"Things I've Learned"

About making OOAK Dolls

 

After the Doll is Cured!

 

After baking your polymer doll , then what? When I first started sculpting in polymer clay, I thought that after curing the doll , or doll parts in the oven that the work was over. Boy, was I mistaken! Sometimes the work is just beginning. Sure, occasionally when we take a polymer clay doll out of the oven it is a pretty good finished product. All smooth and beautifully formed. But , much of the time, before our doll is ready for the market place it needs some cleaning up. When I first noticed this about some of the dolls that I sculpted, I was disappointed. I thought that a good artist always had a perfect piece coming straight from the oven. Then, when I started reading more about doll making, I found that some of the well know artist clean up the doll or doll parts after curing. This was a surprise to me , but, a relief. I thought if I was better at sculpting , I wouldn't need to carve, sand ,and clean. Ok, so, in case you are sitting out there wondering what it is that I do after my doll is baked , here are the steps to "cleaning up" that I use if needed.

1. After the doll is cooled( preferbly in the oven), if you have some rough spots, or something that doesn' t look right about your doll(for instance, one arm is thicker than the other one, or maybe is bows outward where it should be straighter) take, a rounded hobby knife blade and scrape it until it is smooth or until it is straighter.

2. When you have the area that you want to make smoother or strighter , or whatever you want to do to it with the hobby knife, sand the area or the entire doll , head , or limb with a medium sanding pad or sanding sponge. Next , use a fine sanding pad. You should wear a mask , or sand under water when doing this step.

3. After sanding , you can use laquer thinner or nail polish remover with acetone to rub the piece. The laquer thinner is toxic, so use it in a well ventilated area. I read once where using the acetone was like sanding, and I didn't understand that until I actually did it myself. As you rub the piece you will see what I am talking about. The sanding will turn the piece a white color, but this step of rubbing with the thinner or acetone will help to restore the original color to your polymer clay piece. Also after you use the thinner, you can rub the piece with baby oil and wipe it dry. This also gives it a nice color and a baby fresh smell. Don't use the baby oil on the clay when is is not cured if the oil contains lanolin. So, that is what I do to clean up.

And I guess it is pretty much the same with most polymer clay artist. If you think about about it, it is really not so unusual to clean up the clay doll after it is cured. After all, porcelain dolls are cleaned before they are fired. Seams have to be removed and sanded and wiped cleaned. I found that it frees an artist greatly to have permission to cut, scrape, sand and work on a cured doll. It opens up a whole new world in which to experiment in polymer clay doll making.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I Make Dolls!

Biography

 

I live in small rural community in Arkansas with my husband, of 37 years, and ,son, Bryan. We raise a few cows, have three spoiled rotten cats , and a very loyal dog, Joe. My life is pretty much ordinary, except for the fact that I make dolls! To me , that is magical. "I make dolls!"

When I was a little girl, I would never in my wildest dreams have believed that I would be able to create such a wonderful thing as a doll. Growing up in a family of five children , there wasn't a lot of money to be spend for toys. Oh, every Christmas, my little sister , Cathy , and I would get some sort of a doll. And , we made doll clothes, and played house with our dolls. And when we were lucky, we got to go to Ben Franklin Store and buy paper dolls. I remember having a whole dollar one Saturday and being able to buy a box which contained bride paper dolls

Chris and Cathy with walking dolls!

. Funny how some things stick in your mind. But , you know, for years, the part of me that loved dolls was dormant. I think dolls always fascinated me, but , I never collected dolls. I just loved to look at them if I were to see them in stores or books.

One day, just a few years ago, I bought a book about the history of doll making. For some reason, this book caught my eye. I suspect it was because it was marked down , and it had photos of dolls on the cover. That night when I was reading the book, I told my husband, "you know, I think I can make dolls."

I could sew; I had been sewing since I was a little girl making Barbie clothes. And I had made my share of cloth dolls, and rabbits , and that sort of thing. So, as I looked at this book, I thought, if I could find a medium that I could make heads, and limbs from, then I could make real dolls!

At that time , I didn know polymer clay could be used to make dolls. But, since, Walmart , was the only place I knew to look, I went there and found Super Sculpey clay. And I just started making lopsided heads and clumbsy looking hands and feet out of that. Evenutually, I found, a few books which gave me a little bit better idea about sculpting. And one day, I discovered some listings on ebay called "ooak babies", and when I looked at those babies, I knew that I wanted to make them.

The ideas for my babies and toddlers come from everywhere. I can see a child in a store or a baby in a magazine ,and that can influence my next sculpt. My dolls are small, they range in size from 2.5 inches to 10 inches. I use quality products when making my dolls. The clay that I like best is ProSculpt clay. It has just the right consistancy for sculpting the tiny details. Usually, my dolls have glass eyes , or painted eyes. I like to use mohair for their hair, which I glue in small sections all over the head. This process alone is very time consuming. I also design and sew most of the clothes my dolls wear.

 

. I began working with the clay in 2002. Now, I have made well over 500 dolls and sold them, mostly on Ebay and my website, www.chrisjonesoriginaldolls.com .

A couple of years ago, Diane Drake, who owns a doll shop in Greenwich , Ct. saw my dolls on a web site. She wrote to me and ask if she could buy some of my dolls and sell them in her store. I was thrilled! Diane has been a great encouragement to me and still sells some of my one of kind dolls in her store. Her web site is www.dianesdollshoppe.com

. I took my first sculpting class just this past year from world class artist, Jack Johnston. The most important things I have learned about sculpting is that it takes practice, practice, practice, and that there is always something new to learn. I am a proud member of the Professional Doll Makers' Art Guild and the Ooak Guild.

 

 

 

 

 

Fabric Glue is Best!

 

The very best glue for applying hair to your polymer clay doll is fabric glue. A couple of years ago, I sold a doll with her hair glued with tacky glue. At that time , I always used tacky glue. Well, when the customer received the doll, she wet the doll's hair to rearrange it and the pony tail came off. I didnt know what other type of glue to use, so after that, I aways included a note with my auctions about not wetting the doll's hair.

One day, awhile later, I was reading a article written by Jack Johnston, the master doll sculptor, and he said to use fabric glue to attach your doll's hair. I tried it and I am hooked! I purchase the glue I use in the fabric department at my local Wal-mart. It is called, Liquid Stitch, and cost only about $2.86. I think that any fabric glue will work, as long as it is washable.(11-11-07, update, a better fabric glue at Wal-mart, Beacon Adhesives, Fabri-Tac. I got it in the floral department and it is clear and grabs and drys faster. Cost $4.96.) The wonderful thing about using the fabric glue is that you can style the doll's hair with your own hair products after it is dryed for about 24 hours. I have used water, hair spray, and hair gel on my doll's hair after apply it to the head and the hair remains glued

. If you haven't tried fabric glue for applying hair, give it a try; I think you will be pleased with the results!