Category: Art Blog
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Comparing Drive Thru Cards and the Game Crafter
After looking at different print-on-demand options for Tarocchino Arlecchino, I ordered test decks from two popular US-based companies: Drive Thru Cards and the Game Crafter. I have ordered cards from the Game Crafter before, but Drive Thru Cards was also recommended by some backers so I wanted to give it a shot. After seeing the…
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Let’s Make Puffed Pants!
If I had to choose a favorite costume element, it would be puffy sleeves and pant legs. They are simple, but so fun. I’m still figuring out how best to make them for my dolls. In this post, I’m going to show a method that was pretty successful, which I hope can be helpful for…
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Prince Danila Govorila I
Once upon a time there lived an aged princess, with a son and a daughter. The children were well and hearty. But a wicked witch watched over them: “How can I use them – how can I lead them to harm?” thought she. She thought, until she arrived at a plan. I’m returning this to…
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Making Hyacinth Harlequin
Hello and welcome Springtime! My favorite time is the Winter (and Autumn), and most of my other dolls reflect that. This year, I tried to generate some more purposeful excitement for the season – new colors! New images! I was looking forward to seeing some hyacinths which we planted in the Autumn… unfortunately the deer…
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Prince Danila Govorila
After working on many smaller card pictures, I wanted to try some larger format story illustrations. I had planned to begin with a different tale, but ran into the story of “Prince Danila Govorila,” and wanted to depict at least this scene. This picture goes near the beginning of the tale (as collected by A.N.…
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Petit Lenormand, No. 5-8
Here we go again, with the next four Lenormand cards. Baby Birch: Tree & Judgement This is the song for Baby Birch.I will never know you.And at the back of what we’ve done,there is that knowledge of you. Joanna Newsom, “Baby Birch” (Have One On Me, 2010) The narrator of “Baby Birch,” having made her…
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Petit Lenormand, No. 1-4
Back when I was working on Anecdotes Tarot, I made a smaller and much more modest sister-project, a Petit Lenormand (which I never even properly titled). My main motivation was to break up one of those frustrating times when good ideas just refuse to come. The images of the Petit Lenormand fortunetelling cards are far…
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Making Koschei
After getting a taste of making a standing doll, I couldn’t wait to try again and maybe improve! When I was posing Granny in the forest, I noticed that the “skeleton” of her legs and feet would wiggle around inside the felt, making her more difficult to balance. So, I set out to make a…
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Making the Forest Crone
To celebrate Winter, I made a Crone doll! She is based loosely on Buschgroßmutter and more generally on any lady who lurks among the trees, but I’ve just been calling her “Granny.” This is my favorite season, where you can see all the vibrant colors of the earth, branches, and mosses, and I tried to…
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Tarocchino Arlecchino: The World
Harlequin-as-Mercury stands triumphant above the disk of the World. For The Chariot, I mentioned the shared affinity between Mercury, Harlequin, and the tarot. The Chariot features a snappy winged helmet, but here we find the full mercurial regalia, with winged red shoes and the caduceus, entwined in white and black snakes. The horns on his…