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Asa was ready to pour the tea....  ...and Rags was watching from his pillow on the floor....  Lily was just quietly sitting waiting for her tea to be poured...  ...when Rags suddenly wanted to get her attention....  "Why,.... hello there!! What's your name??"  "His name is 'Rags'....."  "...and he doesn't usually warm up to strangers...."   Our youngest son works in the movie industry, writing computer programs for special effects. His newest project involves something to do with green screen, and since he's just starting work on it and isn't ready to rent a studio with real, human models, he asked if he could come over and photograph some of my dolls. That certainly sounded interesting, so sure, why not?? So yesterday he came, with all his computers and camera equipment, and set up downstairs in the photo studio he had set up while he still lived here (and I still use occasionally) He had brought along three big computer screens to provide his light source, and positioned the dolls between them, and took lots of photos as the lights flashed from all the different directions....  He asked for dolls with a wide range of skin tones, and different colours and styles of wigs, especially ones with very fine hair that would be in scale to a human's hair. These were some of the dolls, standing in line waiting their turn. The dolls on the left were all different skintones, and Kassia was chosen because she was all white, and would provide an extra challenge. He noted all the dolls were dressed in warm tones or neutrals, and he needed someone in blue, so Narae in her blue plaid joined the line up....  His photos were taken with the room in total darkness, but he left the lights on a couple of times so I could take a few pictures (with my trusty tri-pod, of course)
After shooting everyone else, he needed someone wearing gray....so Rex had a turn too....  This morning he said his tests were a success and that my dolls would work perfectly for what he had in mind....until he's ready to use live models...
Anyways, once he's further into the development of his program, he will need to come back and photograph dolls with more specific requirements. Should be fun!
I'm very busy working on an 'Outlander' inspired outfit for Rex, so taking interesting doll photos has taken a back seat all week (and the two weeks before that as I made some for Bianca). has his socks, underwear, shirt, cravat, and a pair of pants. I found an 'Old Navy' brand shirt at Value Village that was just the right colour, and thickness for his pants and coat. I chose a gray twill for his vest, and painted that down this morning, so it could dry while I was away for my semi-annual appointment at the cancer clinic. When we got home, it was time to design a coat to go over everything. It always helps to have an actual garment to use as a jumping off point, so tried on Steve's black Victorian morning coat....  It's the wrong style, but the most important parts fit him, so that helps. The new period coat needs a different neckline, much longer sleeves, and the pleats at the back on this coat, need to be moved to the sides. So I've drawn up the new patterns and am ready to start cutting it out. But first a close-up...  It may seem hard to believe that I never do anything other than doll related stuff....but once in a very long while, I actually have to do some housework too. So I took some photos to prove it... Everything off the floor so we could vacuum....  All the dolls off their shelves above my sewing machine, so I could dust them....  All but the Our Generation doll are handmade cloth dolls (including the octopus)
I'm busy working on the travel clothes for Rex and Bianca, and have made Rex's shirt and cravat, as well as an apron for Bianca. But they all looked too new. Definitely too 'new' for people out on an adventure in the wilderness. So I dirtied them up, lightly staining everything with diluted acrylic paint. Kind of the opposite of what people normally do - instead of washing to make everything clean (which I did to the fabrics before I started, to remove any stray chemicals, and make sure all the old clothes were actually clean) I'm making the clothes look dirty and 'lived in'. Now everything is hanging on the line to dry.  By the way, I used cream coloured cotton fabrics for the shirt, cravat and fichu; and a heavier beige fabric for the apron, to give it a natural coloured, homespun look. 'Whites' were never as white in the old days as they are now. The chemically-bleached, super white fabrics available today, did not exist back then. Their 'white' is what we'd consider 'cream' today. Something to keep in mind when making period clothes.
I finally got around to creating, and updating, all the new photo albums in Favourite Photos 2019. There were a lot, thanks to the longer than usual Scilla bloom this spring. So now you can look at all the photos and stories, in the proper order that they were intended to be seen in.
...and I updated everyone's favourite........Behind the Scenes.....
Asa and Phairby were both standing in my workspace, waiting to go back on their respective shelves, when it occurred to me that they were both wearing very elaborate gowns, and could easily be friends in that Fantasy world of theirs. They should get together. Maybe for tea. Asa agreed to host, and she invited some other Fantasy ladies....  Lily and Kassia came....
...as did Phairby and Willie....  Asa was getting ready to pour everyone some tea....  "You have such a lovely home. Thank you so much for inviting us!"  "You are very welcome..."  " I thought it was high time we all got to know each other better."  Our granddaughters come over almost every Saturday morning, and every now and then Rachel will bring one of her dolls so we can photograph her together - she with her phone, and me with my camera. The session started with her wanting her doll to be 'dancing'....
..and we went on from there....  Next, she sat down on the sofa, and Rachel chose a tea set from my collection....  ...and she had a 'Bunny' tea party....  I always print out Rachel's favourites, and she takes them home to put into her album.
Finished Bianca's second 'Outlander' inspired outfit the other day. The gray arm warmers are meant to go with this combination, and I'm working on some brown ones for the green combo, as well as a cowl scarf for this one. but couldn't wait to take a few pictures.... 
 My granddaughters gave me their blue Victorian doll sofa for my birthday last month, and I've wanted to feature it in a new 'blue' room, along with my sister's peacock painting and needlepoint pillow. The sofa had seen better days, so I made an extra seat cushion, and added padded arm rests, to make it a more inviting seat. Yesterday I finally decided to take some photos, and thought, who would fit into the new setting better than my Asa, Queen of the Night....  I had wanted a 'dark, moody' look, so waited until late in the day, with the sun hidden by clouds, and took the first photo, above. But then the sun came out and I had to draw the curtains, which are peach colour, and that cast peach lighting all over the scene, creating a different look....   I opened the curtains and the sun shone directly on Asa, creating another whole new look....   The contrast seemed a bit too harsh, even after I tried to deal with it in Photoshop, so I tried again after the sun disappeared. Then it hit me - the peacock in the painting above her head had been creating a 'tension point'. I needed to move her so her head wasn't directly under the peacock.  She also looked so 'lonely' sitting there all by herself, all gorgeous with nowhere to go, and decided she needed a friend....so went and got her one....   |
AuthorMartha Boers is an award-winning Canadian doll maker and costumer specializing in fantasy and historical-style costumes. Archives
July 2025
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