A Painter's Life

I can hardly believe an entire month has gone by since I last posted. A little mouse can only do so much in a day, and the days have have been mighty filled. To be very honest, I've been burrowing and licking my paws alot. I often wonder how other little mice can wake up everyday and be cheery. And, yet, when I'm like this, I often do my best work because it is the meditation or zen of work that gets me through the day. If we don't have occasional blues, the pallette of our life is missing the entire spectrum. I'm a yellow and orange mouse. High creative energy colors, so a swing to the other side of rainbow makes a long trek back to the sun. So what have I been working on? Goodies.

After the Alice challenge, a dear collector asked me to make her one of my Wee Alice Trunk Sets. I love painting Tenniel so accepting this commission was a delight. While the other little storybook trunks I've painted in this genre have been illustrated with entire scenes from the story, my OOAK necessity positioned me in a way to try the front first pages of the book I have, which are little vignettes of the characters with washy backgrounds of the outdoors. On one side, the front has been finished with the characters, and when the other side is complete, the individual background washes with be done together in a connective way. Some of these characters I've never painted before, and Tenniel is always a challenge, a sweet challenge.

The other project I'm working on is for a dear friend who joined the Bleuette Sewing Group not too long ago. The current sewing challenge is First Communion dresses and veils for the dolls from the vintage patterns. Bleuette was Catholic and La Semaine de Suzette (Suzette's Weekly) was published to teach little Catholic girls how to sew and become good mothers and housekeepers. So far, the outfits these ladies have made would make you swoon! Glorious. And, my part is to make an accessory set a little Catholic girl would receive for her First Communion. These items include a scapular (a prayer necklace, worn dutifully, will ensure your escaping the fires of hell upon death), a rosary and other times. I've learned not to give too much away on the Internet so that my work does not get copied (for awhile at least).

The other piece for the First Communion is a Prie Dieux, or kneeler. This is for an individual to kneel upon and say their prayers to God. In the past, many have been made quite ornately, while modern ones are more simplified. Naturally, a Missy Mouse prie dieux would be ornate! I found some incredible cut-work wood, in a Gothic style, that made the perfect "trellis" work to showcase the paintings, or holy portraits. The images came from holy image cards a Catholic could collect. Currently I am working on the Virgin Mary in the clouds. It is the last painting of the four as there are four ovals in the cut-work that accomodate the paintings. These would have been originally done in oil, for the soft blending of fabric folds and the delicate loftiness of clouds. However, my experience with acrylic has given me the ability to create these effects ratherly nicely in this medium. When the prie dieux has been assembled and stained, I will post a photo of it. The doll it is being made for is 10 1/2" tall and made for her specific body type so she can kneel at it comfortably.

Now the challenge for me, is switching from Tenniel to the oils of the holy cards. Two entirely different techniques are required to paint these images. Just as all paintings are a product of the artist's technique, these are as individual as expected. Imagine painting a face only 1/2" long, sometimes smaller.

It is the Memorial Day weekend and the weather finally cooperated for barbeques and picnics. Its been the coldest May on record and at least one resort in the Sierra reopened for skiing and snow boarding this weekend. Mercy! I need summer so I can scamper through the warm lawn again and feel my whiskers twitch in the rays of the sun.

June is just around the corner and its time to think about lakes and beaches, bathing suits and shorts to hike in. May your days be sunny and your disposition merry!

Love,

Missy Mouse

The Mind is a Wonderland

April is coming to a close quickly and the month just seemed to fly by! Rain and hail came frequently, and in equal measures we had the most beautiful warm spring weather imaginable. Even though the winds prevailed after a particularly warm weekend, this little mouse took her kayak out on Lake Folsom Monday with her husband and we paddled out to the island which is a wildlife sanctuary. High above the trees in the tallest Digger Pine is this large eagle's nest and we always look to see if we'll spot an eagle. Indeed we did as a mama eagle was in her nest with two little eaglets. Such a magnificent sight! So I hunkered down real low so I wouldn't be noticed and become a meal.

As you know, I hosted a mini challenge in the month of April for the Bleuette Sewing Club to make Alice costumes for their dolls. A drawing prize for one of my peg wooden paper dolls in an Alice theme was offered as incentive. The challenge was quite a success and the seamstresses made the most lovely and creative dresses inspired by the various illustrators of the Alice books. This week I put to the task of a second Alice in Wonderland peg wooden paper doll for the drawing. I chose the Tenniel illustrated paper dolls from a Shackman Company poster card. The pieces were intricate and lovely and they turned out beautifully. But what to do with them to make them different from anything I'd done before was a question for me.

I thought to make stands for them, but for some reason was having difficulty doing so. I decided then that they might make nice play dolls as is for the Bleuettes. Then three minutes after I turned out the lights to go to bed in my hole in the wall, it came to me that a peg board, or game board to display them on would be the answer. So I found a lovely garden scene and miniaturized it, pegged Alice and the White Rabbit and drilled two holes in the garden back drop, or peg board. Now the dolls had a place to play and a fine way to be displayed. They could be dressed in thier costumes and chase through the garden on their various adventures through Wonderland. I'll call this the Alice Peg Wooden Wonderland Peg Board. I'm so pleased with it, I may try it again for other little etrennes such as this.

I would also like to share Margie's fabulous Nursery Alice costume with you, expertly designed by a most talented seamstress and designer, Nicki Burley. In the photo Margie shows how much fun it is to have a little doll dressed just like her! If you love heirloom doll clothing with distinction and historical accuracy, keep your eyes out for more of Nicki's work as she's going to be sewing for me and designing her own patterns while creating a fabulous website.

Welcome May and all the flowers the April rains will bring!

Love,
Miss E. Mouse

The Wonderful Fashion Doll

In each of our lives there is always one special moment, one special toy, or one special book that stands out as having shaped our dreams...or a least made a very memorable impression. Such was the case with The Wonderful Fashion Doll, by Laura Bannon, for children born after 1953, the year the book was published. I wouldn't know about it this treasure until just a year ago, when one of my favorite doll artists, Wendy Lawton, recalled this book to her on-line group, trying to remember its name. After learning about the story, I had to find a copy. I could not believe the difficulty I experienced finding this book, and when I did, it was expensive. Very. I bought it, read it, reread it and enjoyed it for a year. Then I sold it. Sadly, yes, but I needed the cash. But, not before copying out a couple dozen pages! My intent after reading it was to recreate this story, bring it to life in a real doll, naturally in miniature. It was one of those things in the mouse hopper, and it wasn't until I actually parted with the book that I longed to build on this dream.

The story is the tale of a little girl named Debby who moves to her family's farmhouse in the country. Her great-grandmother had left letters about hiding this wonderful fashion doll to keep her safe from theives, and no one ever knew what happened to it, although it was a guess that it may be hidden somewhere in the old farmhouse. Debby's mission then was to try and find the doll...and does.

When I first thought of doing this, I was going to make a miniature Gay Event, the fashion doll, and all her clothing and treasures in the antique trunk. Then it occurred to me how cute it might be to make Debby and her doll. The story is just as much about Debby as it is about the discovey of the wonderful fashion doll. I knew I had the perfect little porcelain doll for Gay Event, a tiny 2 3/4" lady doll, but what was I to do about Debby? After much consideration, I decided I would use Mary Lee of Mary Lee's Tribute, a 9" Wendy Lawton doll, as my Debby. Now, once I've made my mind up, there's generally no turning back. Mary Lee is sweet, but with a different wig, (which I have found and need to purchase), and an outfit made like the one Debby wears when she finds the doll, she'd be perfect. This does however mean that I give up Mary Lee, but if this comes out the way I hope it to, it will indeed be WONDERFUL!

This tiny lady doll's head is even threaded so it can turn. From all the pages I've copied from the book I've a detailed description of all that was in the trunk, and even illustrations of most of the items. I just think this is just super!

Lastly, Marcella's dress has been made and she will be on her way home from the dressmaker shortly. These projects of mine are once again becoming quite elaborate in conception, detailed to the hilt and truly labors of love. How could I call them etrennes if they were not?

Love,

Miss E.Mouse

My Beautiful Balloon

When I was a little mouse, my mother used to take my sister and brother and I to our local Sees Candies store where we'd each pick out a beautiful sugar egg with a perfect, tiny little scene in it. She would then save them for our Easter baskets. These sugar eggs with their windows to a miniature world would fascinate me for hours. I never nibbled on them, but also have no idea where they went to. As you can see, I have a very pretty one today with a pink sugar rose on top. I know you can't see her, but there's a tiny yellow chick sitting on eggs inside!

The last few days have been spent finishing up projects, getting them mailed and cleaning up my studio. I simply cannot work in such a mess, but as I do, all these little bits gather around my paper pallette until I can no longer find anything. A paper pallette? Well, I suppose this goes back to the days when I painted more often than not, but you can tear a soiled page away so easily and find a nice clean surface to begin on again.

Oh! Bebe Balancoire has a new silk dress. The white one in the presentation box has been made, and so has the powder puff and folded shawl or kerchief shown above it. The hat is a bonnet and will take a bit of fussing with. There is a white brush I think must be a "tooth brush" and a black brush for her hair. I've found I must remake her beautiful leather gloves, but this is alright. Making the perfect pair of 1/2" gloves takes some doing. There are four napkins, a bar of soap, and what looks to be red curlers. The ball in the net bag was also made recently. So why not share a photo? Because its EASTER!! And, Easter cards must be sent.

I think I've decided on two things I shall be working on along with Bebe, and a commissioned piece I'm painting. I have been wanting to make male and female harlequin marionettes for some time now. Antoinette Marionette was so beautiful and sweet and I must make more like her. (See my website under the gallery Bleuette Collections and The Versailles Collection - www.zhibit.org/houseofmissymouse) I think she was about 2 1/2" long. So sweet. These may be about 3" tall. Just like me! I am also going to finish the second miniature Chinese Checkers set since my marble artist said he'd make me more teeny tiny marbles in the right colors. My love affair with dolls and trunks calls, so I must make a little Jumeau in a trunk with a small wardrobe - or even a presentation box! That's it! Those French presentation boxes were divine. And am I not making etrennes? Oui! I guess that's three, but who is counting?

So, I wish you a Happy Easter, and when next I write I hope to have some wonderful works in progress to share.

Love,

Miss E. Mouse

A Material Mouse

Oo, oo! Li-ving in a material world, and I am a material mouse!

Today, after fidgeting and fussing and trying to figure out how I was going to find the perfect silk for Bebe's second dress and bonnet, I decided that I would finally make the journey to Grass Valley to visit Fabrics on Mill Street. I've been told time and again that Fabrics on Mill Street was the store I would find what I was looking for, but taking that long drive down Highway 49 was not something I was looking forward to.

Earlier I'd learned that the one good quilting store in our area was closing due the owner's retirement, and as the ladies and I were discussing fabrics, the subject of this store once again came up. So I broke down and took a little drive. Incredibly I found a parking space right in front of the store, and this was a good thing since a mouse crossing a busy street can prove hazardous. I was skeptical that I would find what I was looking for, which turned out to be white silk Dupioni Shantung, and I feel smart just saying that name. I was looking for a variety of fabrics for several projects and this wonderful lady, Susan, finally came to my assistance and taught me so much about fabrics in the brief forty-five minutes I was in her store.

For a long time I would search Internet stores looking for material, and while swatches looked pretty, I had no idea what I would be buying because I wasn't familiar with the terms. Radiance is a cotton/silk blend that is so beautiful, and next to Ultra Sateen, which is also a cotton, the richness and "glow" of the fabrics are undeniable. I also am now able to identify Dimity, Pima Pique, and Voile, all of which are cottons. Natural fabrics are the only ones suitable to miniature dressing, but little does the public know that I'm also planning on sewing doll clothing for a Daisyette, which is a Daisy only Bleuette sized.

Another wonderful thing is that now I have the fabric to send to my seamstress (no I won't sew this time) to make a dress for the 7" Claire Jolie (Wendy Lawton), who will become my Marcella for the Raggedy Ann and Andy miniature marionette theatre I have long wanted to make. How tall will the theatre be? About 7 or 8" tall. The marionettes will be 2 3/4" tall. If you'd like to see what I've done with miniature marionette theatres, do visit my website at www.zhibit.org/houseofmissymouse

And, the happiest news is with the perfect silk in paw, Bebe Balancoire's trousseau, and treasures in her presentation trunk, will be well on their way to completion.

...and I am a material mouse!

Love,
Miss E. Mouse

A Dream Come True

Oh how spring calls to me! My whiskers twitch and my paws long to scamper among the cool blades of damp grass in the sun-filled morning! What a joy to be a mouse!

Yesterday I finished the Mini Bleuette and Her Cracker Barrel Trunk set. This little accomplishment has me giddy with delight. This is solidly one of the very best pieces I've ever made. And, it should be. I've always held that your latest work should always be your best or you aren't growing as an artist. This is not to say that art of the past isn't notable, but we gain so many new skills and confidence with our abilities with each piece we finish. And, so it is with the Mini Bleuette and Her Cracker Barrel Trunk.

From the curved drawer in the vanity, to the quilting on the stool and bedding of the fold up Murphy bed...from the tiny 1 1/2" dresses to the three little wood hanger, its a mini masterpiece. There's a baby blue silk party dress with lace and rose bud embroidery, a rose and pink striped day dress with a rose silk sash, and the mini Bleuette wears a lovely jardin tablier dress over her eyelet onsie under things. Her Jumeau style shoes are brown leather and she wears them over lace socks. Her auburn curls come to her shoulders so you can change her dresses without mussing her hair. I honestly could have continued to make yet a couple of more dresses, but it comes now time to work once again on Bebe Balancoire. She's been awfully patient while I worked on the CB trunk.

I also finished the three mini wooden jigsaw puzzles and chose The Doctor to share with you. Each little puzzle was completed with a cardboard box authentic with paper tape corners, and the lids were finished with a high gloss paint and photo of the puzzle. These puzzles have to be one of my favorite Etrennes since all the puzzle pieces fit together so nicely. I love toys we can actually play with!

With no further ado, I will scurry back to my table and get back to work. Then again, I'm certain you have guessed that I will be enjoying the 77 degree weather we are having throughout the day to take those much needed breaks.

Love,

Miss E. Mouse

Coming Together

Today I'm taking the day off to see the new Tim Burton Alice film. I recall a friend of mine telling me about the movie earlier in the year and we were both excited over the costuming and novelty of the piece. When I go to see a movie like this, it is because of the pure entertainment value of it and also the inspiration of another artist's work of art. It need not be good per se, but just snuggling into a stadium seat in a dark theatre can take me away like no other venue. Speaking of which, I just gave a huge membership donation to our local PBS station to get one ticket to see Celtic Woman Songs From the Heart. I adore Chloe. That woman can sing!

Speaking of singing, I'm doing my own little song and dance after braving the latching and hinging of the tiny Cracker Barrel trunk. I also finished the bedding, bolster pillow, stool and cover. Often times I simply ride with my vision having no idea how I'm accomplishing something - I just do it.

I also attached a photo of the "real" trunk so you could see the comparison of the two. The tiny one needs a handle atop, some hangers and of course the tiny doll and her wardrobe. How tempting it is just to sit and home and keep working, but my mind needs a rest today...at least for a few hours.

Love,

Miss E. Mouse