Northdixie Designs: May 2008

I'm Thankful for...

Some days you get up and you know you are blessed.

Whenever I go to any Special Olympics event I am always inspired (to tears at times) by the gains made by the kids and by the people who work with them to help them meet those goals. You see kids who usually walk with walkers swimming in races. It's a joy to behold. They are so proud to receive their awards. This past week as the banquet was ending we were dismissed by the teacher emceeing. But one little girl didn't think that was quite enough. Up she goes to the microphone and says, "The Special Olympics banquet is done. AMEN." Amen, indeed.

I'm thankful for committed and caring teachers and other kinds of mentors who work with children. I know from personal experience the mark a good teacher can make on a child's life, and I see it happening again with my own children. I'm thankful for them.

I am thankful for the spiritual people who are what Psalm 92 calls "fresh and green even in old age." I won't name them, and some of them have passed away, but they inspire me - I want to be like them as I grow older.

I'm thankful for people who use their area of influence to help and encourage others. These are the people who open a door to help another achieve their goals.

I'm thankful for blue skies on a hot summer day and cold water to swim in.

I'm thankful for fathers and mothers, spouses and children, sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles, cousins and neighbors and friends who share one of the most beautiful places on earth.

I'm thankful for the possibilities of a blank canvas or an unplanted garden.

I'm thankful for carpenters who help my vision for my home become a reality.

I'm thankful for the satisfied feeling you get when a project is completed and works the way you designed it to work.

I'm thankful for drawings done on Magnadoodles by children learning about the beauty of line.

The Nut Behind the Wheel

When I was young I had an orange AMC Pacer for a car. It was a bit like driving around a fish bowl. Man was that thing hot! I used it to cart myself and my siblings around to various places. When it had problems, I would tell my dad. And my dad would answer, "Dixie, there's nothing wrong with that car except the nut behind the wheel."

I'm wondering about my computer, which just crashed for the third time that I've owned it in a 18 month period. It's a Hewlett Packard, by the way. Is it the computer or "the nut behind the wheel?" I've owned other computers that haven't crashed, though, and this gives me comfort. Thank goodness I had backed up all my pictures the week before last.

Spotted Killjoy Folk Birds by Dixie Redmond

Back in 2006 I made this first Spotted Killjoy. My husband called himself that after a time when he hadn't been as encouraging as he usually is. That's something I appreciate about him - he has a sense of humor and can direct the humor toward himself. He is good about admitting to himself (and sometimes to me) things like this. I was teasing him and told him I was going to make a Spotted Killjoy to auction on Ebay. I did it, and this was the first of the Spotted Killjoys I made. I lost the original writing I did about Spotted Killjoys, but the gist of the auction write-up was that everyone has them in their lives, and sometimes we can be the worst ones for ourselves. As artists, there's a fine line between constructive criticism and critiquing something before it has a chance to be born. I'm glad I made this bird - at the time and even almost two years later it resonates with people. I just got an e-mail from someone asking if I was going to make another. Hmmmmm...it sounds like the perfect no stress creation to work on. Sometimes I make these as a kind of antidote to artist's block.

Isn't She Sweet?

Yes, I went to Lucy's Doll House again. Apparently I have an addiction to visiting antique dolls. My favorite is what I think of as the Cloth Doll Corner. This Columbian doll is from that section.

Do you notice how her nose tilts a little to one side? And one eye is shaded a little more than the other? It's these little evidences of "made by hand" that give a doll like this its charm.

What's for Supper, Mom?

Just when you think winter is over...
Nah, that's not snow.
That's HAIL.
We rarely get hail here in Maine.

Using Photo Editing Programs as a Design Tool

When I was in art school, often before you began a painting you did 50 - 100 "thumbnail" sketches to test out your composition. These were quick and loose, usually about 2 inches in size. The idea is that you were supposed to decide on your composition BEFORE you begin the painting. Sometimes, though, I like to just experiment. The painting above is a combination of the following experiments

laying on acrylic paint in washes and layers
scratching into the paint while it's wet
wiping away portions while it's wet
dropping rubbing alcohol into the wet paint
laying a wash of rubbing alcohol down and then painting over that with thinned paint while it was still wet.

I started with a layer of a golden primer/gesso. I really like starting with a colored base, as I think that gives the painting some unity. This is one of my favorite paintings, probably because I had so much fun experimenting and PLAYING. It's about 5 by 7 inches.

I used my photo editing program to crop some images out of the painting. I'm using my computer to make "thumbnail sketches".

I love the softness in the image above...

This image and the one below are the same crop,
but I've flipped it from left to right.
To me, the one above is more inviting.

Now that I've experimented, the idea is to remember what made what texture and to use it on purpose in a painting.

The Seed of a Dream

Little did I know the day I first took this road that I was planting the "seed of a dream". I'm going to do some paintings based on that phrase. I was joking in a group recently that some of the seemingly minor choices of life are the ones that ought to have Wagner music playing in the background. This is the road I took when I first went to visit the first Izannah Walker doll I was able to see in person.

It was the beginning of a passion for me, to gather as much information as I can about Izannah Walker and as many images of original Izannah Walker dolls as I can. I've learned so much about life while doing this. I've learned that you won't get answers if you don't ask questions. There may not be an answer for every question, but there are answers for many.

I've also learned that Maine is one of the most beautiful places on earth. Really, the beauty isn't always at the end of the road, but along the journey, isn't it?

What journey will you begin today?

Some of the First Creations I Sold on Ebay

Back Up Your Pictures!

This sweet papier mache doll head I purchased from a dollmaking/doll collecting friend. She's here for no other reason. :-)

Well, today I have been backing up pictures to CDs. Last fall my hard drive crashed and I lost 9 months of pictures that I had not backed up. Stupidity. Learn from my mistake!

Now, backing up pictures is a bit like doing laundry. Not really exciting and you can't really point to it with pride and say, "Here's what I did today!" But on the other hand, if you don't do it you will experience some pain as a result. Apparently there is more to backing up pictures than just putting them on a CD. What happens if you have a fire and everything burns. The following link recommends that you have two backup sources - to CD and then either to a 2nd hard drive or an additional set of CDs. You can store the 2nd set of CDs in a fire-safe strongbox or at the bank's safety deposit box or at another family member's house.

Backing Up Your Photos

USA Today Article About Backing Up Photos

So....this is your friendly neighborhood reminder to back up your photos and other important files, especially if you are an artist. After you sell your artwork it's the record of your work.

The Overlapping Seasons

This is the time of year when seasons collide. Little League starts up, but school is still going and there's a play to perform this weekend. There's a sense of summer in the air but so much to be done to wind down the academic year, and work to be done and teachers to be honored, and husbands go on business trips...

We are looking forward to spending time at the newly renovated camp cottage owned by my dad. It has turned out so great! What was once a plan on paper is a reality, and it will be much easier to fit 4-5 adults and 4-5 kids in this 26 x 26 cottage. We added some bedrooms in space that was open to the rafters. And we designed it to be a "three-rear" kitchen so that when my mom and my sister and I are all in there doing something we can each have our own zones.

Here is a picture of the bathroom
and old kitchen spaces we combined
to make a larger kitchen.

Here's the after view
of the two rooms combined
to make a "three-rear" kitchen.

I bought all the lights at The Bright Spot .
Their service was excellent and such fast shipping!

There's a lot of sawdust to sweep and dust away.
Furniture needs to be moved back in.
I anticipate a lot of fun here
and many family memories to be made!

Blog Hopping to Sweet Nellie's

I love when you visit a favorite artist's page, such as Sandy Mastroni, and you travel via their links to another artist's page where you are entranced by their work. Sweet Nellie's dolls are wonderful! There's something so innocent, straightforward and lively about her work.

I laughed out loud when I saw

Kay the Foreign Correspondent

Babyland Rag Doll?

A large cloth doll with button eyes in antique clothing was being auctioned this week. The body shape and hand shape is almost exactly like the Babyland Rag I'd been bidding on two weeks ago and lost. So I bought this doll with my birthday money. She came with pantaloons, socks, antique shoes antique petticoat and antique dress.

I think this doll is a Babyland Rag that lost her face. The Babyland Rag I saw on Ebay was losing her face - it was peeling off. My theory on this doll pictured is the paint peeled off the "face covering" so someone took it off. On Babyland Rags the faces are a separate slipcover that are whipstitched over the doll form. You can see some stitching marks along the discoloration. Sometimes the Babyland Rags have hair stitched on and bonnets that are permanent. The bonnet I have fits this girl beautifully so I wonder if it is original to her.

My plan with this big girl is to draft a pattern from her. Her 30" size is great because she could wear children's clothes. I have a copy of an antique Babyland Rag catalog that I can use as a guideline in designing a dress pattern for the new doll.

The skirt is attached using cartridge pleating. Cartridge pleating is a way to attach a very full skirt to a waistband and was widely used in antique clothing. This dress is antique and fragile.

I'm entranced by this doll
and proud of myself
for recognizing her body shape.

Smiles,
Dixie

Big Papier Mache Girl - Antique Unbreakable shoulderhead

I've been working on this girl since January...

A while ago, I got this papier mache head

from a doll collecting friend.
She had been repainted.
I decided to try repainting her myself.

This was one of the first repaints.

I didn't like her worried look,
so I gessoed over her again.

And here is where she has ended up after several tries.

I've decided to stop and call this done.
There are many things I could improve on,
but I might lose some of the things I like
about her at this stage.

On the right is her friend that I bought
from Ruby Lane to repaint.
Now on to the bodies!

Still More Antique Doll Pictures

Here are a few more pictures of my trip to Lucy's Doll House. In a few days I'll take some pictures of my own creations. It's a busy time here in Maine - spring has finally sprung which means there are glorious outside chores to be done.

This little girl above is a favorite of mine.

Tuck Comb Dolls always make me smile
I believe we had our century's equivalent
with beehive hairdos.
Can you imagine carrying off such a hairdo?

Wonderful rag dolls above

a view of small dolls in a case

the tag gives a sense of scale

I couldn't resist taking pictures of a couple of my own creations perched atop a case of Ginny dolls - a large Izannah Walker inspired doll above by me! They don't normally purchase new dolls, but since this one was inspired by my trip to their shop, they bid. Thanks! And I took a picture of my painting with the Izannah doll, just because it does my heart good to see something my hand made next to something her hand made. :-)

Well, that's it for pictures of Lucy's Doll House.
I hope to get back soon.

Random Antique Doll Pictures

Whenever I go to Lucy's Doll House Shop I take a lot of pictures. Here are a few dolls that I found enchanting. My favorite dolls, other than the Izannah dolls, are the sweet Babyland Rag in the red striped dress and the Columbian Doll in a group picture below. The Babyland is not rare, or even expensive by the standards of many antique dolls, but I just love her.

Click the pictures to see larger versions.