Well, it didn't take me long to fall off the post-every-three-days wagon...I guess I forgot the rigours of academic courses. I love the class I'm taking (American Gothic) but it does entail about about 100 pages of reading a day, and I'm a slow reader, so that translates into several hours of reading per day. But it's fascinating stuff; we just finished Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables, about the legacy of a puritan who accuses a man of witchcraft in order to wrest his property from him. It teeters on absurdity at points, but is a great read nevertheless, if you like incredibly verbose, extravagant 19th-century prose, which I do. The real House is in Salem, Hawthorne's birthplace, but is not nearly as interesting-looking as one would imagine it after reading the book; the book cover is much more evocative.
I already have some pictures of doll versions of Hepzibah and Alice Pyncheon forming in my mind....
Some weeks ago I was contacted by the lovely Diana who asked me to make a custom portrait doll of herself. You will see from these pictures of her why I would be happy to say yes:
She has stunning eyes and a sweet but somewhat mysterious smile, so while I'm incapable of making smiling dolls, I tried to capture some of that mystery in her doll.
I still need to give her a richer skin tone, and get the darker make-up around the eyes, as well as finish an adorable little outfit that Diana designed herself. I'll post some final pictures when she's all dressed, properly wigged and has her face on!