ARIEL GODDESS SCULPTURE

“ARIEL”

"Ariel"

Yet another sculpture to match my B-dazle car! I can’t help it. I love that beaded look. Below are her specifics.

Back Side of Ariel

Ariel is a completely original sculpture that I have just finished created this morning. I used stoneware clay for her body and fired her in a kiln to a high temperature for durability. I added seed beads to her surface for a glitz factor. She is 11"deep x 12"H x12"wide. She will be at home in a contemporary or eclectic surrounding.

Close-up

Close-up of Beadwork

She's comfortable on my Fantasy Art Chair

Here is the story I have written for her:

“ARIEL”

Ribbons of light were drifting on the
wings of the wind
Cosmic rhythms beating unmercifully, began
to reveal to her the secrets of
her heart.
She began to feel infinite love, wisdom and
energy in the universe. She had finally connected
with her higher self and she knew she
was a radiant being, filled with light
And love

~Cheryl Dolby~

Ariel is for sale I listed her on e-bay and is also on my Etsy shop. You can also e-mail me directly for more details.

Thanks so much!

Santos Caged Doll

SANTOS CAGED DOLL

Benedetta, Santos Caged Doll

I CREATED A SAINT! It’s true. Benedetta, is the first in my Santos series. I thought this name to be appropriate since it means, blessed in Italian. It wasn’t very long ago that I first heard about Santos dolls and since then I notice they seem to be appearing everywhere. After completing a full fledged study about them, I was hooked.

Close-up

Santos, in Spanish, means saint. They represent a Spanish Colonial and European style and originated as copies of 17th century carvings created by priests. They were created as altars for villagers who were not able to travel a long distance to attend a church. They are a bit like Creche figures, which were created by the Italians.

The dolls were brought to Latin America and America during the Colonial age and used to help convert the Native Americans to Catholicism. The people who create the Santos dolls are called Santeros or Saint Maker. Not a bad occupation I’d say. Who wouldn’t want to be a maker of saints?

Wooden base-skirt with beads

Santos dolls usually held flowers, bibles, jewelry or bird nests in their bases and dangling from the neck and arms. Sometimes they are left unadorned, allowing for a statement to be made.

Full length shot

I hand sculpted my original santos in stoneware clay, including arms, torso and head. I added the sparkle of faceted beads and texture to her torso. Beaded hinges hold her arms in place. She is 24” tall and is priced at $245. Benedetta can be seen at my shop. You can also e-mail me to make arrangement to purchase. I take all major credit cards and Paypal. Shipping prices will vary with location but I can ship anywhere in the world.

I’m really happy with the way she turned out. She is the first in my Santos series. Even though she is not an original created by the Santeros of old, she is a new original, not a reproduction.

THOSE WERE THE DAYS

THOSE WERE THE DAYS

Number 1 brochure

Those of us who grew up in the 50’s remember a special time of freedom. There are many nostalgic e-mails going around about how we, as children of the 50’s had an ideal kind of life back then. We would leave the house in the morning with our parents calling out to us,“be home before dark.” This was entirely true. Not only did we leave for the day but our parents couldn’t even reach us. Phones were attached to walls in those days. We were free! Often they’d ask us to lock the doors when we came in at night. Our door was a screen with a little hook latch.

Number 2 brochure

We bought ice cream drumsticks at our local Italian market, Joe’s, for .04 cents and rummaged through the basically unwrapped nut topped ice cream cone, peeking inside the thin, open paper and sometimes even feeling inside, to find the largest one. We would then hand Joe 2 glass ‘pop’ bottles for our refund totaling 04. cents.

There were no TV’s because, because even though they were just invented, most families could not afford to own one. We opted for the radio with programs like, The Green Hornet and Sky King or even, if we dared, The Shadow.

Number 3 brochure

The decades flew past and before we knew it, we landed in the year 2012. That’s a long stretch from graduation in 1962!

The reason for all this lamenting over the past is because our class of 1962 is about to have our 50th reunion in August of 2012. I must tell you, this is not just any class but a very special one, held together by a very special woman, Virginia Nagy Hall. She created a class newsletter which is comical as well as informative. In the newsletter, which she sends out once a month, she lists class members who are having special health problems and gives encouragement all the while filling us in on current events of classmates. She even started a facebook page for all of us to follow one another. She holds a ‘girl’s’ annual Christmas party and through her encouragement the ‘fellows’ have followed suit. We are all so thankful for Virginia.

Virginia Nagy Hall. Doesn't she look fiesty in her 50's garb?

With the upcoming reunion, there are many things that must be done. Securing facilities for our almost 500 class members and guests is no small chore. There are monies to sort through and a variety of other jobs. Among them, the task of creating a brochure listing all of the class members, including children, grandchildren, hobbies, world travels etc. Jennifer Anderson McGarry was gracious in volunteering for the job. This is a tedious undertaking which involves compiling a lot of facts. Now, finally, the purpose for this posting. Jennifer has asked me if I could come up with a cover for the brochure. My immediate response was a “Yes.” Of course, I am honored to help out with this. But now I’d like to ask a favor of my dear blog buddies and followers. I’ve come up with 3 samples so far for covers which I feel are descent but I’d like your opinion as to which one would be best suited. (Our school colors are red, white and black) I was thinking it might be a good idea to create one with a layered digital effect. By this I mean the misty, surreal look that digital artists achieve. Quite frankly, I don’t know how to do this! The effect might look good on the one with the female in the middle. She is supposed to be looking like she is remembering our time back in the 50’s. Then again, maybe I should have a male in that picture too? I’m wondering if I can give them a ‘ghostlike’ effect, sort of like they are going back to their past.

I look forward to your much needed and appreciated thoughts and advice on this subject. Thanks so much!

NEFERTITI EGYPTIAN GODDESS PLANTER

NEFERTITI EGYPTIAN

GODDESS PLANTER

Nefertiti Egyptian Planter

I’ve been sculpting away every day trying to get ready for next spring’s Goddess planter presentation. Last year, as I noted in a previous posting, I sold out of the planters after a few showings and wished I had started a few months earlier. I usually start in January.

Close-up

THE GOLDEN SILENCE

THE GOLDEN SILENCE

Close-up of collage/painting "The Golden Silence"

It never ceases to amaze me what can be accomplished in life if we learn to follow our intuition and just go with it. What follows is a true story. Where it leads is a good question but so far it has been an amazing and magical journey.

It started with my sculpture school last summer. The 4 students came from all walks of life and areas of the country. We were in tune from the moment we all met. By that I mean we all seemed to be in sync with what we wanted to accomplish as far as the sculpture goes, but there was something else almost indefinable that happened during the week. We all started to feel a strong bond to one another that lasted far beyond the week long class. It was not a happy gathering when we had to say our good-byes.

"The Golden Silence"

When everyone got home. We felt like something was missing in our lives. All seemed anxious to continue the class next summer but there was something else we felt we needed to do. Finally, after many group e-mails, we knew what it was. We decided to write a book together.

At first I thought it may not turn out to be much, just a bunch of women talking about their week in the class. I kept asking everyone what in the world could anyone possibly want to read that happened during that simple week. But then, all of our intuitions kicked in. The creative force and our special bonding had us writing away. Our new book is all we have been able to think about for months now.

Symbolism hidden in painting

The Golden Silence collage I have just finished is my interpretation of something that happens in the book. I can’t tell you any more about it until we finish but I have my hopes up for a book/movie to materialize sometime next year. (I’m an optimist) There is symbolism all throughout the painting.

Another hidden image

This is the story I have given the "Golden Silence" and an excerpt from the book, which we haven’t named yet.

The Golden Silence

She was inhaling pure energy through the Golden Light, which was part of the Golden Silence. It was as though her mind was being downloaded, as a computer program might be, from one folder to another. All of her memories were being pulled by some unknown power and the destination was to another realm in time. This download, of which could be called her soul, seemed to be accelerating at tremendous speed through what could only be described as a portal from one place to another.

~Cheryl Dolby~

Below is the method I used to create this piece. She is for sale and priced at $400. Natually, I will take plenty of pictures of her so that I can use in my quilting, journals and other artwork. Please email me if you are interested in her and we can go from there. Dimensions are: 22w x 28h x 1 1/2" deep. I take all credit cards, checks and Paypal.

Cutting aluminum foil for orbs seen throughout painting, rough in of face

Attached laces and other textured fabric and paper for background

I used oils for face and background paints are acrylic

MORNING SONG GODDESS SCULPTURE

MORNING SONG
GODDESS SCULPTURE

Morning Song Sculpture

Any time I finish a sculpture that has a rich, ancient and ethnic feel to it, I seem to name it Morning Song, which is one of the stories in my She Who Whispers book. I used an old rug from my stash of fabrics. The rug that I used as her cloak, looks rather tribal and it may be a Turkish Kilim. I googled it but couldn’t find the source. If anyone knows the origin of this rug, I'd really appreciate it if you would let me know.

Close-up

I used to feel guilty about cutting up something so ancient but now I just tell myself that it is being repurposed to create one of my Goddess sculptures that will bring just as much pleasure to the owner as it sits on the sculpture stand as it would have as the rug on the floor.

I used a variety of beads and other fabric and an old vessel, which I am almost sure came from India.

Side view

During my sculpture class next summer, we will be creating a similar Goddess. You can find all the details for the class on the top right hand side of my blog. I have one space left in the Figure class and three spaces left in the Faces class. Hope you will join us here at Woodloft for a memorable week.

Another side view

Here is the Morning Song story.

“ Morning Song”

She woke up this morning feeling different.
She heard the sounds of this morning and
yet the sounds of many other lifetime mornings
were returning. She heard the infinite sound
of distant runic bells, a call to alms, merchants
voices echoing over the river Nile, sheep
bleating on a pastoral hillside, roosters, guns,
flutes, chimes, laughter, weeping..for she had
heard all these mornings and she had heard
all these sounds before. It was as if they were
all becoming one great sound...one great
morning..this morning....and she knew that all
the returns of mornings purpose was to teach
her the uniqueness and significance of this
morning...of now.

~Cheryl Dolby~

SWITCH PLATE COVERS

SWITCH PLATE COVER

"Giver of Light" Switch plate cover

I’ve been on a monochrome and black and white kick lately. Also, a lot of the Givers of Light (switch plate covers) have been of a contemporary nature and suited for men as well as women. Who wouldn't want to be greeted by this rustic face when they turn on their light?

Here is the latest one.

Full shot of Giver of Light

Another close-up

Just $55. plus shipping. Please e-mail me if you’d like to purchase. I take checks, all major credit cards or Paypal.

Thanks so much.

OIL MOSAIC COLLAGE

OIL MOSAIC COLLAGE

Oil mosaic collage

I realize that the title could make you think there should be a comma in-between each medium listed in my title of this post but it really is a description of a new method I have invented.

Close-up of face

Method:
I painted a face onto a wooden board I happened to have in my studio. I used the Renaissance oil method. Next, I collaged mosaic tiles onto the surface, giving the piece a rustic, yet rich look.

Close-up of tiles added

I just love the way she looks as part of this chair

She is not for sale at this time but I’m working on one I call “The Crone” that I will be posting soon.

The Crone

BOOKS, BOOKS AND MORE BOOKS

BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS

Woman Within the Web Layers Grandmother Tree
She Who Whispers

Grandmother Tree Sculpture

I love to read. Until just recently, I, like so many others, preferred to read real paper books. I wanted books that were tangible. I wanted books in which I could indulge in wonderful tactile pages. I was very leary when my children bought me an electronic book for my birthday last January. It was foreign to me-all rigid and lifeless. I tried to be appreciative and ordered a book to be downloaded to my lime colored Kindle from Amazon e-books

While reading it one day, my daughter, Kirsten, looked over at it and exclaimed, “Mom, why are you reading it in such a small font? Can you see that!” She showed me her Kindle and I was shocked to see huge font-the kind you can see from over an arm’s length away! I said, “You mean you can enlarge the font?” She laughed. Ever since that day, I was a believer. I have now ordered literally dozens of books from Amazon in every genre except cookbooks and art books. How I love this new and wonderful technology! I will always cherish my home library and still do buy regular bound books but I now prefer to read from my Kindle.

My Lime Kindle

This post is all about books so I thought maybe some of you, who read my posts on a regular basis, have wondered where the stories that I attach to my work originated. Here is a summary of each book.

SHE WHO WHISPERS

In a distant place and another time, life was okay. Then, tragedy hit and I knew the meaning of deep sorrow. I started sculpting faces. The sculpting kept me from being overwhelmed by despair as I focused, instead, on creation. As my first sculpture emerged from the clay, so did its tale – the story of the "Timekeeper." As my second sculpture emerged, so, too did its story; and "Soaring Spirit" was born. It seemed that the sculptures told me their names and their stories as they emerged from the clay. And I knew them well, because in reality, the lives of these women were mine. All of these women are me in various times and seasons of my tenure on this earth.

Soaring Spirit

A voice sounded..at first it seemed to be a
Murmur. Quietly it expressed the thought..
"Take your power now."
As the days passed, it became increasingly
Louder until it became as a roar, vibrating her
Entire being.. "Take your power now.!" She
Began to reexamine her life. So much time
Had passed, and in all that time she had
Remained spiritually deaf and blind. She had
Not heard..She had not seen...and the voice
Continued speaking to her..resonating
Throughout every cell in her body..electrifying
To the inner core of her soul until she had no
choice but to listen.."Take your power now."
It continued. "For you have given your life
To others and in that giving, you have emptied
Yourself. It is only when you are empty that you
Can truly be full and free to live".....

~Cheryl Dolby~

“TIMEKEEPER”

There were three doors opening in her
life, the doors of yesterday, today
and tomorrow. Yesterday appeared
to be only an illusion, tomorrow a vision.
both were vague and nebulas. Today was a
place she could not bear to be. The choice
was at hand. The voice of intuition
began to speak to her and somehow,
she knew in her heart that all time
Is simultaneous…the first
cry also being the last..for there
Is only now. By dealing with life
in the present, she could begin to remove
some of the scars of the past
and thus change her future. With a
renewed sense of the importance of now..
and a recharged inner essence..she entered
the door of today, where a new world
awaited her.

~Cheryl Dolby~

When I traveled on the art show circuit, many of my customers would stand for long periods of time reading the stories I had attached to each sculpture. Some of the stories brought tears to their eyes; others, smiles of knowing to their faces. At the prompting of those customers – "We can't afford to buy all your sculpture to get the stories" – I decided to self-publish She Who Whispers. But I needed the expertise to pull it all together. A book called "How to Publish Your Own Book," by Dan Poyntner, showed me the way. I highly recommend it. This book removed any reservations I had about self-publishing: I was so excited. That was in 1990 and She Who Whispers is still selling extremely well.

GRANDMOTHER TREE

Yet another sculpture inspired me to write Grandmother Tree. She haunted me for a long time before she came to life. Finally she emerged from the clay much like her predecessors. But this time, roots began to twist themselves around her base and in and around her hair. She begged for moss and tree lichen, for walnut halves, for raindrops. Her story came to me piece by piece as each bit of nature was added to her.

“Grandmother Tree”

The trees are alive! She wandered
into the garden early one morning
and she heard them speak to one another..
It was a language spoken on another
frequency..in another vibrational time
frame. They spoke of healing with power
and energy and of the relationship between
energy and matter.

She was drawn to an ancient Chinese
Elm and as she leaned her body next to the
base, somehow she felt immersed
in the tree and felt herself slip into the
tree..was one with the
tree and knew that she was the tree.....

~Cheryl Dolby~

The story of my first grandmother tree is the story of each and every one of my grandmother trees. But they all seem to want to be different sizes. The first one was a tall standing figure. Next came the ones who wanted to cling to the walls, making the area around them come alive with nature. I sell a lot of the smaller ones now. It could be the economy, but I think it is more the fact that they are adaptable to smaller spaces.

Grandmother Tree Sculpture

I have discontinued this book because it is outdated. By that I mean, I had references throughout the book of several artists friends who are no longer producing the products I recommended, or they are simply out of the art business.

Another Grandmother Tree Sculpture

WOMAN WITHIN THE WEB

A trip to Europe set the stage for this story. After separating from my husband of many years, I had traveled to the picturesque Loire Valley of France. The nominal reason for my journey was to take a month-long class in anatomical sculpture presented by a master of the art. But, after the breakdown of my marriage, I was also ready for romance. What woman doesn't dream of meeting her prince charming in a romantic setting like that of rural France? I had a premonition that I would meet someone, and I did. He was a sculptor, not from France, but from California. We hit it off and spent 30 days immersed in sculpture, restaurants, wine cellars, medieval castles, and each other. But even as I drank in the wonders of France, I was driven by a second and darker motivation – my son’s mental illness. He had developed paranoid schizophrenia, and I had heard that there was a French clinic that offered a cure for the fractured personalities of this illness. The claims proved to be untrue. But I stumbled across a shaman in the area who was renowned for making his patients whole. And therein the story begins. My search for shamanic healing led me into a surreal world of haunted castles and a village laboring under a curse placed on it by the Mergovinian dynasty. My customers have told me that Woman Within the Web is a must read for all those who are at a crossroads in their lives.

My work on this book reminded once again of an amazing phenomenon I have often experienced when writing. As my writing gains momentum, it as if the book is writing itself! In Woman, the characters took on lives of their own. Sometimes I was excited to just sit at my keyboard and find out what was going to happen. Even though the story was coming to life through my very own fingers, I couldn’t be sure what my characters were going to do until they did it! And I couldn’t anticipate where the day’s writing was going to end up until the end of the session. And when I finally saw that my characters had done all they were going to do for the day – well, then, I sighed.

Picture of castle featured in book

LAYERS

This is my second-favorite book by any author. Interesting that it happens to be written by me! My favorite is Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. In June of 1953 he wrote of “medicines of another time, the balm of sun and idle afternoons, the faintly heard sounds of ice wagons passing on brick avenues, the rush of silver skyrockets, all these in a glass.” I can't say enough about Ray Bradbury. Not too many people realize that his earlier works included over 500 publications on topics ranging from life in middle America to life on other planets and in formats ranging from plays to poems to novels. He was a master of science fiction. Among my favorite works of his from this genre are The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man and Fahrenheit 451, which deals with a society who denies it’s citizens books. I hope that it never comes to fruition.

In Layers, I have written a story that starts out slowly. It is about a girl around 12 years of age. She and her friend find a mysterious book. It is a book that changes both of their lives forever. The story at first makes you think it is about each girl becoming a woman. Later you find that what is happening is not what you thought. This book is a celebration of women. I will probably never be able to achieve in another book what I have in Layers. It comes from my heart and aims to reach the hearts of women in all walks of life. If I could choose only one book to have while stranded on a desert island – other than Dandelion Wine – I'd choose Layers.

I used Mexican bark paper for the covers, one of my unique clay faces for the front, an ancient grapevine branch for the spine and an old key for the bookmark.

Now, last but not least, I must tell you of some real excitement that is brewing. Four of my friends, some are bloggers, are collaborating on a new book. It may be one of the most exciting things I’ve ever done. The story is intense and humorous at the same time. I will keep you abreast of our book as we make progress.

In the meantime, If you are interested in purchasing one or both of the two books available now, please e-mail me and we can go from there.

Layers is priced at $32. and Woman Within the Web is $12. I accept all the major charge cards, checks and Paypal.

Thanks again for enduring my very long post on books. Good thing I’m not adding my reading list to this!!

MUSSELS AND GIVERS OF LIGHT

MUSSELS AND “GIVERS OF LIGHT”

"Giver of Light" light switch cover

Sold

Thank you Kimberly

Strange title for a blog post huh? There is method to my madness. I’ve been hungry lately. I mean really hungry. It might be attributed to the change in weather we have had in Virginia this week, but whatever it is, I have been cooking constantly all week. The brisk air has also given me an added boost and I’ve been in the studio round the clock (when not in the kitchen) So, this week, I’m presenting my recipe for Mussels. I know not everyone likes mussels but it seems that those who do, really love them. I also am presenting my “Giver of Light” light switch cover. They have been very popular but I don’t seem to get around to making them very often for some reason. This one is much more contemporary looking than the others I have created but I like the change.

LOIRE VALLEY MUSSELS WITH COMMONSTOCK

Living in a farm community in the Loire Valley in France, as I did years ago, presented a few small problems. Almost every night as I dined at quaint restaurants, the owners would have the windows wide open. The aroma from the manure fertilizers that the French farmers used competed with the bouquet of the fabulous French food.

Mussels were served on a regular basis at most of these restaurants. One restaurant in particular served the absolute best mussels I have ever eaten. It took me many tries to be able to duplicate the special sauce they served with the mussels. When I lived at home, my father always referred to these stocks or sauces as “commonstock” I don’t know where that name originated but I still use it. The commonstock in this case is made from basil, wine and heavy cream. Still, there is one missing ingredient. No matter how hard I try, I cannot replicate the fertilizer aroma!

These are sooooo good!

Here is my rendition of that wonderful dish.

Serves 12 as a first course, 6 as a main course.

6 lbs. mussels. Mussels must be closed when you buy them. Wash them and throw away any that are not closed or do not close with a tap on opening. After cooking, throw any away that have not opened.

3 medium onions
6-10 garlic cloves. I use whole bulb.
2 sticks of unsalted butter or a bit more if needed plus a little olive oil
2 cup of white wine. I have heard that Alsatian Gewurztraminer wine is the best to use. I have tried a lot of different wines. Acidic wine from the Loire Valley is very good as well.
1 ½ cups of heavy cream
3 cups fresh basil
Salt and pepper
a small handful of capers.
3 bottles clam juice-8 oz each

l. Cook onion and garlic in butter and oil over low heat till softened. About 3-5 minutes. Add mussels.

2. Add wine and clam juice and cook covered over high heat till mussels open wide. About 6-8 minutes

3. Transfer the mussels to large pasta bowls and put commonstock into food processor or blender along with the cream, basil and pepper mixture. Blend till smooth. Add capers and season Pour over the mussels. Definitely have a good crusty bread for dunking or serve over pasta, preferably homemade.

Another view of "Giver of Light"

“Giver of Light” switch cover is $55. Please e-mail me if you’d like to purchase.

FRIDA JOURNALS AND SKETCHBOOKS

FRIDA JOURNALS AND SKETCHBOOKS

Crackled wax effect on number 2 Frida

Here I go again with my Frida obsessions. I spent so much time on the face for the painting I worked on a few months ago, that I am trying to utilize that time by using the digitals for various artwork that I normally create. This time around, I’ve chosen the “Gypsy Woman” series. Frida may not have been a gypsy but she had the heart and soul of one. She loved to dress in the native Mexican garb and wore flowers and jewelry that depicted her country.

All three Frida journals

I ran a digital image of Frida. I used all sorts of yarn and ribbons to embellish the spine and I placed some of the flowers I dried from my garden onto the front with encaustic wax, which I then painted.

Frida journal number 1

Close-up of wax finish

Inside back journal number 1

For the second journal, I did much the same with a few variations like crackling the face. The third one is an image from my “Music is my refuge” collage. I think she also looks Frida-ish.

Crackled wax effect on journal number 2

"Music is my Refuge" journal

Hope you like them. They are for sale. If I don’t sell them here at my blog, I plan to take them to the Farmer’s Market where I sell each Saturday. Hopefully these journals will appeal to someone who likes the textural feel of the cloth and wax.

Journal number 1 is 5x7” and priced at $46. Number 2 is also $46 and number 3 is $42. Please e-mail me if you are interested and we can go from there. I take all major credit cards, checks or Paypal.

Thanks so much! Hugs XX00
Cheryl