Sunday 13 March 2016

'Pru' the Art Doll


Good afternoon and welcome, today I would like to share with you the making of 'Pru', my first attempt at an art doll. Inspired by 2 challenges I would like to link her to;

  The Creative Carte Blanche  2 theme Metal, Lace and Corrugated Paper link here, and
 PaperArtsy's challenge Art Dolls link here. 
The video on the PaperArtsy blog was excellent and gave me the idea for construction.

To begin with I made a frame for the dolls skirt from wire and then attached this to a piece of wooden doweling which would become the centre part of the complete doll.


I stood this in a cotton reel while I was preparing everything, but managed to get Hubby to cut a block of hard wood and drill a hole in the centre for the completed Pru.

Next I painted several dictionary pages with the following colours of Fresco Chalk Paint; 
Chartreuse, Zesty Zing, beach Hut, Pumpkin Soup and Inky Pool.

 Then gave them a light spray with Perfect Pearls Mist in Blue Patina.
Once dry the pages were torn into strips along with some blue vellum and some white lacey Japanese paper and the skirt was then constructed using PVA glue. 


Then I made a template from some scrap paper to stamp the material through.


The centre flowers are from Jofy 12 and the leaves around the edges are from Flora and Fauna 3.
This was then embroidered and beads were also sown onto the flowers.

A corresponding heart was cut from another piece of fabric for the back of the body.


The face was stamped onto another piece of fabric using stamp set LPC 010.


This was lightly coloured using DI in tattered rose, trimmed to fit a small polystyrene ball and then the mauve felting wool was attached using a felting needle.

Now it's time to assemble the doll --- 
the 2 hearts were stitched together leaving a gap at the top and the bottom so that it could be threaded onto the doweling. Whilst stitching I added a small amount of toy stuffing and added a large pipe cleaner for the arms.


Wooden beads were threaded onto the pipe cleaner and the ends of the pipe cleaner were then threaded back into the centre of the bead forming a loop for the hands.
A metal charm was sewn onto the point of the heart.

A bow was made from some antiquey lace and attached to the back.
A metal cog was placed on the doweling before attaching the head. Wire and pearl beads were then added for a tiara. 


The book was made from a piece of stripped corrugated cardboard and the page was taken from a dictionary with the definition 'Art'.


You might be wondering why the name Pru ---- no particular reason other than when I was popping the head on that was the name that came to me!


She might not be as 'Quirky' as some Art Dolls but I had fun making her and she will sit in my craft room and keep me company while I create.

Now I'm away as the sun is shinning and I must do a bit of gardening. Thanks for stopping by and getting to know 'Pru'. Take care and have a good week whether it's working or 'playing' Jane x














12 comments:

  1. Jane, your doll is just amazing! I love her! Thanks for sharing her with the PaperArtsy challenge!
    Alison x

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is absolutely amazing, Jane, I love it! I've just. Been using a polystyrene egg too, it as like fighting a marshmallow!

    Lucy x

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love your art doll she is amazing, guess we were both inspired by the video and how to construct it with a wired skirt. Fab project. x

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lovely doll! I am loving your mix of embroidery, scraps, odds and ends to create her.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oooh! She's fabulous Jane (I love the name Pru too :oD) Lx

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh Jane, this is exquisite! I love everything about your art doll. From the braided hair on her head to her lovely embroidered heart body and down to the beautiful lacy skirt, she's a wonderful combination of corrugated, lace and metal! Thanks so much for sharing your creativity with all of us at Creative Carte Blanche!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Brilliant doll!! Beautiful details and embroidery of the blouse, amazing you have made all!! Thank you so much for your comment. xx

    ReplyDelete
  8. Holy cow, this is amazing! I love the fact that you incorporated embroidery and beading into your art doll. I think my favorite is her dictionary and lace skirt. So very clever and fun. Thanks for joining us at Creative Carte Blanche!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Respect!! I've never attempted an art doll, you are a brave one. You did a fabulous job on her. I love every detail, especially the little book wherein you incorporated the "corrugated" element. Awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  10. How fun and quirky!!! AND I LOVE quirky!!! Great job in playing along with the Triple Trouble challenge at CCB!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Aww, I love her! She's gorgeous and perfect (and your embroidery is awesome, girl!). Thanks for joining the CCB challenge and introducing us to this lovely lady!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oooh wooooow Jane!!!!! Fabulous post and Art doll, I love it to bits!!! Also pinned... :)
    Have a lovely day, thanks for the inspiration this morning and som beautiful images and makes.
    Hugs, Coco xx

    ReplyDelete