Doll prototype

I can't help thinking that most of you have already forgot about me.grin. I know , I know , I am moving so slow, but I promise you that when I do have my dolls ready it will worth the wait!

It took me so long to create my first dolls and when I finally did and had then in my hands I started to wonder how they would be if I changed here and there.....sigh.... and as hard it was for me to come to the decision that I did of completely restart again, I can not tell you how glad I am that I did that.

My mind was going back and forth in how could I improve the dolls I already had. in which by the way ,I love it very much and nothing was *wrong with it* but I want PD to look like real human and for that I needed to go back to want I have been doing for the past few years - sculpting.

From the beginning I wanted Isabella to have a smaller body equal a young girl. I also want a older girl body equal a 18 years old.

I am done with the first body prototype and you can have a peek below, and the older one is coming along but I will start molds tomorrow.

I was sick for while and was unable to handle some of the materials that I use on my shop. That it self put me behind a lot too but I am glad in way because I really feel refreshed and very much inspired.

These new bodies have so much details that only the porcelain will show you. The back bone is probably my favorite... you can see the ribs and the back bones like a real young girl has.

The doll's head you see below is my new doll . I am excite about her too, but I may have to wait until the second body is ready because she is older and her bust and hips will be more curved.

Anyways, I am here still working hard and Lord willing I should be able to have one or 2 dolls ready for sale before the holidays.

Yes, I will be taking orders after that but I also will have the first dolls ready for immediately buy.
* Excuse my pictures .... I use my work camera for it and the quality is not that great.

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Clothing and Shoes!

Hi , it has been more than a week since I posted here. I have been sick and so some of my children. I am unable to work with my dolls right now until I am completely cured from this sinus infection. This is the second time in less than 3 months that I had this type of infections .I feel terrible because I am so close to finish my molding and yet so far away.....sigh!

Well, meanwhile I have done few little things. I am learning to make shoes! Yes, learning is the real word here. These are such a tiny feet!
I love the look of silk as well as leather, so I have been experimenting with both of them.

First thing I had to do was to create a copy of the dolls feet in wood. The wood one that you see on picture above is the same size of the doll's feet and the white one has a point to it because I want to make some rider's boots and court shoes.

Forgive me my pictures and back grounds.... but here you can see my princess dress... I really love how it turned out and below is my first pair of silk shoes! I will show you close ups later on..... It fits her perfectly.*grin*

This dress is an Jane Austin type of a dress.. I love that era very much and I thing the dress turned up really pretty.

If I have a chance I will add more pictures of some other dresses that I have ready , but perhaps I should wait until they can be worn by the girl?

Patitadolls in DollReader Magazine

Today I received a copy for the DollReader Magazine , October issue and what so honored to see that Isabella was published there. It is very exciting and I am very happy for it!

In a footnote, my new dolls are VERY different than the Isabella and Alexa that you already know. It has been taking so long because it does require time and effort to create these dolls specially new ones but also because I have re-done my prototype several times to perfect the new bodies. Soon, I will be showing you Isabella and Alexa with new bodies, face paintings and a new doll. Sophia is on my list too. I never finished her mold because I was unhappy with one of her ears and I got started on the new bodies before I had the chance to re-sculpt the ear and make her mold but I am hoping to have her ready before the holidays orders. Okay- back to work!

Patitadolls is Officially in Print!

I am so excited to announce that Patitadolls has been published in the November issue of Dolls Magazine. I feel truly honored for having such an article done over me and my "girls"!
The digital edition of the magazine is available online at http://www.dollsmagazine.com/ .
This past July, while at the Atlanta Doll Show, I had the opportunity and pleasure of meeting Carie Ferg ,editor-in-chief of Doll Magazine. She surprised me with the request of having a video interview! This video can also be viewed along with the digital magazine.
I was unable to download the pdf. file, so I printed and scanned the article and added it below. It's in an enlarged format, so hopefully it will be easy to read:) Otherwise, I will try to figure out another way to show you the article, and it will be under the "reviews" page of my website: http://www.patitadolls.com/ .

My very first dolls as a child were paper dolls. When Carie asked me if Diana E. Vining (a renowned paper doll artist) cloud design "Isabella" as a paper doll, I was thrilled:) If you are not a subscriber of this magazine, and you are truly into dolls, I would highly recommend subscribing. This magazine is wonderful!

p.s. The pictures below are the three used in the article. The baby face is the cover page.

Let me introduce you to Big Joe!

For while now, I have talked about a horse that I was working on for my Patitadolls . This horse was a real challenge for me. Firstly for the size . He stands a little over 13" tall .
I had to use mixed medias to sculpt him and give him just enough weight. Not too heavy and not too light.

My first coat ( flockling) on him turned up terrible. I had to set him aside for 2 weeks because I was frustrated when I removed all I had done but it was then that I had an idea and it worked wonderfully. The coat was created over 6 layers over a medium of my choice.

I named him Big Joe, after a horse from a friend of mine that lives in Homestead , Florida. I used the *real* Big Joe 's picture as reference and you can see here how similar they look.

Big Joe won many trophies in Hialeah completions.

His eyelashes are so cool... again, I was adventures and used a completely new medium instead of lambs wool or real human eyelashes and do you know something? You won't believe how soft this eyelashes are.His eyes were also handmade by me.

Because this horse was handmade and it's size, I wouldn't be able to find a ready made shoes for him.... I honestly didn't even try it because I had the idea of steel in my mind.

Here you can see how lovely the steel worked making it look very close to the real thing.

Big Joe was a tremendous work but a wonderful challenge. I learned much about horses and other things too. I want to make a second one and I probably will but not for while. I still have to make the saddle , stirrups and the final accessories but for now, he will be next to me at my painting desk so when I work on my girls I can think how they going to look like when they are ready to ride on him.....You will see Big Joe again.....soon!*grin*

Isabella and I

For while now I have been wanted to take pictures with my dolls but I was always leaving it for later ;However I want you to see the size comparison . I am here with Isabella. My dolls are quite petite but not too small to make sewing difficult for them.*grin*
When I made Isabella I wanted her to look young and innocent . She is just like that. I am now working on 2 new set of bodies. One is a younger girl and the other is a more fuller ( Brazilian woman is on my mind, grin) body. I have double jointed for them too. I can't wait to have it ready.
It took me some time to develop all the parts to where I felt happy . I don't think I will ever settle to one thing only , because it is not in my nature, I get bored easily and I love a challenge, plus as an artist my work is never done. I love improvements and they don't necessarily means better but ... different.
It will take me some time to show you my new dolls and all the new parts , but I will get there.
I have study the possibility to reduce the dolls to a 10" size but because my steel articulation is so precise with such perfect tension, I am not sure if I can reduce it all , perhaps I can but I have many other ideas before I get to that.
I will leave you with my very natural pictures taken by my daughter -Kate.*smiles*

Horses for Patitadolls

I love to sculpt animals almost as much as I love to sculpt dolls. I have made several dollhouse animals in the past and now I am making in a much larger scale ( close to 1/6) to fit my dolls. I am working on two new dolls and their accessories. It will take some time for me to have them ready and available to order because the entire plaster mold process takes a long time , but I will get there.*grin*
Meanwhile, I have been working with the horses. I plan to make 3 in which one will be : Appaloosa ,Friesian and Arabian Horses.

They are quite large and a challenge due to their sizes. I had to make them from mixed mediums . I have finished my first one ( Appaloosa ) and I am now doing the furring . This is a lot of fun specially because I did a deep research over model horses and what I found out was that most artists uses only airbrushes paints without any flockling. Well, I wanted to try with flockling because I think I can make the horses more realistic looking but, I must to say that the painted ones are pretty incredible too.

The WIP head you see has two layers and still needs a lot work but I like it so far....

For the equestrian-themed dolls I will have one dressed in 1800s attire, and the other with modern riding clothing. The third one... for the Arabian Horse will be a princess.... I am not sure yet but probably from the Middle East.