More and more of dimension - Altered Doll

Hello, Friends...

First of all, let me tell you how excited I am seeing this huge wave of Design Team applications flooding us from all over the world!!! :)

We are honestly impressed - seeing old friends and meeting many new artists, reading your personal stories and - my, oh my... - experiencing your enthusiasm and absorbing A LOT of fantastic mixed media art!
As you probably imagine, it's quite a whirlwind and it will take us a while to go through all the entries... Please, be patient... We pay attention to every single e-mail we receive and we're spending some amazing time on your blogs and all of your virtual galleries.

And I know everyone says it but now I realized how true it is - we already know it will be super tough to narrow the numbers down.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your amazing kind words and sending an extra wave to all my students! :)

And while we keep reading and admiring and racking our brains about the future Finn Team, I'd like to show you a very special project of mine...

I just LOVE challenges: no matter if they come from the outside world, or I when do something to challenge myself - they always push me to create better, faster and more. They open new doors, windows and gates and let my ideas run free. But is it possible to challenge myself to do even more dimension in my mixed-media projects? Some may say it is not going to be easy... but how about creating a 3D version of one of my collage characters?

Fun? Inspiring? Oh, yes!

Here is the whole story:

I was lucky to find a suitable base for my project is a sale department of a popular Irish DIY shop. I have to admit - this figurine was ugly. Faceless, colored in browns and deep reds it was a modern version of home decorator's nightmare... but it had promising shapes and size! Lack of face was a bit creepy though - luckily I had in my stash something matching perfectly this project: a white resin mask from Shabby Chic Treasures by Ingvild Bolme (Prima). It was a perfect moment to try some fabric hardener (I used Powertex) and a combination of gesso, Silks and more traditional acrylic paints.

First - the outfit: I used pieces of fabric, paper flowers, gauze and Powertex to create a multi-layered, dimensional dress and hair decoration. It took a while to dry, but when it was finally hard enough to proceed with embellishing, I used thick glossy gel to add the elements I wanted: metal embellishments (Prima Mechanicals and some findings), polymer flowers, gems, lace and more.

Again - the project needed a break for drying before I could cover it all with gesso, acrylic paints and Silks.

I have to admit - the colors were chosen by my husband - and I love the final effect we got with this combination!

Here are some Instagram "in progress" photos I found:

In general, it took me about 2 days to finish this girl, including fabric wrapping, drying, painting 2 or 3 times and drying again... but you know what? She was worth of every minute. I had the best possible time playing with all the layers, colors and grungy stuff. And I'm really pleased with the final result!

I'm hunting for more figurines and Powertex now - ideas are waiting in a row, I just need a bit more time, right? ;)

Here are some of the supplies I used and I must say that they became my go to products no matter what kind of project I'm currently working on. This must be love... ;)


Happy creating, everyone!