No rest for the wicked...I'll be working hard in the studio all weekend!

Enjoy!!

 Olenka is in the shop today!

 My little group of friends is growing.

 What do you suppose they whisper about at night when the lights go down? Do you suppose they confide in eachother in the early morning, just before dawn?

 My daughter likes to come in and kiss them each on the nose when she wakes up in the morning. It's very sweet.

 I'm having more and more fun with my dioramas, and since each one is both temporary and one-of-a-kind (they take up most of one end of my small studio, so I tear down the paper scrim each time I start work on a new "set") that I will include a few frameworthy 4"x 6" prints of the dolls in my shadowplay in the package along with each doll.

Until next time...

 Though we've been a cooped-up household with a sick little girl to tend to, I have been working hard. As a result, my Little Mermaid is in the shop, and so is my January girl, Belinda!

 In her polar bear hat and snow-dotted dress, Belinda luxuriates in the season. 

 Belinda comes installed in her whiteout box adorned with white feathers and wrapped like a gift in a white satin ribbon. 

She is jointed at the shoulders and hips with elastic. She can be removed from her box, but if she is, she will have a ragdoll sort of languor to her limbs.

 Belinda is entirely hand-sculpted of natural air-dry clay and hand-painted. Her dress and hat are hand-sewn as well.

The newest addition to my family of handmade dolls is evolving.

 I kind of love her.

 She has painted stockings, and a hand-sewn dress and hat.

She is my first doll with jointed arms and legs.
She is 8.5" tall when standing, created from hand-carved natural clay, papier maché, copper wire, water-based paint, hand-dyed and hand-sewn muslin and cotton terry cloth.  She is jointed with black elastic.

ps - as per many messages I have received since posting, she is not yet in the shop. She is still waiting on the creation of her personal box and story. I will post more when she's finished and ready to make her appearance in my shop!

HOLIDAY SALES! HOLIDAY SALES!

 It's that time of year...and starting today I have three sets of prints available in the shop at holiday sale prices.

Each group of prints is chosen to compliment one another, perfect for framing or gifting.

With each set, you receive three 8/5" x 11" prints for less than the price of two, plus a card with a personalized holiday message and signature. 

Sale-priced sets available for a limited time over the holidays.

Details here. 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Third image in the shop!

These images are meticulously colored in special detail for this limited-edition run of prints.

It's that time of year again! Yes, in preparation for the holidays I will be releasing a small series of new prints into the shop, including a few select limited-edition signed prints from my upcoming book. These prints are made by me from my original India ink illustrations for the book, and each has been digitally colored especially for this limited series. Only 50 prints of each will be made and signed in my studio.

The first of the series, Icecream Day, is available in the shop as of today. A very few more will follow. Stay tuned for further announcements...

In case you were wondering...yes, between jobs I am still working on this project! I test the strength of each sketch on Q's reaction, and this drawing (still in the experimental phases with color) got a big thumbs-up. A copy of it is in fact lying on her pillow today at naptime. So I guess I'm doing OK ;)

Today's sketch.

I just did this illustration for the new line suvi ainoa. Yanyan's clothes for children and babies are simple and lovely with a pared-down, modernist twist on some classic styles. I also love her carefully-curated selection of housewares. Just lovely!

My illustrated paper dolls, ten VDJ outfits included, are now on sale in the shop at Le Vestiaire de Jeanne.
You'll have seen their clothing designs on the Q in many photos, including the banner of this blog. Take a look!


photos: le vestiaire de jeanne

NEW in the shop this week...

some of my work from overseas, plein air and sketches, Italy and Argentina.

I'll be posting some of my travel sketches and ink drawings to the shop soon, from Italy and Argentina. While going through files, I found this little study that I'm awfully fond of. I did a pencil study side by side with a watercolor study of a small corner of the gardens at the Pontignano Monastery outside of Sienna. What an amazing, meditative spot to work on plein air studies, let me tell you! There was no one else there except for a few students working on restoring the frescoes inside. I can still smell the cypress and feel the spring sun on my back...sigh.

Favorites...
I suppose we all have favorites when it comes to our work, and I have to admit this is one of mine: Magda, Queen of the Mice.

Of course I am close to The Pirate's Daughter, a customer favorite and an award-winner. She is my wild spirit, my irrepressible, willful, independent child. My wind-whipped, redheaded girl of the high seas.
But Magda is a secret favorite in my heart. She has a spirit of her own that is mysterious and maybe a little dark. With her bed-head and her off-kilter crown, her party dress and romper stomper boots, she's tough and fearless and doesn't care if she doesn't fit in with the status quo.
And I do love the mice, as well. The mice always make me smile.

It's officially spring!
And with the spring, the new collection is in the showroom at VDJ:
You may have seen Q in many a VDJ outfit on our home blog, including the dress in our home blog banner. We're big VDJ fans around here, and it's always exciting to find the new season's collection in the shop.
I love the spring/summer pieces this year, and Q is already wearing a few of them.
So it's with great excitement that I announce...
All photos above by VDJ

...that along with the spring collection, there will be a set of my illustrated paper dolls available in the VDJ shop soon!
This collection was created exclusively for Le Vestiaire de Jeanne, and will feature a doll of Jeanne, along with ten outfits from the spring/summer collection.





Hope you like! I'll be working hard over the next few days to get the sets ready for production.

ps - this set was featured today on MUMisGEEK. Yes, even before it's available in the shop...which raises my blood pressure a bit, I have to admit! Check it out!

Special announcement:
I recently created a special outfit for my paperdolls, Evelyne and Mathilde, based on the gorgeous and ethereal Brooklyn-based Loup Charmant line of organic cotton clothing. The set includes the two dolls plus two Loup Charmant outfits, and the above original illustration based on the line. Printed on 100% cotton watercolor rag, this set is exclusive to Loup Charmant and available only on their site.

It's all but too late (February has been a busy month)...
...but juuuust before March enters like a lion (if the weather site is to be believed), I have finished my February's Child in the Wild Children series. Here she is, emerging from hibernation and dreaming of spring.

(thanks, Catalina, for the inspiration!)

This was an illustration from a series I did when I was making small, stylized children's portraits for friends. I've been revisiting these and thinking on a bigger scale. As soon as I finish a few commissions, I think I'll revisit this series and expand on it a bit.