My Very First Primitive Folk Art Doll

Here is my new little handmade Primitive art doll. I had so much fun creating today! It all started late last night just after my little ones went off to bed. I have been wanting to try to make an art doll out of clay for a long time. When I was away recently I picked up a fabulous magazine called "prims" Art Inspired by a Bygone Era published through Stampington & Company which is the the same company that publishes my most fav magazine ever "Somerset Studios".

I was thrilled to find this Premier issue and couldn't wait until I could find the time to give it a try!
...As I was saying I started around 9:00 last night and forced myself to go to bed around 2:00 knowing that my little ones were going to be awake at their regular "early" hours. I was having so much fun that I had considered pulling an all nighter- but thought better of it.

I woke up early because I was so excited to get back to creating my little doll. It was the first day in a very long time that I spent creating with no regard of time. My girls would come in and out and spend time with me, creating their own work and chatting while my little doll was taking shape. They helped me to pick out her wings and her dress, the beautiful rhinestone vintage pin she should wear and the colour of her hair. We could see her coming to life and were excited to see her complete.

Many hours later...around 4:00 this afternoon I finally completed my little Prim doll. I think that she is adorable and I had so much fun that I can't wait to make another very soon! You can see more pictures of her in my Etsy shop http://www.thereddoor.etsy.com/.

Crow Haven Farm

Check out Michelle's whimsical creations. Each one seems to have a unique personality with a fantastical story to tell.

CrowHavenFarm
Hello, my name is Michelle and I live in a very magical place in Pennsylvania. My studio is located in our 1800’s stone farm house which is surrounded by fields of wheat, corn and soy. It is a wonderful place to live and be creative. However, I do cry every morning when I have to leave my safe haven and go to my day gig in the city, but when the clock strikes 5:00 p.m., my legs are already running to my jeep to get me back home and into my studio.
My husband and I have converted a room on our second floor into my studio. Our Summer Kitchen that is attached to our house has been transformed into his studio (he is a drummer). As you can see by the pictures, I have to be very organized in order to keep things from finding their way into the hallway! I love clear tub containers. I try to get these when they go on sale or I ask friends and family members to donate their old ones to me because I can always use a clear container for found objects from my hunts at the garage sales, thrift markets and the DOLLAR STORE! Love the dollar store. If you are an artist, you will love the dollar store!
My medium that I am currently working on is polymer clay, otherwise known as Super Sculpey. I have tried numerous brands of doll making clay and have found that this works best for me. I also love Creative Paper Clay and Papier Mache. I am currently working on a line that I have entitled Ebs, meaning “Eclectic Beings.” I took a class with Wendy and Toby Froud back in May of 2008 in New York City and I learned a bunch of new techniques and how to use certain tools. This course was a wonderful start to my development of sculpting art dolls. However, my art dolls have taken on such a whimsical feel that sometimes it’s extremely hard to part with them!
My studio is set up so that I can easily get to everything. In one corner I have a table that I use as my painting station. I also adopted a an 8x8 table from Staples that is used as my main table. As you can see the table is being occupied by stackables all the way across it! All of my containers have been marked with what is exactly in them. I have an attic up on the 3rd floor which is being totally refurbished and designed for extra storage. This will help in getting some of my containers out of the studio to give me more space and be able to spread my materials out, instead of using the mat floor! LOL. I do like the feel of closeness. I need to have all of my little bits and bobs around me. I use a lot of mason jars because when you are in a groove you want to be able to see your bits and bobs instead of spending hours on end searching for the exact piece you need.

I love working in mixed-media. I can incorporate everything I love doing, such as, sewing, painting, assemblage, sculpting and needle felting into all of my art dolls. I have recently been playing with canvas boards and cigar boxes using bees wax and oil pastels. I love Bees Wax!
I will be opening a new shop at Etsy in early November. My new shop name is ShodeeHonee.

In the meantime, look me up at http://www.crowhavenfarm.etsy.com/.

I have not added new items lately, but hopefully CrowHavenFarm will be updated with more primitive treasures and ShodeeHonee will be up and running with my new whimsical line of original painting, original drawings and of course my Eclectic Beings, Ebs in November of 2008. Just in time for the Holidays!
Cheers!