New Painting

Starting a new doll

Good evening! I havn´t been around much lately, because I´m not doing much work in the workshop in my basement ;-) I´m studying norse mythology these days ;-). My great interest in shamanism and druism has got a new perspective, and I feel great satisfaction in finding similarities and commmnn grounds. You see, I never really got any good at being a new-age-native-american-wanna-be ;-) But still I am drawn to the earth based pagan belief systems like shamanism. I recently found a lot of information about the ancient nordic shamanic practices like seidr, and this is very interesting for me, because it is much more in my own spiritual dna, so to say.
Here is a link to an article about the subject.

Very well, I wanted to tell you about my new doll. I am sculpting a earth goddess doll. I have been working on the body proportions and her armature, and as always, I am split between making her anatomical correct, or just making the doll using eyesight and intuition.

I started with some drawings, and allready I had problems deciding. I started with the body proportions as used by Andrew Loomis, but she wasn´t right... She was to skinny, to masculine and not very earth goddess like at all.

 I made my own drawing, following the "rules" of body proportions, but she still didn´t look right. I then decided to change her: larger breasts (she is an fertility goddess afterall!!), longer neck, bigger head, hands and feet, and a bit longer torso. I remembered that, I liked my dolls looking like dolls, and not to realistic hahahahah. I seam to get caught up with my desire to create something very correct, but it isn´t really me! It is just my ego wanting to make art that looks like it is made by an grown up, and not a 40 year old childlike soul ;-) One shouldn´t fight ones own style, right?

Here is what I came up with:

My cat Julie is allways following me in the workshop ;-) Isn´t she beautiful?

 Here is my armature finished. It isn´t very complicated, it is just the way Wendy Froud makes it on her tutorial. I never made the armature this way before, so I am excited to learn if it is functional and sturdy. It is made by strong steel wire, covered in masking tape, with tinfoil in the head and torso. She will be covered and sculpted with polymer clay.

This is what I have for tonight. I will be working more with this doll in the days to come, so stay tuned. Remember to get the feeds on your reader!

Finished painting Reach Out

Merry Christmas out there! I am spending my holidays in the studio, sewing, painting and planning new projects. I managed to finish this painting last night: Reach Out. I talked about my quest on my 40. birtday in a prewious post, where I was inspired to paint 3 paintings. This was number 2, and is my vision of the great lake in Rold Skov, called Store Økssø. It has to do with maturnety, the gidt of motherhood, bringing light to death, blueberries, pinetrees, circles and fish (was not included in the painting).  I am quite pleased with my painting, but there is allways something to be annoyed about, right? Room for improvements! I want to have a more "mystical" style. More abstract and airy, but no matter how I try, I end up in this cartoonish style of painting. Perhaps it's just how it is? Can we fight our own style, and paint like we admire in others, or should we just accept our own? I dont have the answer to that. I just try to accept the expression that is truely mine. 

So, what do you think?