appalachian artist

Jolly, A Christmas Bunny in Shades of Red

November 20, 2009 By Rebecca Leave a Comment

Meet Jolly. Jolly is 17″ tall from the tip of her hat to her toes. She’s been made of muslin & is stuffed with fiberfill. This sweet Christmas bunny has been hand-painted & sanded a couple of times, giving her a lovely, aged patina. She’s been sealed so that she may be lightly dusted after display. Jolly has an embroidery thread loop attached making her suitable for hanging. She may sit with assistance & her knees are sewn through.

Jolly’s face has been painted with a variety of media. Her nose has been needle-sculpted. Those sweet lop ears are attached separately. Jolly has needle-sculpted hands as well. She sports painted brown boots with detailed laces & painted, eyelet lace socks!

Jolly’s blouse is sewn from taupe osnaburg & features hand-stitching at the neckline, sleeves & back. Her hat is constructed from polka dot 100% cotton fabric & features a warm & natural batting edge. It is attached with straight pins. Jolly’s skirt is made of Moda fabric in a pretty red print & features hand-stitching along the hem.

Jolly is now available on Ebay. Click here to view or bid.

Filed Under: Christmas, Dolls Tagged With: appalachian artist, Christmas bunny, Christmas Rabbit, folk art doll, hand-painted doll, handmade doll, kentucky folk art, primitive doll

Francine, a Peculiar Sort with Rowdy Friends

June 9, 2008 By Rebecca 3 Comments

This little girlie is Francine. Francine is 27″ tall. She has been made of muslin & stuffed with fiberfill. Her lower torso has been rag-stuffed & bean filled, weighting her little bottom, so that she sits nicely. Francine has been hand-painted & sanded, top to bottom many, many times & has a rich, deeply-aged patina. Francine’s arms are lightly wired allowing her to be slightly posed.

Her face has been needle-sculpted by hand and hand-painted. Her bottom lip ‘pouts’ while her top lip is simply painted. She has been painted with various mediums & has been sealed top to bottom with a combination of glossy & matte acrylic sealer so that she may be lightly dusted after display & kept a lifetime.

Francine’s fingers have been needle-sculpted by hand. She sports tan painted gloves. She also sports painted brown boots with robin’s subtle robin’s egg blue socks. Her high boots are highly detailed right down to the buttons!

Francine’s apron dress is made from two super cute 100% cotton prints. Her underskirt is a cream stripe while her over skirt is a completely sweet floral fabric with peachy/pink branches on an olive/golden background. Francine’s blouse is made of white muslin & features hand-gathered sleeves. Her collar is finished with a taupe pearl bead. Both the dress & blouse feature tons of hand-stitching! All visible hems have been hand-stitched (dress, sleeves, collar), as well as the back of the blouse. All clothing has been dyed in a coffee/lavender bud bath for a slightly aged appearance. It was then hand-washed & pressed with linen water.

Francine carries with her two little friends. Both crows are my original designs & are made from 4 separate pieces. They’ve been made from muslin, hand-painted & sanded, hand-painted & sanded again, and finally sealed with a matte sealer. The wings & tail have been hand-quilted & attached with buttons. The ‘flying’ crow’s wings have been stitched by hand. The standing crow’s feet have been fashioned from wire & tape & are sewn securely to the crow’s body. This crow cannot stand on it’s own. Both crows are approx. 11″ from head to tail. The standing crow’s wings can be posed.

Francine’s hair is red 100% mohair. It is not quite as stark as shown in these photographs. I have slightly glued, then carefully needle-felted it to Francine’s head. It is parted & styled in a low side pony. Her hair is fastened with a chocolate ribbon.

Francine’s flying crow is attached to her hand with rusty wire. It can be posed in many positions.

Little Francie will be available Sunday evening June 8th at 9:15 PM EST – June 15th, 9PM EST. Click her to view or bid on this little girl.

Filed Under: Dolls Tagged With: appalachia, appalachian artist, folk art doll, hand-painted doll, handmade doll, kentucky artist, muslin doll, primitive crow, primitive doll, redhead

"To Become"

June 2, 2008 By Rebecca 4 Comments

I’m so happy to be able to offer TWO items this week! Prim & Whimsy Girls, an ebay art group I so proudly belong to, came up with an art challenge to welcome June & all sorts of blossoming somethings. Our theme is ‘Art in Bloom’ & we’ll be offering our items on eBay June 1st-7th.

This painting, titled ‘To Become’ is my second piece of art for the challenge. (View Caroline in the post below.) This is an original acrylic painting on 16″ x 20″ canvas. She was based loosely upon the idea of the ‘Green Man’.

This is the Wikipedia article about Green Man:

A Green Man is a sculpture, drawing, or other representation of a face surrounded by or made from leaves. Branches or vines may sprout from the nose, mouth, nostrils or other parts of the face and these shoots may bear flowers or fruit. Commonly used as a decorative architectural ornament, Green Men are frequently found on carvings in churches and other buildings (both secular and ecclesiastical).

The Green Man motif has many variations. Found in many cultures around the world, the Green Man is often related to natural vegetative deities springing up in different cultures throughout the ages. Primarily it is interpreted as a symbol of rebirth, or “renaissance,” representing the cycle of growth each spring. Some speculate that the mythology of the Green Man developed independently in the traditions of separate ancient cultures and evolved into the wide variety of examples found throughout history.

Details of the painting:

I am so absolutely pleased with how she turned out! She is sealed in varnish, has painted sides & is signed on the side. She also comes with a certificate of authenticity.

“To Become” will be available on eBay June 1st at 9:15 PM EST. She will end June 8th at 9:15 PM EST. Click here to view or bid on this lovely painting!