Peace Within 安内 PT 4

This weeks posting is the final in a series of four postings on 

Peace Within 安内...

and I wanted to save this crowing glory for the last!

Many of you know my hats...from the Story Hats, the love of stitches and stories, to these made especially for my jointed dolls.

...hats give you the possibility to dream.

Philip Treacy

When creating these hats, I think about not only their size, shape, how will it sit on the head...their movement but also their voice...what do I want this hat to say...to you.

Hat

For Peace Within...I wanted the shape to cover over her head...a protection like a elegant roof.

In my stash, I have a glorious piece of silk brocade with wonderful Chinese medallions on them..this was perfect to the base of her hat.

So, now to create this piece.

I used stabilizer to stiffen to hold its shape and 

a deep orange dupioni to line it. 

I shaped it and hand sewed it to secure.

Note: circle medallion center on top of hat...

I added a support band, not only so it would sit properly on her head 

but also to bring in more of the aqua color...

side view

I had one more (of three) vintage metal flowers left and

this was the perfect hat for it.

The center is a jade bead that I added in.

Close up of small aubergine colored  flower sequins scattered around the brim secured with frosted aqua glass beads.

Gold vintage cording hand-sewn around the brim to finish.

Close up of Dragon on the back

View from top placed on her head.

Handmade tassels in aqua and metallic shades

made from sewing thread.

Bound with variegated brown silky thread.

I was thrilled that when I trimmed them the thread flipped outward..

just perfect to complete the illusion of this hat.

Front view

Hats are about emotion. It is all about how it makes you feel.

Philip Treacy

more views around the head...

Moving our eye back a bit to see how it compliments the shape of her face and her costuming.

 

Hair

Coming around to the back, 

I decided to braid her hair and leave a nice "tail".

These, I folded one over another to mimic the hat tassels.

The braids are bound in the middle with sized vintage pearls.

Close up view

I cut the hair tassels to be very blunt.

View from Above

Here is a slight forward and above image...below is showing you the triangle shapes of the front.

 

Story Dolls©: Leslie Molen

Photography©: Mark Mortensen

Hand made Stools by Gary Leitch

Final Note

I find dollmaking, actually art in itself, a miraculous process. 

It can heal, calm, bring happiness and peace...

and for me all these and most importantly ... 

bring beauty into this life.

Peace Within 安内 PT 3

The Details! 

It is in these details that I bring in my triad of color (my third color) read more here on color

I find the details such a delicate balance between not quite enough and to add one more thing and it is too much!

I believe it is better to be on the light side and leave them wanting more than to go one more step and give them to much to take in. One of my art teachers gave me the best advice that I have never forgotten.

"you never finish your work...you abandon it"

With all that said it IS in the details that makes your work stand out from the crowd. I thought we would take a look at the details of Peace Within from head to to her little toes!

 

Let's start with her delicate face. It is hand sculpted in DAS clay and overlaid with silk crepe. Her body is all silk crepe - ball jointed - sewn with a cotton batiste liner.

Coloring

The shading is done with chalks and a wee bit of pencil to define. The eye liner is with acid free black fine line marker and edges softened with chalks.

Her butterfly lips have a softest pink on the lower lid with the red in the center. That same soft pink so lightly blushes her cheeks...just enough to add color but not really noticeable.

The eyes are hand-painted with many layers of paint and have many delicate layers of gloss to create the shine and also the rounded shape. I add a small red dot above the eye as is an Asian tradition in keeping evil spirits away. I love the way that simple red dot really brings your eye to hers without really noticing the red dot...until perhaps now that I told you! 

Note: Remember the triangles from last week??notice this little triangle from eye to to eye to lips!

I work the chalks to cover much area using several shades within the same color stream, layering from lightest color to darkest detailing. The aubergine color around in the inner eye is actually three colors a deep purple, magenta and a blue. The blue fades out over the eyelid meeting a grey on the outer edge that glides down and around to the edge of the bottom lid.

All lightly sealed with a workable fixative.

Clothing

Peace's clothing fabrics were very carefully selected read more here to create the right balance not only in color but in print.

Her collar line was in aubergine to pick up the dress bottom panel. Small "buttons" of glass seed beads and pearls were added following along the line of the collar band. They go all the way to the end of the band that are tucked under her arm.

I would like to add that if I am using priceless silks and vintage kimono, I will continue with the best quality I can afford with my little beads using glass beads and vintage pearls.

We can now move onto the sleeves. Note the antique aqua cording that I used about the cuffs where they meet the sleeve section. This gives a nice quiet finish to the piecing of the two fabrics. I like how you can see the hand stitching on the cording.

 

Close up edge of how I laid out the pattern on the Indian silk...stabilized because of the metal threading.

I believe it creates a really nice banding effect with a peep of the orange dupioni lining showing.

We move to the panel of the lower section of the dress. I love the way it is contrasted from the dress top of the light silk brocade and the pebbled fabric of vintage kimono fabric pants. 

Here we take a closer look at the same aqua vintage cording that frames the panel. Note the bit of the orange duiponi showing.

And finally lower section of Peace Within. 

Note how I used the same fabric of the sleeve with the same banding on the hemline edge to create a link- a consistency using the print.

 

The little shoes- I LOVE these little shoes!

I had just a precious small scrap of this vintage metal fabric - just enough to squeak out this pair! Notice that I did my best to layout the pattern to bring the flowers as close to mirroring each other as possible. They are lined and shoes are in a darker orange dupioni (than the lining). I repeated the same beading as I did along the collar band. 

Notice that all the way down this doll my accent  color has mostly been in the aqua!! Very delicately done but adds enough gentle -detail- interest to the piece.

I hope you enjoyed this posting!

Next week the Hat and Hair!

Peace Within 安内 PT 2

In this posting, I would like to share with you the balancing of print on the fabric and pattern flow in the design.

Story Dolls©: Leslie Molen

Photography©: Mark Mortensen

Hand made Stools by Gary Leitch

Working photos by Leslie

Fabric Print Size

As I stated in last week's posting read more here, I started with this piece of silk brocade. Many years ago when I started doll making it was a "rule" that the fabric print had to be in keeping with the scale and size of the doll. 

I have broken that rule as often as possible, especially if I love the fabric and want- need- to use it, as was definitely in this case.

If we look at the above fabric it has a lovely Chinese symbol that could be the center of attention. So I used it front and center of the dress border. boom!

To balance off not only in contrasting color but in scale, I used a delicate silk brocade for the top section of the dress. The print worked as a flowing organic pattern complimenting the circular design of the Chinese symbol.

Below, you can see the three pieces that I lined it with the orange duiponi to bring in not only the warm element but to create a foundation of a triad of color for both my prints. I feel that the small scale of the top part of the dress balances nicely with the large scale of the bottom section- due to the swirling pattern within each.

I added the collar line with a piece of plaid vintage kimono fabric that I turned on the bias so to not only ease better around the curve of the collar but to break up the linear design of the plaid. For color, it ties in with the original aubergine silk border. Isn't it great when it all falls together!?

Using Fabric Print as Borders

Going forward..time for the sleeves...

I decided to use this piece of Indian silk for its wonderful border. I had to stabilize the delicate fabric. Note how I placed it so the border would be right on the edge after my sewing it to the lining.

Here is the garment with sleeves in place before it is hand-sewed together.

The final piece for the dress is the pants. 

I loved the vintage kimono fabric for the base of the pants especially the print, subdued in the pattern with all the right coloring to compliment the top of the dress.

I repeated the sleeve print border as a band around the pants hemline.

Overall Balance of the Print Design

Let's take a look at the piece as a whole using just the print of the fabric.

• The two "O" repeat themselves in the hat center piece and also in the dress border center. This circular design prompts your eye to find another, which your eye needs to travel down the doll. AND since we are working 3-dimensionally- this circle repeats itself on the top of the hat!
• The ":::::" is repeated in the top of the dress and balanced below within the pants.

• The "S" is within the floral design of the top of the dress and in the sleeves that repeat again in the border of the pants.

Overall Balance of the Pattern Design

So now, if we step back from the actual print and look at the doll as a whole, you can see that the way I designed the pattern and styled her hair has many triangular shapes. This creates a beautiful and flowing balance of the doll as a whole.

You can take this exact same process and look at the doll on the front and see this repeat in the pattern design.

A New View

I hope this posting gives you  a new view- observation  with which to see you own designs!

Note how your eye travels around the doll finding 

repeats of color but also pattern and design. 

Swirls, circles, dots, even bands of print design...

 

To read more about THE BODY and its importance
 link here to Happiness Doll

next week in detail!