16 February 2013 Guild Meeting

 Glad to come in from the cold (brr!), we started this month’s meeting by finalizing the year’s schedule. There are some interesting challenges coming up. At our April meeting, we will celebrate Easter and spring with a rabbit exchange. Small rabbits, please. You know how fast they can multiply! The challenge for the Indy/Cincy joint meeting in May is Alice in Wonderland—any character, but potentially more rabbits there, too. And we are gathering children’s storybook-themed dolls for our library display in June. Children’s books are just chock-full of rabbits!

Pattern Book

We reviewed our back-burnered pattern book project (passed to Holly from Cody), and noticed that many of the doll patterns that were submitted were from former club members. We’d really like to have the greater proportion of the patterns be from current members, so we’re inviting everyone to submit a small, not-too-complicated sample doll with a short pattern (1-3 pages) for consideration for the book. We’re hoping to sell copies of the book at shows and joint meetings and get wealthy.

Zentangle Workshop

Katie dazzled us all with a zentangle workshop. Hope you all got her emailed pattern. She demonstrated both direct-fabric and pre-gessoed methods. Our practice-dolls were a bit more tangled than zenned, but by the end we were beginning to get the hang of it. Katie also gave out suggestions for the best books and online tangle patterns.

Take a look at our colorful Show and Tell

In answer to our heart charm challenge, Kathy brought two bright Valentine dolls, one who was mostly heart, and one who was a fresh interpretation of a Julie McCullough pattern from Soft Dolls and Animals Magazine.

Below: Kathy also sported a new purse she had knitted.

  

Left: Liz answer to the heart charm challenge is an elegant lady with painted legs in an equally elegant chair that her husband found for her.

 

Right: Sue made a charming “un-fay” polymer clay and wrapped armature character, a-la Dawn Schiller. A great warm-up for her impending AFIC Fetch class.

Holly brought a page for Liz’s altered book project (no image available).  Her answer to the heart charm challenge was a small fairy that she made as a prototype for her library dolls—Bob Grahame’s April and Esme (the tooth fairy’s daughters). 

Katie's answer to the heart charm challenge was to add a heart to one of her cute Charlie Charm dolls. 

She also brought in a lovely quilt panel from a monthly challenge issued by CQAFA (Contemporary Quilt & Fiber Art Guild).

Below: Debbie passed around a basket of her fabulous embellished spirit dolls.

Next meeting, March 16, 2013

March 16 will be a working meeting. You can bring your pre-work for AFIC, or help Holly stuff bags for the make-and-take we’ll be pedaling in Columbus.

Reminder:  Liz is still looking for contributions for her altered book project. The page needs to be 4” wide x 6-1/2” tall.  It should be about you. Any media. So you can also work on those. Or bring your mending. But don’t miss the fun!

Happy New Year 2013

January 19, 2013 - First Meeting of the Year

Liz Marten's display at our November 2012 show.

We had a blast!  If you weren't with us this is what we did:

We were treated to a "King Cake" and a bag of Mardi Gras Goodies from Liz and Bill Marten.  Thanks to both of them for the thoughtful goodies.

And Carole Staples wowed us with a still-warm pumpkin pie.  Needless to say, all calories are welcome.  Thank you, Carole, for your hard work in the kitchen this morning!

We discussed Guild activities in 2012 and reviewed our favorites in order to incorporate more of the same this year - plus MUCH more! 

We have loved the meeting room here at the UC Blue Ash College so much that we have decided to make it our primary meeting place.  Therefore, the February through April meetings will be held in Room 119 Walters Hall.  The address is listed on the right side of this screen.

Again, we will meet with the Indy Doll Club in May - location details forthcoming.  The doll challenge is any character from Alice in Wonderland.  The August meeting will find the Guilded Lilies (Columbus group) coming to Cincinnati to meet with us.  This year we will be presenting various demonstrations on manipulating fabric. If you have a special technique, please let us know!

If you look at the Events page, you will see the beginning of our annual plan of events in more detail.  This will be updated as new details are available.

Show and Tell:

Holly Alder (left: Zombie Girl - right: holly felt ornament)



Liz Marten (Mardis Gras Doll - Happy Mardis Gras!)

Katie Storer (Christmas ornament worn as necklace!)

Robbie Porter (new wall doll in many incarnations)

Carole Staples (designs new fashion statement dolls!)

Sue Odell taught a workshop on painting fabric to immitate antique dolls.  Here is the master herself!

That is all for now - please know that all are welcome to our meetings - if you are at all curious about what we do, please come and visit!  We will see you again next month.  Katie and Holly



November 2012 Show is History!

Thanks to those of you who came out to see us at the show this weekend.  If you are reading this and wondering why you may not have received an invitation, the answer is that the flash drive with all the addresses on it went missing from my desk at work.  If you would like to get added back onto either our snail mail list, or our email list, please send me the pertinent information at:  storerkl@gmail.com.

A link to our photo album showing a pictorial view of the show is available at the following link.  I hope this works.  It is the first time I've tried to do this!

https://www.icloud.com/journal/#7;CAEQARoQDSNq0iuBow1ppdLfhwz3Ew;8BF02420-52EF-423F-AE80-5AB40D908935

We hope you enjoy this link.  Please let us know if you have questions by leaving a comment below.  I will keep checking for any requests for information...or you may send them to the email address I noted above.

15th Annual Gallery Show and Sale

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We hope that you are able to join us for our 15th Annual show next week and the Kennedy Heights Art Center.

We have much to offer at this show.  There are two figurative art challenges.  Our guests are asked to vote for their favorite piece in both challenges.  Above, you will see the winner from last year.  This cloth sculpture was made by Judy Witt.  We are proud to announce that she also won a third place ribbon for this doll at the Ohio State Fair!  You have good taste Cincinnati!

For those of you who have attended our show before, we have some new members in the group who are very talented  (and experienced) artists in their own right.  Sue O'Dell will be showing her prizing winning dolls this year.  Holly Alder will be doing double-duty as both an artist and teaching our Make-N-Take It projects.  Many of you know Holly from the Plaza Art Supply store on Montgomery Road.  What is a Make-N-Take It project?  For $5 you can make a project from start to finish and take it home with you.  These are ideal stocking stuffers if you are looking at gift-giving ideas.  Finally, brand new member, Pat "PJ" Johnson will be joining us and displaying her amazing art jewelry. 

All of us hope you will join us at the artistic and fun-filled event.  We promise you a day of exciting art, stimulating conversation all inside the beautiful gallery space of the Kennedy Heights Art Center.

Please join  us and our guests for a lovely weekend.

The RiverCity Figurative Artists' Guild
Kennedy Heights Art Center
6546 Montgomery Road
Cincinnati, OH  45213

Saturday, November 10 from 11 am to 5 pm and Sunday, November 11 from noon to 4 pm.

Nita Keeler

Today I pass along the very sad news that Nita Keeler, a beloved member of the RCFA, passed away this morning.  Details are sparse.  Her son has stated that Nita did not want a memorial service, so we have no further information to pass along to you at this time.  I'd like to leave you with some photos of the lovely and talented Nita, surrounded by some of her lovable gentlemen.  Yes...Nita loved the men!

We are lucky to have a a You Tube interview that Nita did a couple of years ago.  I'm not sure how to put a link into this blog, but if a link doesn't appear, please copy and paste the following (all on one line with no blanks).  It is a treat to watch.  Thanks to all of you. Thanks especially to Nita, who was a wonderful talent and a no nonsense woman.  We will miss her very much. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1Vx3UvdMB8&feature=fvsr

August 2012 Joint Meeting with Gilded Lilies

This amazing event is now history.  As promised, I am finally trying to get caught up on my posting to the blog.  Thanks to Cody and Sue for helping in the last few weeks.  This will be a short blog entry to try and catch you up on what we've been doing over the last few months.  Due to technical difficulties, most of the photos will be posted either later in the week or over Labor Day Weekend.  (If it helps, I have SO MANY photos to post that my 2 GB flash drive wouldn't hold them all - along with battery issues in my laptop...).


Dolls by Judy Skeel - from a class she took by Natalie Hamade.



What have we been up to?  Hmmm... let's start with the most recent things and work backwards.  Yesterday was the joint meeting between the Guilded Lilies and the RCFA.  The Lilies are wonderful, hospitable, talented and treasured friends.  We always enjoy the time we spend with them.  If you want to see a plan of the meeting, please check our Events page under the August Events.  It lays out the details of the meeting and was a truly wonderful experience.  The Lilies are planning a class by Natalie Hamade in early October.  If this is a class you might be interested in attending, please get in touch with them.  If I can get the time off work, I plan on taking the class myself!
http://www.cyndysdolls.com/Guilded_Lilies.htm

Cody Goodin talking about a special project he is making.

Cynthia discussed her wonderful painted/dyed apron.



Show and Tell was a marvelous event.  Although I took these photos with a wonderful new I-PAD 3, I'm still learning how to  use the multiple-focusing features.  I apologize for blurry parts of the images...they are human error, not equipment error, believe me!  Also, I cannot remember names, so if you do not see a photo label below, it is because I cannot remember the names of these remarkable ladies (sorry - all the art work was fabulous!) 

Cyndy Seiving showing a hand-built doll - the process is fascinating.

Kathy Garnar made a cat doll from gourds.  She hand painted the birds on the body of the cat. 



Jody Miller's class on making shoes for dolls was very well done.  Please note the standing leg in the next photo!





After lunch we had several demonstrations.  The first I attended was by Jody Miller. She showed us how she likes to make shoes using a technique developed by Ute Vasina (I hope Ute is the correct person?).  Anyway, all the workshops were well conceived and demonstrated.  I thank the Lilies for their willingness to share their knowledge with us.  I  have more images for you as soon as I master my technology.

Also, thanks to Cyndy for information about the 2012 AFIC (Artistic Figures in Cloth and Clay).  The teachers and projects are better than ever.  If you are thinking about attending, I highly encourage you to do so.  This is a marvelous educational opportunity.  If you cannot afford the classes, remember they give scholarships to folks who otherwise could not attend.  Check out this website on September 1, 2012 for all the information and amazing photos (use the link above to get to the site on the 1st).  I already know what classes I want to take.  Now, if my house and car will quit messing with my budget, I may actually be able to attend ALL the events.

In the very near future (the next seven days), I will tell you about our wonderful meeting with the Indy Dollmakers (in Batesville Indiana), as well as how our members did in the Ohio State Fair art doll competition.  Additionally, my face drawing class, the Sharonville show in June, and much more.  Thanks for stopping by.  If you want to be automatically notified when the blog is updated, please add your name to the list (part way down in the right hand column of the home page). 

Happy Labor Day everyone!

We are leaving you with a look at the charity dolls made by the Guilded Lilies.  What a loving way to help children in need.

March 2012 Meeting - Kennedy Heights Art Center

As usual, we invite you to check out our Events Page to see what we will be doing this year.  We have many exciting things planned for 2012 and hope that those of you viewing this page will click on the Events button above to see if there is anything that we are planning that looks exciting to you.  If so, please email me at katieskaracters@yahoo.com.  I check this mailbox several times a week and will respond as quickly as possible. 

Show and Tell

We start with Anne Huddleston who brought a selection of her Twirly Tails dragons.  Some of them wear eyeglasses and some can hold money in their mouths.  They are all quite adorable and have great personalities.

On the left you will see 

Robbie Porter's newest fairy. She does intensive sewing machine embellishing on the wings and skirt (leaves).

Robbie also made "Celeste", which is a free pattern you can find on Dollmaker's Journey.  Look below to the Feb 2012 blog to see another version of this interesting pattern.

Robbie made a cloth journal to hold small ATC's, art quilts and Zentangles.  The journal is filled with clear page protectors, in which she will store small, flat works-of-art.  Both Robbie and Carol Lang are members of a local contemporary quilt group, (CQAFA), in which this project was born.  Carol's version of this project can be seen in the February 2012 blog entry below.

Isn't Carole Staples new piece marvelous?  She used a polymer clay face from Cody Goodin along with scrapbook papers, an armature made from a clothes hanger, and various "steampunk" style items to accessorize this amazing piece.  For those of you who know her work, Carole is showing a great willingness to step outside her comfort zone and try new things. 

 Again, Carole has used polymer clay faces, and made cloth bodies which she covered in paper clay.  After painting the body, it reminds me of leather.  She uses her signature style to dress these little ladies!

Make It/Take It Challenge Winners

We thank Liz Marten for thinking of us as she works to recover from a back injury to design one of two Make It/Take It projects for 2012.  Using covered buttons we have left over from previous projects, she made a darling little flower person who can serve as a pin doll, or be sewn onto a cloth headband.  This is a very timely (and fashionable) item for 2012. 

We also thank Holly Alder for her entry - a cloth doll that can be made into a necklace or pin.  This original piece was inspired by Sherrill Kahn's painted projects. We felt it would be advisable to have a second MI/TI project for the September Sharonville show since many of the same guests visit both shows.  This will give them an opportunity to walk away with a seond art project created at our table.  Thanks to both ladies for these wonderful ideas.

ATC/ACEO Challenge

Kathy Garnar made three wonderful cloth ATC's for this challenge.  Here we have a cloth face ATC which has been embellished with various fabrics.  The red ATC has a 3-D body with a button head (which looks like a Greek coin). 

Below, Kathy made the black and white ATC with feathers and beads...simple yet elegant.  Well done Kathy!

Carole Staples also found a pattern on line for ATC envelopes that will allow a 3-D ATC to be slipped inside.  I'm sorry that I cannot remember the website from which she found this piece.  I suggest trying to search on ATC envelope patterns to see what you can find. 

On the right, Carole made 3D ATC's consisting of handdrawn faces on top of cards covered by very interesting fabrics.  I hope you can tell that the faces are raised up off of the card, allowing for interesting shadows. 

 
 On the left you see one of Carole's completed ATC envelopes and her third and final ATC.  Aren't they wonderful?

Even though the challenge is over, we would be happy to have latecomers make ATC's at future meetings.

 Katie Storer made several ATC's - using black cardstock painted with metallic watercolor paints.  On the left, you see the back of the card, which has been bordered with a Zentangle pattern.  Katie will fill in her personal information as a "signature" for her piece.  Please note, many artists adhere their business cards instead of designing both sides of their cards.  Either is quite acceptable.

 
This frame shows two watercolor ATC's painted with techniques learned from Dion Dior in a Derwent Inktense watercolor pencil class that is currently being taught on-line through Joggles.com.  Katie finds watercolor pencils a natural companion to Zentangling and is having a great time with this class.  To see the backs of these ATC's, please check out her blog on Saturday, March 24th.  She will have more work from this class posted by that date.  The link is:  katieskaracters.blogspot.com

Guild members, if you did not get your February meeting notes via email, please let Katie know so that she can send them to you.  Thanks and we hope to see all of you, and any interested guests at our April meeting.