Art Dolls seem to be one of the newest rages going on. Or maybe they have been going on for quite awhile and I'm just now catching up, that's probably it.
I made this little Art Doll from the miniature Maya Road chipboard people. It's kind of nice to start with one of those as oppose to starting a doll from scratch. This at least gives you a starting point for the main body parts like the head, legs and arms and torso. My little Art Doll is standing next to her "Dream House".
Last weekend I went to the Public Library and went to the section where they sell the old books. It was great because they actually had a section marked "Antique/Old Vintage Books". Which for any of us mixed media artist's is like hitting the jackpot. The books from that section were great obviously because the covers were falling off, the pages were that yellowish/brownish color and they all had that old smell. I also picked up some old romance novels and they even had some French books. The flowers on this "Dream House" card are made from the French Dictionary I found there at the Library. It's just such a great way to find some inexpensive ephemera. None of the books I got were over .50 cents. They are so great for so many different things. If you get a book that has large print, you can cut out individual words to add to the front of a card, ATC or tag. If you find a book that has poems, you can cut those out to add to your artwork. You can make flowers like I did or you can rip a page out and cover it with a color wash and then add it to a collage. The possibilities are really endless. Check out your local library if you get the chance.
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Shannon, this is so great! You are so talented! Thanks for your kind comments on my blog- you are too nice! I too love to make art dolls! I am so looking forward to working with Leslie- so far everyone is just a "doll" ( pun intended) to work with. I will definately keep reading your blog- good stuff here lady! Bravo! xo-Nicole
ReplyDeleteHey Shannon - I love the theme you have for this creation. Your art doll is so cute, and I didn't realize you could purchase the body part and just use your own photos for the head portion. What a great concept.
ReplyDeleteI too love the library as a resource for vintage/old books, as well as the local thrift stores. Enjoyed your ideas of how you use them in your artwork that you shared in this post. Its like a mini tutorial.
Gretchen