The Gallery

How it all began...

My work began at a crafting class which taught Santa making using store bought, porcelain Santa head and hand sets. Never one to do the "traditional thing" my first Santa doll (shown left) was a Polar and Crystal inspired Santa.

The construction beneath Santa's gown and cloak was a simple dowel on a wood base with wire arms. The outfit was made using rectangles of fabric, a running stitch, and a glue gun. Despite the ease of the patterns, the overall illusion creates a wonderful, elegant, and fun Santa project.

After having a wonderful time creating this guy, ideas for more came to me rapidly and I quickly created about 15 more as gifts for friends and family.

When the ready made porcelain sets could no longer give me as much expression and detail I wanted, I began searching the web for new ideas and stumbled across the art dolls world~~ I had no idea!! I saw wonderful examples of sculpted Santa and other dolls and was in love with the whole idea.

My web searching brought me to the on-line Santa making class by artist and friend Audrey Swarz. Through her class I learned to begin creating my own sculpted Santa faces and hands. "Mo" (shown right) was my first sculpted piece.

I created his body and costume using the same method I had utilized for the porcelain Santa dolls but on a larger scale.

Here are the pieces that followed Mo. Each taught me something new about sculpting and the characters began to show more and more detail. I still had little control over their expression and end look, but they were improving enough to encourage me along!

The story scenes were starting to develop and I began sculpting hands for the guys as well

Click any photo for a closer view of the early pieces.

Advances and style changes...

This piece marked a big change in the direction of my work. Jonah had legs!! With legs came the need to sew pants and with that came the desire to begin sewing all costumes. He was a leap forward in detail and control as well as a jump into pieces with additional sculpted elements (feet, belly, and forearms.) His construction was still wood dowels with wire for movement.

I pushed myself on this one and was very happy with the outcome. There was no going back from Jonah. I have changed to a soft body over wire armature to increase the ability to pose the pieces and give more lifelike form.

I love the process of creating, changing, and learning that is a part of each new piece. I am so excited to see what changes are still yet to come and hope you will be part of the journey!

The pieces shown in this section have all been sold and are now in private collections. Custom pieces in similar styles and themes are available.

Click on any photo for more information on the individual piece or series.

2002 Collection