OT Wobbly connection

Well. I didn't know you could paint portraits. How wonderful. That's a gift I was not given; not even the smallest bit. How thrilled I would be to be able to capture a likeness but that ability eludes me. However. My mind just went on its usual zig-zag pattern and I wonder why a cloth doll using the face from a photograph transferred to one of those Printed Treasures sheets wouldn't be a neat trick? I just might give that a try for the precious little girl in our family. Polly

Hi Polly, that sounds like a good idea for any of us who are not gifted to be able to paint portraits. Goodness NightMist, you are very talented! Barbara in SC where temps have been above 100 for FAR too long

Well I am not exactly Daniel Greene, but I do OK.

Music, painting, and sewing have been my passions since forever. Before I started kindergarten I told my mom that when I grew up I was going to make the clothes for the people in the Dare cookie commercials, sing the song for them, and paint the cookie bags.

So anybody know if Dare is hiring?

NightMist was also go>Well. I didn't know you could paint portraits. How wonderful. That's a

What are you casting? I've made faces and other parts with body castings from real people. I did a whole series of hands. Depending on who or what it has different degrees of futzing. The faces I did were of 17 different people in a theater club, some just 1/2 front face some full head. I've used plaster, clay and silicone as materials.

Val

The idea is an 18 inch doll. Hence the need to sculpt the pos from clay. I have figured out that I would either need to get more expensive modeling clay (non sulfer bearing), or say to heck with silicones and switch to hot melt vinyl.

Casting girly's face would be easy, just get out the moulage and make her sit still for half an hour. In fact I offered a painted plaster head instead of the doll, but grampa is set on the doll. I know what some of the specialty dollmakers charge for such things now, so I am looking at this project a lot more seriously. I imagine what the experts charge is a big part of why gramps is talking to me. Plus he knows about my portraits, and has seen me bring boxes of rehabbed flea market dolls into the Salvation Army at Christmas.

NightMist

If you are thinking of casting silicone because it will be soft; The flesh colored silicone I used is a 3 part mix and it is soft BUT you can't color it, at least three of us never could come up with anything that we were happy with, and I'm talking about 3 artists who collectively had about every kind of paint, dye etc you could think of. There is a type of modeling clay that's easy to work with and is made just to sculpt dolls. You can find it at better craft stores and art supply. I wish I could remember what it was called now. The people at the store would know. It's the same stuff that you can use to press into head, hand, feet molds for making dolls. I've sculpted doll heads out of it....several "ethnic Santa's" and it worked very well. It comes in different tones and you can paint or use colored chalks, it takes all kinds of pigments well. I used a pink pong ball to form the head so it wouldn't be too heavy. That would be a lot easier than sculpting clay, plaster negative, positive mold of whatever product. And if this is a one time shot it's something to think about because of expense, time and materials.

If you have anymore questions you can email me at valkyriemi at yahoo yadda yadda yadda.

Val