I'm the Mom of the Energizer Bunny

Just when I thought I couldn’t get any more proud of my kid, he goes and ratchets it up a notch.  As a college freshman maintaining a 4.0 GPA in a tough engineering program, he’s also managed to continue with the competitive long distance running that he started nearly 5 years ago.  With his 100 mile a week training program, he recently signed up to run his first marathon.  Right there, all more than enough to delight his dad and me; but then he has to go and win – yep that’s right, WIN – his first marathon.  There we stood at the finish line thinking how excited we would be if he finished in the top 10 (well, we did have high hopes…he’s pretty good); and suddenly they announce that an 18 year old kid is nearing the finish line first.  Probably made complete fools of ourselves with all the yelling and screaming we did.  So, his award?  A nice big medal, an even nicer hefty check, and a couple of special bottles of wine (for mom and dad, of course).   

Oh, and this is the kid that hasn’t missed a single day of running in 2 ½ years – the heck with bad weather, illness, and injuries.  He just keeps going, and going, and going.  Alex.  Our very own Energizer Bunny.

Mary Margaret Fitzgerald with her opossum Percival are off to California

Mary Margaret is the first of a series of Victorian Gothic dolls that I have in the works.  She was created as a part of a fun group that I'm in at the Jane DesRosier's Cloth & Clay .ning site and is planned for Art Doll Quarterly's shelf-sitter challenge (okay, I know she's not actually sitting in this pic...but she's jointed and can do it).   In the past, I've generally done figurative sculpture that is more anatomically proportionate -- making careful measurements to make sure that hands, feet, limbs, and torso length/width are balanced in scale.  But, as a fan of the Tim Burton movies, I've always been drawn to the big head/big eyes on a skinny little torso (think Corpse Bride - love that one!).  SO, here she is...a complete departure.

Standing just a bit over 11" tall; Mary Margaret's head, shoulders, hands, and shoes are sculpted from Premix clay over a cloth body. Arms can be posed; legs are jointed at hip. Silk velvet overcoat with vintage tatting, trims, and mink. Her untamed, messy upsweep is of hand-dyed mohair. 

Ugh...the mohair.  I've dyed mohair, wool, and silk velvet before; but I guess I've never used the really BLACK black.  I had my latex gloves on through all the messy steps, but had taken them off after the mohair was rinsing clear.  I generally then shampoo the locks of mohair in order to replace the vinegar smell with something more fragrant.  Anyway, gloves now off, I went about shampooing and rinsing each lock of wavy mohair.  You might think that I would have noticed that my hands were turning purple earlier than I did...but no.  I think it was 3-4 days before my hands returned to normal color.  First day...sort of vivid purple.  Third day, health food store cashier thought I had circulatory problems.  Live and learn!

Louisa - Miss Magnolia 1939

Sculpted from paperclay, Louisa was created for Art Doll Quarterly's Bottle Doll Challenge.  She's tucked away special memories...only to bring them out occasionally for reminiscing.  Today, Louisa is lost in thought...remembering her long-ago days as Miss Magnolia 1939.