Clay Pipe Dolls - Definitely A Conversation Piece

Clay Pipe Doll - Image Courtesy National Gallery of Art,Washington.

I know that dolls over the ages have been made out of all sorts of things.  Wishbones, nuts, corks, paper, apples, other fruits, etc. So, when I saw the illustration of the Clay Pipe Doll shown in the picture above from the National Gallery of Art   I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Was that a pipe covered with fabric to form the doll's head or what?

Credits: Iverson, Jane, American, 1910 - 1997, Clay Pipe Doll, c. 1936,watercolor and graphite on paper, overall: 40 x 29.2 cm (15 3/4 x 11 1/2 in.) Original IAD Object: 7 1/2" high, Index of American Design, 1943.8.15616.

I thought...Hmmm.... A doll out of a pipe.  Now that's an unusual doll.

I was picturing my grandfather's pipe which was a typical bowled pipe. So, I went to get it.

In looking at it I wondered how I would make a doll out of it? I'd love to make an heirloom doll - but, how?

So, I decided to do a little research. Here's what I found out.

Frozen Charlotte Dolls - How Adorable But Tragic

Image Courtesy of Theriaults.com

How can you not fall in love with a bunch of "GERMAN 'FROZEN CHARLOTTE' DOLLS"as shown in the picture above from the Theriaults.com website. You can't especially when you find out they have a tragic story attached to them.

According to their description: 7" H. tub. Seven dolls, representing little children with chubby stomachs, are of one-piece porcelain or bisque, standing with their arms outstretched with curled fingers. Each doll has painted hair and facial features, two with painted shoes. Included is a German tin tub and shower with unusual copper hot water tank and receptacle hidden at back allowing the "shower" to actually work. Excellent condition except some paint flakes on tub platform. The dolls are notable for complete variation of hairstyles and facial painting. Circa 1880.

Online Collections (The Strong) / CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Frozen Charlotte 1850-1920 

I saw this adorable "Frozen Charlotte" doll, as shown in the picture above, on The Strong National Museum of  Play  and instantly fell in love with her, too. How could you not? Just look at how cute she is

Doll - 1850-1920, Material porcelain | cloth, Origin Germany, Style Frozen Charlotte, Object ID 78.9067

According the museum description:  An unjointed china doll molded in one piece, a Frozen Charlotte became a popular doll type in the 1850s. Initially sold as bathing dolls or naked babies, these floatable figures supposedly entertained youngsters of the Victorian era as they took their baths. The dolls sold in sizes ranging from one inch to 18 inches. Labeling these figures "Frozen Charlotte" recalls a 19th-century ballad about a vain girl who refused to cover up her pretty party dress while riding to a ball on a frigid winter's night. Of course, the girl of the story dies from the cold: "Fair Charlotte was a stiffened corpse/ And her lips spake no more"; and her demise reminds us to forsake vanity and use a little common sense. The smaller Frozen Charlottes were called penny dolls and popular with children with small coins to spend. Some English families hid small Frozen Charlottes in their Christmas puddings, along with or in place of the traditional hidden coins.

How can any adorable little dolls have a tragic story attached to them?  I had to know more. Here's what I found out:

My Mixed Media Tutu Dress Canvas Pictures Adventure

I have so many different crafting interests that when I find a craft project I want to try I rarely make more than two or three items.

That was until took a couple of Artful Gathering mixed media classes. I fell in love with mixed media and, as a result, have been making some ( make that many) different types of mixed media craft items from tutu canvases to tiny houses, to fairy houses, to seasonal and holiday collage pictures. For the last three months I've been totally absorbed in my mixed media projects and have loved every minute of it.

I started this adventure with the 3 mixed media tutu dress canvas picture projects that I made from Debby Anderson's "A Romantic Journey On Canvas" at Artful Gathering.

I knew before taking this class that I would love it so as I was going along I anticipated making more than the number of projects required for the course. After sculpting the tutu for the class I decided to sculpt a few extra's in various sizes. I love giving handmade gifts so making a few extra tutu's was the smart thing to do.

I ended up making five additional tutu's - which resulted in five other mixed media tutu dress canvas pictures being made.

Three of the additional tutu pictures I made are shown in the picture at the beginning of this post and above.

The tutu picture shown above is on an 8" by 8" by 3/4" canvas.

The tutu picture shown above is on a 5" by 7" by 3/4" canvas.

The tutu picture shown above is on a 6" by 6" by 3/4" canvas.

The remaining two aren't quite done so I can't show you those as of yet.  You'll just have to stay tuned for those when they're finished in the next few months.

My Romantic Journey On Canvas Corseted Tutu and Wedding Dress Class Projects

I've spent the last two weeks in crafting bliss working on my projects from Debby Anderson's "A Romantic Journey On Canvas" at Artful Gathering and couldn't be happier. I may have found a new passion - something I absolutely love.

I can hear you all saying - what a surprise, Linda! You've found a new passion. When it comes to crafting is there anything you've ever tried that you haven't absolutely loved? Probably not.

Well, it is true that I absolutely love to craft and love everything I've learned through my online classes, but when it comes to passion - well, that's a little different. I have a passion for the Victorian era - especially the dresses, for doll making, for genealogy, for floral design, and for history. To all this I would have to add mixed media. I absolutely LOVE mixed media.

My husband doesn't love it as mixed media utilizes lots of different types of supplies so my living room is an absolute mess. You can't even see any of the furniture in there. It's all covered with arts & crafts supplies of one sort or another - all needed for the mixed media projects I've been working on for my online classes.

I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Debby's class.  Debby Anderson is an unbelievably talented and inspiring jewelry designer and artist.  Her online class was fabulous.  Her video's were very easy to follow and she explained everything she was doing beautifully.  I couldn't be more pleased with her class.  If you've wanted to try creating mixed media canvas collage dress form projects Debby's class is a MUST TAKE.

There are 3 projects in  Debby Anderson's "A Romantic Journey On Canvas" mixed media online class: one to create a corseted tutu, one to create a wedding gown, and one to create a mixed media angel collage.  So far, I've made two corseted canvas's - one on 12" x 12" canvas and one on an 8" x 10" canvas.  I've also created a wedding gown on an 11" x 14" canvas.

Here's my first corseted tutu on a 12" by 12" canvas:

The History Of Faceless Dolls - Updated February 2015 - Part XVI - Mixed Media Faceless Dolls

Faceless dolls have become very popular in mixed media creations over the last dew years.  Part of the reason is that your creation can be made out of just about anything. It can also be watercolor art, painted canvas art, collage and decoupage art, rubber stamped or stenciled art and conveying whatever it is you wish to convey.  It can also empower individuals with finding an inner voice, developing confidence, and expressing who they are individually.

Christy Tomlinson is a self-taught very talented mixed media artist, who as she says, "who isn't afraid to get my hands messy and let my heart be open" and the creator of the "She Art workshops." She has traveled all over the world teaching her mixed media art workshops and teaching online.

In her workshop she teaches how to create her mixed media "she art" canvas and collage faceless girls.

Here is what Christy said about why her girls are faceless, "Week 3 we will finish off by going even more in depth to creating facial details. Not just a "blank" face anymore. SO many times people ask my why I don't put faces on my girls. Is it because I don't know how to or I don't like to or what? And the answer is always the same."

"The reason I don't often times.. or MOST times put faces on my girls is because when there is no face, the observer of the art is left to determine the mood, the soul of the girl. Sometimes just by adding even shading in certain places or adding details down her neck, or in her hair..tell more about her, than a set of eyes do.. staring at you from the canvas."

"So I usually leave the girls faceless, so that whoever is enjoying her, can decide for themselves what she is trying to say.. the story she has to tell. HOWEVER.. there are times that I think there is a definite story to be told."