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For the Love of Mermaids
Thursday, April 17, 2008 at 11:02PM This weeks Sunday Scribblings prompt is: Compose. I thought I would take a break from composing posts about my Europe pictures...
I have to confess another little guilty pleasure; making OOAK mermaids!!
Around two years ago, I started making these little mermaids and for a while, I became obsessed. The passion has died down since then, but I'm still smitten. I composed a story and a personality for each doll. I gave them a name and developed what I called a character card. If you know anything about me and my 'Fine Art' you'll know that these are quite a departure for me. The part of me that creates these dolls often feels silly. Unfortunately, I have even felt embarrassed about showing them to anyone, since they fall into that horribly divisive conflict of art vs. craft. Unlike the majority of the art world, I do not prescribe to the idea that fine artists shouldn't craft and crafters aren't fine artists. There is something about having an MFA that induces some intellectual snobbery about art in people, obviously not me. I have my MFA and still love to create functional crafts and obviously play with dolls! I find the mermaids artistically fascinating. I get a joy and peace when I’m constructing art dolls, unlike any other activity. Perhaps it’s the combination of tactile materials and fibers, along with the human form and the ability to compose a little world of tangible bits and pieces. maybe its about bringing a 2d illustration into a 3D piece of matter infused with spirit. What ever it is, I'm no longer going to be ashamed for it! Each is hand-sculpted out of polymer clay, with absolutely no use of molds. Therefore, every doll is unique (OOAK=one of a kind).
This Mermaid is a talker. She is all about catching up on the latest and being right on the doorstep of any blue world breaking news. Her most precious treasure: her state of the art seashell cell. You will never catch her without it. La Chismosa is also very stylish and witty. When the gossip of the day implies peril, La Chismosa knows who to call to set things right. She's proud of her keen perception and dynamic social skills. La Chismosa is everybody's friend, its the best way to get the low-down.
Sits around 3” tall with a 5 ½”long tail and is 2 ½” wide.
Quite a few family members own one of my mermaids. In addition many of the mermaids have sold through consignment at Midnight Owl in Chester, NJ. If you are interested in any of the mermaids available now, you can get them through my Etsy shop!
http://sundayscribblings.blogspot.com/
art dolls, handmade dolls, marisol diaz, mermaids, ooak, polymer clay in Craft
Reader Comments (8)
Lovely creatures of the sea!
Thanks for commenting on my 3WW post at 3WW. I switched off the "must be registered and logged in to comment" setting on my blog, so commenting should be possible in the future.
The mermaids are incredible....I love the individual personalities of each one...the facial expressions ,and of course the accessories! You are amazing, no matter what you do! Swim on, o' artist mermaid!
Don't tell me these aren't art! Your mermaids, each with such an individual personality, should be preserved in many ways. Have you considered writing a book that would use them as illustration? I don't mean a childrens' book but rather one that displays your witty writing as well as the little sculptures. Of course children would enjoy it too. Are your mermaids traditional ceramic (aside from fibers etc.) or are they polymer clay?
I love them. Thanks for this post!
I love the mermaids! And of course they're art... even more so because of their whimsicality. By the way, I've been looking back over your Europe pictures and positively aching to travel all summer. Glad to have found your blog!
Adorable, soulful art pieces! Love the description endorsing Chismosa's personality! Very cute with their individual faces. Thanks for stopping by my blog!
Hugs Giggles
hey these are so amazing.
p.s. I GOT A PUPPY
so cute! i like the one with red hair. also, I think that whole art vs. craft battle is absurd. and you shouldn't ever be embarrassed about these little works of art, or anything else you have done for that matter. <3
you would.