicine. (Armour Thyroid) Since my body was not abosrbing the synthetic medicine. I talked with them and read up on the pros and cons of this drug. I guess I was hoping for some sort of miracle to my misery, but that has not been the case. I have been feeling a bit better, but so far it has not been a huge change. The homeopathic center is saying that I’m in adrenal fatigue, I think my whole body is in fatigue! So there is more that needs to be adjusted then just my thyroid, let alone all the female hormone things that are going on at my age. It makes sense, from all that I have read, but I just want to feel better NOW!!! I think this is Gods way of trying to teach me patience, but I can tell you that I’m failing miserably.
Well I have tried to sculpt a new BJD head, so far I'm not real pleased with her... I hope I can work on her some more soon. I will try to post some pictures soon. She will be abotu 17 inches tall, I thought a smaller one might be easier to work with. Time will only tell with that :)

Lincoln Tyler Metcalf

2008-12-22T17:51:00.006-07:00

Lincoln Tyler Metcalf

Well my new grandson was born December 19, 2008. He arrived at approximately 12:40 in the afternoon, weighing in at 7 pounds 13 ounces, 21 inches long. He is healthy and handsome. Mom and Dad are doing well also. I have to say that being a grandma is probably one of the funnest things in my life. You get all of the fun without nearly as much work or worry. It is a different experience being the grandma on the fathers side, it's not bad just a different perspective. So far I think my son is shaping up to be a very good father. I know it is less than a week and really it doesn't get hard for at least 15-17 more years, but it's fun to see what a proud papa he is. Also his lovely gentle side.

The New Metcalf Family :)

Happy Daddy!!

Lincoln getting weighed.

Emily - so happy to finally met Lincoln!

Grandma Lori Finally getting to hold him :)

Thanksgiving, Family and all the Crazy Stuff

2008-12-03T13:15:00.005-07:00

I was able to get up and do the Thanksgiving Day turkey run at the hospital in South Ogden. It was fun and I got to see my running friend Phil at the race. He was nice enough to run most of the race with me.
Thanksgiving was wonderful, I had most of my family over to my house, and some that didn’t have dinner with us showed up to have pie later in the day. I cooked a 20 pound turkey and a 10 pound ham and the sisters, sister-in-law and daughter brought all the other things that make Thanksgiving so wonderful. It’s fun to just relax and chat with family… see what everyone has been up to and give thanks that we are all healthy, happy and doing relatively well.
I got to spend the rest of my Thanksgiving break catching up on a lot of the things I have been putting off then I started getting the house ready for Christmas. My youngest daughter and I got the tree up and the lights on, and then she finished doing all the decorating of the tree. I have to say it looks real cute she did a great job! I need to finish some of the other decorations but for now it’s beginning to look a bit like Christmas at the Metcalf house!
I was able to work for a good amount of time on a new baby. So far I have the head completed and I have started one leg. I need to work on her more if I’m going to make the January 1st deadline for the contest. I will try to get some pictures posted of her.
http://www.audrey-kawasaki.com/
Check out this artist... I love her work! Gives me lots of ideas for BJDs!!!

The Way Things Are

2008-11-21T15:34:00.006-07:00

I have not blogged in a while. Things have been so busy at home, and work and I really have not been doing anything that I feel needs to be blogged about. At least when it comes to dolls. I’m struggling with a life size baby that I’m working on. I’m hoping to complete her for a competition that ends January 1st. What an awful time to have a deadline. But I guess anytime is a hard time with a deadline, but the holidays just seem to take that much more time away from the things that you are normally trying to get accomplished. So far I have started and pulled apart the babies face a few times. I think the sculpt now is looking pretty good. So hopefully I can work on her this weekend and see if she will be worth any more effort.
The ladies from the BJD class are going to start a couple of challenges, one in December and one in January. I think I will try to get into both of these, nothing like a challenge and having to post your progress to make you get off you butt and get the work done.
As far as my running... I’m averaging about 35-40 miles a week. This is pretty good, but the past few weeks I have not been feeling very good. Just tired a lot, achy in the mornings mostly, I see my endroconologist in February so maybe I need my meds adjusted.
I will have a lot of my family over for Thanksgiving it should be fun to have everyone there. I love when the family gets together, of all the people in the world I think my family and extended family are some of the greatest people to hang out with. I always have the best time.

Diane Keeler Class

2008-11-02T17:02:00.005-07:00

Finally some pictures from the class I took with some of my local doll friends. Diane Keeler is an exceptional artist and one of the most generous teachers I have ever taken a class from. It was three days of tons of fun, learning and friendship with some great doll friends.
I hope that I can retain some of the knowledge that I got from this class, and better yet would be that I can play dolls soon. It seems that this past few weeks that been crazy busy with other thing, or worse I have not been feeling the best after I do my nightly run, and now with day light savings thing its dark before I can even get done with the things I have to do :( This dose not make me the happiest person to be around. I really need to reschedule my day some how. Any suggestions? I'm open for anything.

Post Doll Class Blues

2008-10-22T14:14:00.006-06:00

Well I have been anticipating...or participating doll classes for the past few months, and now they are all finished. Which leads me to the post doll class blues. This is where you have tons of new knowledge and hopefully new skills, combined with the reality that you don't have enough time in the day to practice these new skills and ideas. I have been slowly trying to get some new things accomplished but I'm painfully slow. If I must admit it I have not even unpacked most of my supplies that I took to the classes. I also need to file away all knew new handouts.
On top of all this are the holidays, looming on the horizon of my calendar, and as always I'm unprepared as of today. So the goal here is to buck up and get the jobs done!!! Wish me luck in all my projects, tasks, daily activities!
Still need to post more pictures from th Ball Joint Doll Class, and the class I attended from Diane Keeler... Hmmm hope that will happen soon :)

Ball Joint Doll Class (part 2)

2008-10-19T20:58:00.003-06:00

Here are some pictures of when the class was sculpting heads. And putting them in the oven. The head sculpting part of the class was taught but Pat Lillich. She taught a new approach to sculpting the head that I had never done. I learned so much and enjoyed the new process.

Ball Joint Doll Class

2008-10-19T20:49:00.002-06:00

So here are a few pictures of the ball joint doll class that I attended in Ohio. It was a fantastic experience. I learned so much and I hope that soon I will be able to put all the knowledge and new ideas into practice.
These first two pictures show the facility where the class was held. It was a very large building that made a wonderful class room.

Crazy Doll Times

2008-10-17T20:02:00.004-06:00

Sorry I have not posted in a while, also sorry I have not posted pictures of the doll classes that I have attended. I'm currently in the last day of a class with Diane Keeler, it has been wonderful. I feel like I have been through doll boot camp. Between the class in Ohio and now the class with Diane. I'm in information overload. I just hope that my feeble brain can retain a percentage of all the new information I have been learning. Don't get me wrong, I'm in heaven!!! So please be patient with me and I will update all the new pictures, ideas and information as soon as I can. Until then I found an artist Mark Ryden, that I really think is cool.

Homecoming 2008

2008-09-21T14:32:00.002-06:00

Well my baby girl was invited to homecoming at Weber High School, where she is a sophomore. I have to say this was difficult for me, she is my baby AGHHHH! But she looked beautiful and had a very fun time. Her date seems like a very nice young man. But I wish he would brush the hair out of his eyes a bit more. I guess my age is showing LOL. We were able to find a pretty cute and fairly modest dress for homecoming so I was OK with her look. Yes the ends of her hair are blue :), and Brady check out her wrist... she did wear Ember's bracelet.

2008-09-17T18:56:00.006-06:00

Here is another picture taken at the class.

2008-09-17T18:56:00.005-06:00

Here are some more pictures of the dolls that were made in the professional class at Jack Johnstons. It was a very successful class!

Doll Class

2008-09-09T20:18:00.006-06:00

I had a wonderful time helping Jack Johnston with his professional class held September 3-7. I have had the pleasure to help at this class for a few years and this year did not disappoint. Twelve delightful students from across the country and Canada attended the class. All of them finished a wonderful doll. Two were life size babies, one was a mini baby, and the others were anything from lovely ladies to Pippi Longstocking! I have attached some pictures that I took over the days that I was there.

In this picture the baby on the right with the purple outfit is the doll that I finished in the class. I let Denise take her home, she will costume her in a cute out fit. The other baby is the doll that Kris Jammer made.

This picture was taked when the artist were sculpting their dolls heads.

Don't you just love Pippi!

Everyone is working hard.

NAMI - Our Families Walk for Scott

2008-08-24T05:10:00.007-06:00

My family is participating in the NAMI walk in Salt Lake City on September 27th, Franklin Covey Field at 9:00 am. This will be our second year participating in this walk in remembrance of Scott .
I will probably blog a few times before and after this walk about Scott. He was someone that made an impact on my life and the lives of my husband and kids. Scott was married to my cousin. Bill and Scott became good friends shortly after he married into the family, we had kids close to the same ages so we spent lots of time together, and they were the couple when we wanted to go out with others were the ones we would call first.
Scott and I work for the same company for many years, we were also on the same team in that company, and were able to spend time together there. I can remember people spreading rumors until they realized that we were family. But Scott was almost like having another brother for me, and another father figure for my kids. Bill considered him his best friend.
I'd like to share one memory about Scott in this post. I have been having so many things happen with my dolls recently and Scott would have been so happy for me. I'm bless to have many people in my family that are supportive, it was different with Scott, maybe because he was married in to the family I felt that his opinion was a bit more objective.
Scott and I never ran too much together because he was much faster them me. But there were a few times, once we ran along the Ogden River Parkway. At the top, in the mouth of Ogden Canyon is a gift shop, as we approached he asked if I had been in there in a while because they had some cool dolls. I hadn't so he talked me into going in. It was nice to have a break any way because I was tired. When we got to the dolls, he was right, they were very cool. He looked at me and said, this can be you Lori... you are talented enough. He was very sincere with his praise and I have to say I was surprised at the time that he would feel that way. It felt so nice to have someone think that because it was so early on in my doll making. I think he would be so happy with all the recent things happening with my dolls.

New Doll Adventures!

2008-08-22T09:28:00.003-06:00

It has been surprising to me all the doll things that are suddenly happening with me. I’m very excited to participate in so many things. Usually they are few and far between. So you ask what it happening? Well let me tell you.
I had seen a contest on the web at a reborn baby site a few months back. I thought it would be fun to try, so I made a like size baby. (The one that gave me all the heart ache, in some older posts of this blog). Now she is a finalist in the contest on the web. Here is the link: www.lifelikedollsmag.com please vote she is number 6. While my family was at Bear Lake my Mom said I should enter something in the Weber County Fair, so since I had this baby I entered her, she won Best of Show in her catergory and I won a whopping $25.00! Pretty fun Huh!

I have helped at Jack Johnston’s professional class for a few years, last year his son had come to help, so I was surprised to get an email from Jack asking for me to help out this year. Of course I said yes, I always have a wonderful time there and get to meet so many fun doll people.
A few months back my friend and fellow doll artist Debbie Sampson called to see if I would be interested in taking a class from Diane Keeler, one of my favorite doll artists! Of course I said yes, so October 16-18 I will be with my fellow Utah and Idaho doll friends taken a class from Diane Keeler! So exciting!
And last but certainly not least, you all have seen here in the blog that I have been working at making a BJD. Well, last year I seen a BJD retreat, but when I found it I was too late, I had missed it :( so; I have been checking this site all year to see when they would post the dates for the new retreat. When the dates were posted they also told of three scholarships people could win that would cover the costs of tuition and food. I entered and won the LilyKoi scholarship!!! I am over the moon!! So I will be attending this retreat in Ohio October 3-5!
I will make sure I take a camera and document all these fantastic doll happening and tell you all about them.
So, wish me luck in all my new and exciting doll adventures!

Ramblings and Wishes

2008-08-13T15:46:00.003-06:00

Has anyone had this experience? You are at work, or the gym, somewhere where you know the people, and are friends with them, but not someone you hang out with all the time. I guess that it is more that they are acquaintances.
Some how the subject comes up, “What are your hobbies?” What do you do in your spare time? Usually sometime after where do you work. I don’t know about you but I cringe at these kinds of questions. No matter how I phrase my hobby I usually get very strange looks and a disappointing “Oh that’s nice…” I guess grown people are not supposed to sculpt dolls. Or play with them or I guess even talk about dolls. I try to play it off sometimes by saying simple that I just sculpt, but the problem with that is that it leads to the next question. “What do you sculpt?” to which I have to answer “Dolls” and that almost always gets a very quizzical look and the response “Oh”.
It seems to me and maybe its because most of what I read and look up on the internet is all about dolls. But there seems to be plenty of people in this world that love dolls just like me, so it begs to wonder, why I keep getting all the funny expressions when people find out my hobby? I guess I should be happy that the people who love me don’t seem to mind my hobby, in fact I think my sweet husband is rather proud of me most of the time. I have to beg him not to take people who visit the house into my doll room, or even call it a “doll room” for that matter.
But then that also brings up another issue that I’m having with myself. I can’t seem to figure out what I can call the space in my house where I sculpt my dolls. I usually call it the doll room, and that is OK for the most part. There is a part of me that wants to call it my studio. It sounds so much more professional then “doll room”. But in my mind I think I can’t call it a studio unless I was doing this as a profession and not a hobby. Doll room = Hobby, Studio = Professional. Maybe sometime soon, it will be a studio.

A Twilight Vortex

2008-08-12T12:34:00.005-06:00

It has been a while since I have posted anything; but quite literally, all my time has been consumed with reading the Twilight series of books. I know, I know, I’m very slow on jumping on this bandwagon. My youngest daughter had read them all last year and I think all the ladies at work, my sisters etc. But when I was at Bear Lake with my family this year they were all talking about it so much, I felt totally out of the loop. So I figured that since I was on furlough for a while I would read a good book. I purchased the first two because they were on a good sale. I read the first and started the second before I went back to work. Not thinking that I would get so caught up in the book.

I feel like I need to explain some of my apprehension to reading. First, I’m not that fast of a reader and the books were very long so I knew it was going to take me a while to get through it. Second, I know that once I get into a book all other things fall by the way side. So here I am a few pages from the end of the third book… (can’t wait to start the forth) hiding in the bathroom at work, doing the minimal expected of all my house hold chores. Trying to sneak a few more pages while I’m standing in line at the grocery store, and forget about sculpting, it has been non-existant since I started the books. I have been acting like a complete zombie with my head buried in the book. AHHHGGG! THE GUILT !!! I feel so guilty for wanting to spend all my time reading about Bella and Edward, when there are so many other things I need to accomplish. I wish that I enjoyed listening to audio books, but I think there is something missing from that, sitting down and getting lost in a good book is like candy to your brain, and if most books are candy, Twilight must be heroin!

Publicity For My Dolls

2008-07-29T13:49:00.005-06:00

So the "Fresh Faces" article about me is finally out!! It is in Dolls magazine, September 2008 issue. I happy with the way it looks and how the article is written. I hope that getting some publicity will help with the sales of my dolls. Looking at the article I realize that I need to get myself busy and produce some new work. I have been struggling with the BJD, but I think I just need to set her aside and work on something else because I can't seem to get her how I want her, so all my time is spent there, with no results to show for it. It's just so frustrating! But I'm not going to dwell on the negative, that gets me know where but depressed, and that is the last thing I need. So, I scanned the article so I could post it here. Let me know what you think!

Minnie Milestones

2008-07-27T10:59:00.003-06:00

So yesterday was one of my minnie milestones in my life. Not a major milestone like a century birthday. But a minnie one, it was my 45th birthday. I had a very nice time , my sweet husband and two youngest kids took me shopping for some new jeans, not real fun, but found some that they said made me look much more hip?! I guess I needed some updating.

Then all my children, their spouses, and grandchildren came over for a BBQ. My grandkids had made me the most wonderful birthday cards and so did my sweet son-in-law. My son and his wife bought me his standard gift for me. New running socks :) I know that it might be predictable, but I love new running socks! I love anything to do with running and dolls. But yesterday is really what makes me happy!! Being a mom and grandma has been the most rewarding part of my life so far, and I can't imagine anything being better.

Updates on the BJD

2008-07-25T18:51:00.004-06:00

Well I have been completely frustrated with the BJD. Maybe some of this had to do with the dismal sell of my last baby on eBay. AHHHH!!! I know that setting a reserve on the auction is a turn off to many buyers, but selling this baby at a price that doesn't even come close to covering the material costs let alone all the time I had to make her. It is so difficult!! So then on top of it getting less the satisfactory results with my BJD is not making me feel very good. I will be back to work come Monday so time will be limited again for sculpting, I was hoping to get more accomplished on the BJD. But when I this frustrated with her it's probably best to let her be for a while or she will end up in the garbage as a result of my frustration. So I will post some pictures now, but let you know that I will probably be digging out both her eyes in an attempt to get a bit more symmetry to her face. So there will be more update to follow that hopefully will have better results. Wish me luck :)

Sister Dates

2008-07-24T18:32:00.010-06:00

For a few years now, my sisters and I try to make sister dates. We are all creative, artistic people with different talents, but enjoy each other's company and love to share something artistic together. At the University of Utah had a wonderful exhibit here is a link to see some of it. http://umfa.utah.edu/monettopicasso

So all the sister's my Mom, Annette and my youngest daughters all spent the day at the museum. It was fantastic and being a hobbyist sculptor you can imagine how I felt looking at the sculptures of Rodin and many other's.

My sister Annette is a painter and loved the Modigliani, beside of course the Monet and Renoir. I have to say I gained a new appreciation for Dali, not usually one of my favorites. If you are in Utah and have a chance to visit this exhibit I highly recommend it!

This picture was from Picasso's blue period. I was listening to the narrator talk about how after the suicide of his friend he went into his blue period. And this picture is considered the peak of the period. As I listened it made me think of Scott's suicide, I could understand why someone would go through such a bleak period. Not wanting to paint with any bright or happy color's. This picture is defiantly how you feel after loosing someone you love.

Doll Collaboration

2008-07-13T14:57:00.004-06:00

Here are a couple of pictures of the fairy that I made for Jen Printy. I'm happy that she made it to her house in one piece. I had forgotten to take any pictures of her before I shipped her so Jen was kind enough to take some and send them to me. Her hair is a bit wild, and she looks a bit strange to me. Jen seemed happy with her though, she will be taken the dolls to EXPO in Washington DC in a few weeks. I wish her and the other guild members lots of success at the show!

New Baby

2008-07-12T10:16:00.002-06:00

Here is the new baby after so many problems with her. I'm not real happy with her because I had to fix her eye so many times that the are now a bit asymmetrical. I entered her in a contest that a reborn company posted. If she is chosen she could be manufactured for reborn artists. If not I will sell her on ebay. She has a magnet in her head so she can have a binky. It is not as strong as I though it would be but it holds it in place a little.

Bear Lake 2008

2008-07-11T14:43:00.003-06:00

Every year my family spends a few days together at Bear Lake. We have been doing this family trip since before I was born, but now it has become more, we have four generations of our family staying together. Bear Lake for us is a time to unplug and unwind, one family has a boat but for most of us we just enjoy time together in the quite breeze of the lake. Since my family is very artistic we always seem to have some sort of craft to do while we are there. Some of the years we have tie dyed t-shirts. This is quite a site to see, everyone from my 80 year old mother to the newest great grandchild wearing tie dyed shirts, it's a cross between some sort of hippy commune, or grateful dead concert, we do create quite a site.
This year some of us made vision boards. Mine is now hanging in my doll room. You create a vision board to help stimulate positive changes in your life, things you would like to see happen, or just pictures, words that feel positive to you.
It was also my youngest granddaughter's 1st birthday while we were there. She is such a sweet little girl! Being a grandma has been a complete joy, and this youngest granddaughter is as great as they come. She has beautiful red hair that looks like it might get some curl to it, and lovely green eyes. I just wish I could sculpt babies as beautiful as she is. I could make a killing in the doll world if I could.
I have to say I think Bear Lake 2008 went very well, I personally had a great time. It was relaxing, beautiful, and refreshing.

Scary Baby

2008-06-29T20:28:00.003-06:00

I had to dig all the way around the new baby's eyes and even into the bridge of her nose to try and get her to stop cracking. I love working with polymer clay but sometimes it seems to seems to fight me. I'm not certain if it is due to the armatures, or the curing that sometimes makes it crack. I tend to think it is more to do with the armatures. This baby is built on an old armature that I have had for a while. I won't say where I purchased it here on the blog. But I have had difficulty with this brand armature before. I talked with the artist that sales it and was told if I wrapped it in foil it would eliminate the cracking issue. Well like I said I have had this armature for a few years, I wrapped it in foil but it looks like I'm still having cracking issues. Maybe it's because it is older, but I doubt that. I think I will stick to making my armatures with foil from now on.
Keep your finger crossed that the cracking is over and I can finish this baby once and for all :)

My Wasatch Back Realy Experiance

2008-06-24T11:28:00.001-06:00

Well I’m happy to say that I survived running in the Wasatch Back Relay. It is a 181 mile relay race from Logan to Park City Utah. I was in the 2nd truck, so we started at leg 7. I was the leg 9 runner. My first two legs were OK the first was in the heat of the day so even though it was only 3.1 miles, I started to slow quite a bit about ¼ mile to the finish, because I was feeling a bit queasy from the heat. My second leg was 6.2 miles and it was in the middle of the night. I liked this leg because it was cool, but running in the dark has its hazards. Even with a head light and the support of the team, I felt a bit unsure of my footing a few times. My last leg was 3.6 miles, not long…but it was at an almost 8% incline on a dirt road. Again it was later in the day so it was starting to get hot. But, as a team we all struggled through out legs and we all finished feeling relatively good. Our team leader called me today, he said that the team has called and wants to do this again next year, and if I was in for it. I said… sure, I have a year to get ready for it. I guess they want to switch it up a bit. My truck will be truck A, so we will have the first part next time. I guess we will have to see how it goes. :)
I will post some pictures when I get them.

Father's Day

2008-06-16T20:17:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was Father's Day. We had a nice day, my oldest daughter and her husband and kids came over to have dinner with us. Our daughter made a wonderful German chocolate cake for my husband because that is his favorite. It was delightful to have them over.
This is the second Father's Day without my Dad. I still miss him very much. Time helps soften then hurt of missing him, and we are left with the wonderful memories of all the things and time we had together. No matter how old I get I think in my heart I will always be a Daddy's girl.

Weekend Wishing

2008-06-12T08:08:00.004-06:00

We just got done with my oldest son’s wedding. It was very beautiful, but I’m happy that it is over. We had two graduations, one bridal shower, Mothers Day, wedding rehearsal and wedding all within 6-7 weeks. And my sisters and I did all the flowers for the wedding. More my sisters then me :) So, I’m very happy the craziness has at least slowed down.

I long for the slow and lazy days of my summer as a young girl. Do you remember those times, before work, kids and responsibility? Hmmm lying around in the hot sun in our swimming suits reading trashy romance novels and drinking cold drinks. Just the slow moving days of our youth. Probably late junior high or high school. I see it now with my youngest daughter. The contentment that she dose not have much to worry about. Only responsible to do a few things, she has time to read, hang with friends, and relax. Her days move by at the slow summer pace I remember. Then I see the contrast with my oldest son. He is just starting a new life with more responsibility then he has had in the past. More bills, more obligations, more, more, more. His days of slow lazy summers are a thing of the past.
The life scale baby that I had posted in the previous post is about to send me over the wall. I have had to repair her at least 6 times, and even now she sits on my table with her eyes about dug out so that I can again, repair the cracks that keep forming in the corners of her eyes. I don’t know what to do. If she keeps this up I think she will end up in the trash. So keep you fingers crossed and hope that this weekend will have a different outcome. Let’s all pray that she decides not to crack any more. I’m also hoping that I finish Jen Printy’s fairy. She needs her wings and hair… then I will mail her off to Jen. Keep your fingers crossed that all this can get accomplished.

New Baby

2008-06-02T21:09:00.001-06:00

Here is a life scale baby that I have been working on. One picture is of the head by the picture I used as a reference. Not sure I like her very much, will see how I like her as I paint and wig her. That usually helps me like them better. If I like her I might enter her in a contest I seen out on the internet at some reborn baby site. If she won they would produce her.

Also here is a few picture of a small scale fairy that I'm making for Jen Printy. She is a friend in the PDMAG that asked me to make her a fairy. I hope she likes her. I don't think I have ever worked a this small of scale. I'm not sure that I like it.

Who pushed the >>FF button?

2008-05-29T11:12:00.000-06:00

It has been a while since I have posted anything out here and even longer since I have posted any progress on my dolls. I have been doing some doll work and I promise I will post pictures of my progress soon.
It has just been a whirl wind of things happening lately and I have not been able to catch my breath and post. The time that I have had has been spent either working on dolls or having some quality time with my husband and kids. My youngest son graduated from High School last night. I was so proud and happy to have this accomplishment for him. He is a great kid, but not always the best student. Now my youngest child will enter High School this fall.
The old church hymn with the line "time flies on wings of lightening" has never felt more relevant in my life then right now. Graduations...weddings and the impending birth of another grand baby!!! At times it seems to be too much too fast. How can I slow the flow of time? I'm sure everyone would like to know the answer to that question. On the other hand I got some sad news last night. My long time running friend has three stress fractures in her pelvis, so for her time will be at a stand still while she lets her body heal. We can never know what lies in the road ahead of us, the key is to be happy with what and where we are now. Wishing away the past, or thinking about the future are in some ways a waste of the time you have right now. The past is the past, so let it go. The future is still unwritten so don't dwell there because you don't know what it holds. I'm trying to live in the now... one day at a time... one task at a time... and be happy to be a part of it all.

Ogden Marathon

2008-05-18T21:41:00.001-06:00

I completed the Ogden Marathon on Saturday May 17th. It was a beautiful day and I met up with an old running friend at the start of the race. It had been about 2 years since I had seem or talked to him, so we ended up running the marathon together. I had set up to have some other friends meet me at around the 20-22 mile mark to run me in so when we caught up to them we all ran together. Well I guess Phil ended up being about a minute ahead of me. All in all it was a great day. My finish time was 4:02:08. I had some tummy trouble around mile 20 and had to find a port a john, if I had not had to do that I might have got in under 4 hours. In fact I checked my time that I run St. George marathon (4:09:13) so I was 7 minutes faster!!! That is great I might even be able to qualify for Boston sometime in the future!! Well that is all I have for now. I will try to get some doll updates soon. My new mini baby is out on eBay so wish my luck with that :)

Mini Baby

2008-04-29T21:15:00.000-06:00

I love this new baby! She has a very sweet face. Denise dressed her in such a cute... soft pastel dress. Isn't she lovely.

Updates

2008-04-29T21:08:00.001-06:00

Been a crazy week, but here are a few updates on the BJD. Not much but I'm making a bit of progress.

To eBay or not eBay... that is the question.

2008-04-22T15:07:00.000-06:00

I have recently started to sell the older doll that I have made during the past few years on eBay. They may be older, but they are still very beautiful dolls. Some I have liked better then others, in fact there have been a few that I wish I had not sold. I have sold them because being an artist who is not independently wealthy, I need to have money to buy supplies so that I can continue to sculpt, so, in turn I can continue to improve. I’m sure other artist out there understand the need to create. It is a driving force that unless you have felt it would be had to explain. I’m lucky to have three sisters who also understand this creative drive. Well, on eBay if you are just starting out and have not received feedback, buyers are not going to buy from you. I realized this so I have priced my dolls with a very low starting bid in hopes that I would generate interest, sell the doll and gain feedback. So far it has worked pretty well. I now have a whopping 11 positive feedback and have earned a yellow star by the number. Can we all say YAHOOO!!!! Now for my dilemma and question. I’m coming near the end of the older dolls that I’m willing to sell at the lower prices. I’m thinking about starting the eBay auction with a higher starting price, and also setting a reserve on the auction. I have not done this with the earlier auctions. I feel that my dolls are worthy of a higher price and I’ve also show with the feedback that I’m a reputable seller. (I know that 11 is not the highest… but it’s better then 0). So… should I do this? Do I risk making potential buyers unhappy with a reserve on the auction? What will they think when I do this? I don’t have an auction up at this time. But my eBay name is: happy_sculptor. I would appreciate comments on this. I will be thinking of how I should handle this. Hoping and praying for some answers until my next auction.

New Mini Baby

2008-04-20T10:24:00.000-06:00

Here are some updates in the second Mini Baby that I have been working on.These limbs are to go with this baby head. I hope I can finish her this weekend and get her to my sister so she can dress her.

Updates to the BJD

2008-04-20T10:14:00.000-06:00

So here are a few pictures of the updates that I have made to the BJD. As you can see I had to totally redo her hip socket. I still think there is some trouble with the top of the legs and their interaction with the hip socket. As I look at BJDs in general they have a gap so to speak at the top of the legs, I think this helps with the sitting of the doll. I guess I'll see how the joint interaction is when I try to string her. Any way take a look and let me know what you think.

Time is flying

2008-04-14T19:27:00.001-06:00

Wow been a few to many days since I have posted anything. I have been working on my BJD and mini baby, but I have not taken any pictures of the progress yet. It has been rather frustrating working on the BJD. I bet I have wasted at least 1/2 a block of clay trying to get her hip socket right. I think I have finally got them now. I went and bought wooden balls the size I needed for the ball joint of the socket. Then when I sculpted the hip I took the wooden ball and pushed it into the clay to form the socket. So far I think it will work, but the real test will be when I try to string her. Well I will try to get some pictures posted of the progress soon.
My running has been a struggle, I ran about 91/2 miles Saturday and it felt OK but not great. I have a 30K in two weeks and I hope I will do better then I did at the 1/2 marathon. I'm having some serious reservations about running the marathon.
My oldest son graduates from Utah State University in a few weeks. I can't believe it, time has gone by so fast. It just seems like yesterday he was just starting.
My youngest son will graduate High school so it is a time of transition for both of them. For me it is very exciting to see them grow and develop into such wonderful young men.

Mini Baby

2008-04-06T21:41:00.001-06:00

Well the mini baby is dresses. I still don't think she is all that cute. I will be posting her on eBay this coming week. It has been a busy weekend and I didn't get to work on my dolls as much as I would have liked. I ran the WRC 1/2 marathon on Saturday and had a terrible run. I completely bonked and felt so crappy by the end. I was pretty waisted the rest of the day. Today I have been working a bit on the BJD I should say reworking her. I hate when I can picture the way I want it to work in my mind, but it doesn't translate to my hands. I think I reworked the ball in the hip socket at least three times. I 'm hoping that I can do some work in the evenings this week, but I'll see how it goes. Anyway here is a picture of the mini baby all dressed. My sister Denise makes the clothes for my dolls and she does a wonderful job. When I get the time I will put a link in the blog to her. I named the new baby Sweet Pickles, my sisters have told me that I need to have a story or something more personal on my eBay auctions. So when I looked at this new baby, the colors in her dress reminded me of my Aunt Gretta's sweet pickles, so that is her name.

My Daughter Birthday

2008-04-05T11:50:00.000-06:00

My oldest child, daughter, turns 27 today. She was such a sweet baby, always happy and never fussy, even when she needed to be changed or was hungry. She rarely ever cried. I remember my Mother commenting on what an easy baby she was, and telling me that this was not normal behavior for babies. I didn’t really believe her until I had my second child. As my daughter grew up we had many growing pains within our family. A few months back I found this comment on a blog and it fit so much of what my oldest child means to me that I wanted to post it here.

“This child made me a mother. I have learned from her, tested my ideas on her, figured out what works, what was a good theory, what failed in the real world, and to ultimately throw all the parenting books away.

Sometimes I feel bad, since she is, and will continue to be, at the cutting edge of my parenting skills. Her brothers and sister reap the benefits of her trailblazing. By the time they get around to things, Tara had whacked her way through the parenting-ignorance-jungle and we’ve managed to make a little clearing.

There was a time I wondered why she was so headstrong, and what I could do about it. I know now, she needed that head full of concrete and stubbornness so we could all learn to be a family. A gentler, meeker child would never have had the strength to wield the machete needed to create parents from the raw materials she was given.

I will be eternally grateful for the wild, strong, obstinate, fiery, brilliant spirit that is my oldest child. She made me a mother.”

With my realization of time passing I reflect back on all the experiences that I had with my daughter, I’m honored to be her Mom. She has grown in to a wonderful young woman, wife and mother. As much as I miss the time I had with her at home. I also enjoy what our relationship has developed into, and hope that it will continue to grow and evolve into an even better connection.

My Mother's Birthday

2008-04-01T10:32:00.000-06:00

Today is my Mother’s birthday, she is 82, but please don’t tell her I posted it here. She has never really liked telling her age. I don’t know why, because no one would guess that she is that old. She looks and acts at least 10 years younger then she is. She still has a pretty active lifestyle. She belongs to a few walking groups that sponsor walks that she participates in, and walks quite a few times a week around her neighborhood. She also loves to garden in her yard. She can’t handle the heavy work that she used to do, but she will still plant and weed and water her gardens.
My Mother loves the piano she has played it for most of her life. As a little girl it was my alarm clock to get up. She played at our church for many years and I can remember her practicing. She didn’t mind playing for small groups at the church or other functions, but was never comfortable playing in front of big groups of people. I think for the most part, just playing at her house for herself brings her the most satisfaction. She loves to go to concerts, plays and art shows.
So I will take my card and flowers to her today on my lunch break. I will give her a big hug and let her know that I’m so happy to still have her in my life, and wish her a Happy Birthday!

No doll work this weekend

2008-03-30T12:59:00.000-06:00

Well, this weekend I was in southern Utah picking up my Mom, who had been down there for the past two months. So needless to say I have not worked on dolls this weekend. It's good that Mom is back, and it seems like she had a great time while she was down there. She stayed busy with classes and concerts, it's all great for her.
I email the pictures and questions that are going to be in the Doll magazine. It will be good to have something published about my dolls. It's been quite a while since I have had any mention about me or even any pictures of my dolls published in a magazine. I'll let you know what magazine and when it's out. Now I just need to stay busy and get more work done so I can get even more publicity right!!! Man that is easier said then done. If only I had infinite time, money and a maid service. Life would be so easy then. But enough of the wishful thinking, that never gets your goals accomplished, it only waists time. Well I'll keep you posted on the progression of the BJD and other doll that I'm working on.
Oh by the way. The WRC (Winter Racing Circuit) that I entered. It's a series of 5 races (5K, 10K, 10 miler, 1/2 marathon and 30K) So far I've run the first three races and I'm in 3rd place in my age group. Not to bad for an old lady, I'll see how I do in the rest of the races to see how I place. I'll keep you posted.

Update on BJD

2008-03-26T20:18:00.000-06:00

As you can see I have worked on the BJD a bit more. I added her neck and worked on one of her legs. It doesn't show in the picture but I did alot of sanding and refining. I think I will leave the torso alone for a while, but I'm sure I will have to do some more work on it when I make the ball joints. I'm not going to add any more details to the torso until I finished fitting the ball joints.