Doll Class in Corvallis, OR

I met Lee and Sabrina in their home in Corvallis, OR, last Friday...although Lee and I may have met previously at a craft workshop with Tracy Stilwell in Brookfield, CT.

Lucky me, the Hood Canal Bridge closed for construction at midnight the night before I left, scenic Route 101 along the west side of the Hood Canal was the most direct way to get to Oregon, and not as jammed with traffic as I'd feared.

Gradually the pointy snow-topped peaks, softened into blue hills in the distance with the land flattening into emerald green fields and my first real heat since last July in Northern Vermont!

Back to normal Northwest weather the next day, with sun/rain, and lots of flowering everything. Good weather for indoor creativity.


Lee shared some of her wonderful Transformative dolls with me,
including this one, made in great frustration with the Medicare
"doughnut hole."
For those of you lucky enough not to know, the drug benefit pays for
a while, then stops, "the doughnut hole" then starts again. For
people with life-threatening medical conditions, the hole often
means they have to choose between paying and risking serious
illness. In these tight economic times, the paying of several
thousand dollars hurts.

She has a hole in her purple plush body, with money pouring out.
The bodice is covered with pills...and this is NOT a happy citizen!


Nancy and her husband
not only loaned us her
house and studio for the
two days, but they also knocked out a wall, to create a huge room, restaurant tables
for fourteen down the center...AND if anyone needed ANYTHING, Nancy had it and was quick to share!



Reel Dolls--what a Super Group of women and so generous and welcoming to the extra people added to their crew.


Each woman brought a life time of skills to the projects, compassion for any personal woes, and was happy to share with the others.


The class was officially Three-Dimensional Doll Design, but here's Terri, working on her wrapped armature, with Victoria in the distance making a piece to celebrate the kids she teaches.











Leetra's hands, using Apoxie Sculpt to attach casters to a tin box. She is another teacher, who makes dolls from drawings by the children she teaches. She made her first adult doll in class.



Terry, with a couple of her Plushies for Peace. I was able to bring the red one home with me.



















Here I am with Kay (thanks Patti for sharing the picture), Nancy seen in the distance through her new archway. I was on my toes every second, trying to keep feeding these ladies ALL I Know about Doll Making, Life, and Everything in the World. There were moments of concentrated quiet and moments of deep revelation and sharing. Sitting together and sewing seems to bring women closer.

I wonder if men have the skills we do to form extended families on the spot?

You can see more pictures of the event on Patti's picture trail:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pattikate

Check out her blog, too. I hope to post pictures of some of the finished pieces. We painted on cloth, used found objects, did photo transfers, discussed anatomy, wrapped armature wire, and made lots of gussets, tucks, and tiny heads for practice.








The Instructive Images are from the new edition of my DESIGNING THE DOLL AND MAKING FACES INSPIRATION BOOK, available at http://www.pamelahastings.com in the Gallery Section.