Well I am Officially 'Floored'

And Speechless...other than..."Oh My Gosh"..."Golly Gee Wiz"..."Ah Shucks" "Your Kidding...right"??... My sweet, Dear and long time friend MARIE SEGAL OF 'ART FROM MY HEART" actually created an Award for Richard and Myself.... an Award that pays a beautiful tribute to our years of Doll Making ...as I said, Speechless!!... which any of you who read my blog on a regular basis know that for me to be 'Speechless' is right up there with Earth's Strangest Anomalies! I was in no way expecting this kind and caring tribute...and then to receive from a woman who I so highly respect and treasure in friendship...well, that is the delicious Icing on this Gifted Cake of an Award.

Richard and I have been making dolls for a very long time...full time, each day...everyday. Do we grow tired of our chosen profession ...only our bodies, after all these years of stooping, bending, lifting, twisting,torquing... only in our minds...that are a bit more forgetful, take a tad longer to figure out something or forget where we put the scissors or sand block...but our hearts are still young and Madly in love with each and every doll we create...each seeming as new and exciting as our first. Thank you dear Marie for this honor... and Yes, as per your request I will go in search of Bloggers whose Sculpting hearts are filled with love and skill.

You also asked 4 questions with this Award... so here goes....

1. What is the theme you choose to work with most and why?

Well both Richard and I enjoy Ethnic, Native American,African,Asian etc... as it allows us lots of research time which we adore ...but of course I love Halloween too, sadly I never seem to find more time to work on Halloween like I would like to.

2. Who most influenced your sculpting path?

So many... hard to pin point just one... I would have to say that Bob McKinley was the one artist that kept us on the path with inspiration, focus, dedication, desire and heart...to witness how Bob felt about Art/Dolls was to 'Know' that you made the right choice....

3. If you could have all the money in world, would you still do this?

Yes.... but differently.... no rules, we would only create what our desires dictated to us...and have a MUCH BIGGER Studio...lol

4. How does your blogging world help you and others?

Gosh, not sure how or if my blogging helps others ...but I do know and feel that Blogging to me is a Door Opener... You never know who is on the other side when the doorbell rings... you open, you meet and you invite in...and soon these New Friends become caring, understanding amazing good 'I feel like I have known you forever' friends.... The community of Bloglandia is safe and comfortable and we all seem to be there for one another...I like that!

BIG BIG BIG HUGS,

Marie

Little Miss Lotta Goodies...the Giving Gracious Girl.

Howdy Doo.... As you might have read in my last Blog Post...'Lots' going on around the Creager Home front lately... and one of the 'lots' is this little doll we have been working on ...'Little Miss Lotta Goodies' ... she has a kinda neat little story that I am working on at the moment ...and we have a few more little things to finish up ...for hopefully an EBAY listing this week....

Little Lotta is another of Dahlia Darkling's 'Imaginary Friends' ...I love her little high top tennis shoes....

OK...just thought I would pop in to say Howdy and let you know what we are working on with this little visual tease...

Have a Wickedly Wonderful Wednesday

Jodi

Commission

Happy Tuesday All...

This is a commission for a miniature Doll that we had. Chinese Empress...1:12th scale .... Hand Sculpted in Polymer Clay over complete armature. Hand painted and printed clothing. Fan hand made from shaved thin wood. All furniture hand made from wood...you can't see in picture but she also has bound feet. Her hair is a combination of hand worked Art Papers and shaped and stiffened mohair. Love these speciality commissions...makes us really do our homework...

Thanks for taking a peek...

Jodi

True Life Adventure ...is calling!!!

Happy Sunday Morning...ahhhh it is truly a lovely day in the desert....birdies singing, sun shining, coffee perking (boy did that ever date me) ....and the smell of orange and lemon blossoms filling the air...tis the season for our citrus.

But this post is not about what a lovely Sunday morning it is...it is about a little thing I like to Call 'True Life Adventure'...and I am going on one tomorrow Morning. Basically it is just a little trip over to California to visit good friends that we have not seen in a very long time... but to me...it is a dramatic 'True Life Adventure' .

You see, every trip we take... Richard and I like to think of it as a great adventure...seeing new things, traveling a new route, eating at new little out of the way places, experience different weather...and oOoOh the things we see. It can be the most simple of trips...but I can promise it will turn into something fun and adventurous. I do love to travel...it is in my blood since childhood ...with all those road trips taken with the band my father was in...(I still have fond memories of my sister and I CRAMMED into the back seat of a ford whispering under our breaths..."are we there yet")... it is something that never goes away....and I just happened to marry a man who traveled a lot as a child as well....a Travel Log made in heaven!!!

Tomorrow we head towards So. Calif...a beautiful area on the way to San Diego but up in the foothills...called Valley Center. Our Dear Friends of many years live in a beautiful home there...and it has been waaaay too long since we last saw them..no excuse really why we have not... other than work for us keeps getting in the way. Well I say Poppycock ...time to hit the road for a New Adventure...no time like the here and now to do it!!

We rented a very nice big mini van as we are taking my Mom and our Miss Tess LaRue .... my Mom loves to travel as well...she is looking forward to those Fruit and nut stands along the back highways....

Richard loves to 'zone' when he travels...just basically think of nothing but driving...it is his relaxation ...his mental 'vacation' ... he has earned this one. I on the other hand use travel time as...'Time away from the actual studio'...yet my mind goes a thousand miles a minute designing things...(Traveling and the Shower are the best places I come up with ideas..LOADS of them...now if I could figure out a way to Shower and travel at the same time...I would have enough ideas for the next 10 years...hmmmm!!) I bring my sketch book...and jot things down non stop...names, characters, short stories, poems etc... it's like the landscape that passes by the car becomes a blank canvas with designs popping up every few miles...pretty cool actually. I could never 'store' what I see in my head until returning home...first off these days I have the mental storage capability of a gnat... and I could never organize thoughts well enough to make sense of things ... so out comes the sketch book and several sharp pencils. Sometimes upon retuning home the ideas and words that I have jotted down while traveling resemble the scribblings of people in one of those hypnotic trances ....and when even I have to turn the book upside down and sideways to try and better understand my meanings...well, lets just say those are those weird moments in print! But 95% of the time...things are jotted well enough to decipher.

So I let my 'Traveling True Life Adventures' take my mind where it wants to send it.... and along the way I gather tid bits of interest. .. That is a very nice vacation time to me.

So we head em up and move em out first thing Monday Morning....so I won't be posting anything until my return later in the week...sniff sniff....I will miss you all...

Hopefully will have glorious tales to tell...

Have a Great Week All....

Jodi

A Documentary Doll DVD....

Richard and I are thrilled to announce the Release of a New Doll Documentary ...that we had the great fortune to be a part of. We were contacted prior to last summers 2008 NIADA Doll Conference in Las Vegas to be a part of this exciting project... so while at the conference they interviewed us along with 5 other NIADA Members...Gail Lackey, Nancy Wiley, Olga Roehl, Shelly Thorton and Reina Mia Brill.
They asked questions such as what inspires us, how we got started, techniques, our feelings about Doll Art in general. These interviews show in depth answers by each artist along with their work. Plus there is a slide show showing Art Dolls from each of us.
We were really honored to be a part of this project ... But as with anything where you see 'yourself' on a big screen... your first thought is ."WHO the hell is that...she sounds like me...but she does not look like me"...GULP!! Reality Bites as times... or at the very least 'nibbles' on you until it hurts!! Richard of course looks MARVELOUS!!!

So anyone who might be interested... it is now available on AMAZON . And I actually found it on YOUTUBE yesterday ...just 'small snippits' ...kinda cool. Let's see if I can get it loaded up here... OOPS...looks like I can't figure ot a way to get it on here from YOUTUBE (HELP...anyone?)... in the mean time here is the link to it..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elvJVIWiRsI&feature=channel

Just had to share...kind of exciting to share this with other artists I admire so much.

Later,
Jodi

Sunday lost...Monday Gained! Dolls and Miniatures to Blame!

GOOD GOLLY MISS MOLLY...I lost a day!!! I will never understand how that happens... I mean, I didn't fall off the face of the earth, and there were no Alien Abductions involved..... I just got up...and got into work and doing stuff and first thing I know...the day is gone.. the sun is down, I am still in my sweats, my hair looks like a family of unruly rats have moved in and I am speaking in unintelligible grunts.
This is what happens when I get focused on work...all else stops...or rather all else speeds by and I remain in a fixed position at my table...I can tell when I have been there too long these days... when I do get up to move to another part of the house... I resemble a big soft & twisted pretzel (only without the mustard...oh wait, there is a bit on my top...never mind!!)... We didn't even do our walk yesterday...of which now my dog is not speaking to me.... The weather was gloomy here in Havasu (I HATE that) ...really chilly for this time of the year (we should be in the low 80's...ahhhhh)
but it was in the high 60's ...now that may sound warm to some suffering the winter chill in your neck of the woods...but to us desert rats, that is down right frosty!
Anyway...it seemed the perfect day to get lost in work... and lost I was...down the Rabbit Hole of creating...
We are working on a few things for EBAY right now...Miniature accessories and a new Doll that I had an idea for... and we are both really enjoying ourselves. I hope to post a couple of pics in the next day or so...

Well the day has started off cloudy...but I do see a patch of Blue to the North, so there is hope! My baby Tess will get her walk today...and we might even get in a bike ride later today...
My Coffee Cup says it all... "Go to the place that has no time....Time becomes meaningless in the Face of Creativity" by Fred Babb 1992...one of my FAVORITE Artist!

Have a Great Creative Day All... but try to stay clear of the Rabbit Hole!

Later,

Jodi

To Sketch or Not to Sketch...or to SHOW, that is the Scary Question!

OK ... this is really the most nervous I have been since blogging.... actually showing a really bad side of me...one that I seldom if ever share... my 'Doodle Sketches' ..of which I have a million of these suckers laying all over the place. But in a friends blog this morning (Thanks Chris) he had posted some of his lovely sketches of ideas for his artwork (still tinged with a Muguet like green Chris) ...and I thought WOW...this is something that really interests me and would be fun to see others doodle sketches...

SooOOoOOoo I said to myself "Self...get off your back side and pop and post a few shots of YOUR silly little sketches ...of which I so lovely referred to on Chris's site as "

looking like a 'Mad Hen' had her way with a scrape of paper I had laying around..."

So with all the spilled coffee stains, misspelled words, nonsensical lines to no where...I introduce to you a small glimpse into my world of 'sketchy ideas' GULP!!!

Later,

Jodi

Another Harry Potter Commission...Hagrid!

Greetings on this fine Thursday Morn... the Sun is shining, the birds are singing I have an extra skip in my step... all appears to be right with the world... but then, I am my Mothers child...keeping a sharp ear open for that 'other' shoe to drop....until then...I will tra la la through the day.

I am sure you don't want to hear me ramble on and on about the day...so for lack of anything better to jot here today...I thought I would post a few pictures of a recent commission we had. Some may have already seen this piece, but many have not so here he is...Rubeus Hagrid...Grounds and Game Keeper for Hogwarts. He is in 1:12th scale..but since he is a 'giant' after all...I had to make him a tad bigger than the classic 1 inch to 1 foot size...I think he figured out to be around 7 inches tall. Polymer clay of course, leather boots, hand dyed jacket, leather belt and carrying bag (with a real carved bone button), a small dagger in a leather sheath...plus a brass Pink umbrella (that really works) and is Hagrid's trademark magical item...
He was a blast to create...oh I do love creating these minis so.



Well that's about it...I think it might be time for me to create a few more Mandrakes and other H.P. items...

Have a great day all....

Later,

Jodi

We tried something NEW on our Web Site GULP!!!

Hello Thursday Readers (or any other day you might read this post)... Well I did it ... I finally posted 'items' for sale on our web site http://www.creagers.com/ ... other than our DVD's this is the very first time in lo these many years of having a web site that I have dared to offer 'things' for actual sale...Gulp!! We are starting small with pins and such.... and working up to Shadow Box Art and Dolls...also Richard will be making 'miniature' accessories and offering those. I think from time to time I will also offer little hand made books with pictures of dolls and poems / stories that I so dearly love to write.... I have been considering for some time doing a Halloween Book... not sure where that will go but I did write a couple of cool stories a few years back that I have never done anything with... we shall see... Anyway, back to the 'web thing' ...I picked out some of my favorite pins to start with...things we at one time offered on EBAY.... but I am seriousily trying to wean myself from that...several have said ETSY is the way to go... hmmmm... will have to give that some thought as well... always pros and cons to everything in life... I think for now I will stick with our own site... it will be like Christmas...always a surprise waiting, and you never know what will pop up for sale... after all, I am a fly by the seat of my pants kinda gal...

OK...I am off and running (not literally...oh god no...to cold and I need more coffee) I will 'walk' later today....

Later,

Jodi

Professor Severus Snape

Well this is our latest commission to be finished... Prof. Severus Snape from the Harry Potter Series. This is in 1:12th Miniature Scale... he stands just at 6 inches tall.



As many of you know Richard and I adore doing miniatures from the Harry Potter Series... we have tons of great plans for this year...including lots of accessories...hopefully to post on our Web site for sale instead of listing on EBAY...trying to wean myself from EBAY....been a lot of years of selling there and we are very happy and delighted with the collectors we have met while on EBAY...we hope now they will come over to our web site to see what we will be offering there... lots of goodies I can assure you.

Anyway... Snape is going to a very good collector today ... so I just wanted to share him... I always like to try and make the characters look like the movie actors that portray them...hopefully this looks a bit like Alan Rickman.



So today we are working on yet another miniature.... stressful on the eyes but we do love it so....



Have a Great Monday Everyone... might post more later today after work is done...



Later,



Jodi

Old Time Pooh!

Was playing around in my photo programs and decided to make Pooh look like he was from an old time book...wrote a little poem for him too....

Later,

Jodi

Studio

OK OK…I know…I have Not kept up with my Blog like I should … BAD JODI …BAD, No Biscuit!! Not really sure why other than things keep getting in the way … you would think that I would sit down and write more as I DO LIKE TO WRITE and talking is like a second language to me… but alas, I hide from this like I hide from so many other things…. Need to knock that shit out and get with the inner active program called life… ARTIST…what are ya gonna do!!!… we just hide so damn well , so well in fact we get lost from ourselves… and forget who we are at times…that is why I have started to wear a name tag… just saves me so much hassle from asking around.

So much is going on art wise at the moment… but I won’t spill it all in one shot…dribs and drabs I always say…dribs and drabs….

But a Good friend on another wonderful blog…has shamed me into posting again (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE….(I CAN SEE YOUR NAME TAG FROM WAY OVER HERE)….. so I am taking a page as it were from her blogette and just posting pics from my studio… (I know I know I am being really C.S. about it… using pics instead of words… but hell…I personally LOVE seeing where other artists work and are imprisoned 22 hours a day…. I find it fascinating and almost intoxicating… OK…I will tell you that I DID clean just a bit before posting these pics…. If I did not ...believe me when I say you surly would have worried that the Mother of all fault lines was positioned directly under my studio … shameful and freaky scary it was… I am a recovering slob “HI… my name is Jodi”….etc etc etc…
My better half is a confirmed ‘Neatnik’ he use to be a Beatnik….Oooo Plop pa dow Daddy O!! Sorry …I digress….

So Here are some shots of a little place I like to call Hell…….. Oops…I mean, Home!! My studio like my work is in a constant state of Flux…
Let me know what you think… thumbs up?…or Throw Tomatoes , MY GOD have you seen the price of Tomatoes …throw em…I could use em.

Later….Jodi

Our Newest on EBAY

Stella and Ella Hit YOUTUBE

I have decided to take the act of 'Stella and Ella...the Daredevil Baby Twins' on the road with YOUTUBE...

Thanks for taking a Peek at this dynamic duo...

Our Recent Commission

We at last finished 2 of the 4 piece commission that we have... at the half way mark you might say. We have absolutely loved working on this piece...when completed it will represent a family of Nez Perce Indians from Idaho during the mid 1850's ...there are still two children to be finished. They will stand on a natural earth display base with a few more accessories.
They are hand sculpted from Polymer Clay, hand tinted leather clothing, hand beading. Rifle is hand made from Metal and wood. Feathers hand painted. Hand made basket. The dolls stand approx. 15 inches tall.