Monday, May 2, 2005: I thought about my essence doll all weekend, but didn't do any actual work on it. When I got to work this morning I had e-mails from my fellow doll adventurers. This was my reply:
Hi everybody!
I just found everyone's e-mails this morning when I got to work. I don't think I got any of them at home. If you don't have my home e-mail on your lists, it would be great to add it. It's showkitty@mindspring.com. That way I can respond on the weekends. But keep the work e-mail on there too, because I'll see it faster on weekdays.
It's fascinating to hear about everyone's initial questions, concerns and ideas. They're all different ... but we all have them.
I'm a clay person. That's my "essence." So that's the direction my thoughts are taking regarding my essence doll. I think "she" will say a lot about who I am. Although I don't know what that will be yet. Maybe I will learn something about myself from this??
I'm still in the ruminating and doodling stage right now, but I plan to start actual tinkering this week. I don't know what size my doll will turn out to be at this point, but I think she will probably ship out naked -- because this process has me feeling a bit naked -- it's something new and unknown so I'm feeling uncertain and vulnerable. I feel sure that as the project progresses, I will gain confidence and my doll will gain clothes! I'm going to keep notes on my process, starting with this e-mail to you. This is going to be very interesting. Happy creating,
Jana

Tuesday, May 3, 2005: Good morning,
Reading Jeanette's and LeeAnn's e-mail this morning, I really like the idea of having dolls in a wide range of sizes! It would be fun and challenging to go big one month and then small when the next doll arrives in the mail. Wow, LeeAnn -- Elizabeth Layton ... inspiring subject!
My doll probably won't have a name per se. She'll probably have a title. When I make my clay masks, I give them all titles ... phrases that explain who they are or a phrase they might have just said that would match the expression on their faces. Of course, first I have to actually get to work and create the doll ... Jana

-----Original Message-----
From: Jeanette Landenwitch
Sent: Tuesday, May 03, 2005 8:21 AM
Hello Everyone, Now that I'm back in town I'm turning my thoughts to our dolls. The fact that I work with preicous metal (fine silver) dictates my initial path. My doll will be small/miniature. I have yet to determine if it will have moving joints. My initial thougths were to make a she....but the thought of a he is calling me... Will I introduce other media?...at this point I think not. You will immediately know the personality of my doll when you see its face, and it will have a name by the time it leaves my hands. From there its essence will develop through the hearts, minds, and artistry of all of you......
Jeanette

LeeAnn Nay wrote: Hi all, I am so glad to hear your enthusiasm for this new adventure. I have had several thoughts for the 'essence'. I like you Steve, was thinking of a soft sculpture doll that was a characature of Elizabeth Layton. When I read that we could go any size, I thought of an artist I saw recently that did life size soft dolls, the kind you stuff nylon stockings with, and sculpt > with stitching. I think it would be pretty great if we had from small to > large for the finished products - what do you think. Maybe not full > lifesize?? I have envisioned such a variety of beginning 'armature's' if you will, that I am anxious to see if we go in that direction. I believe my > direction so far is fabric, some sort of soft scupture, but I would love to see wood, metal etc. I sound all over the place I guess, I hope that is a start though! Keep in touch ya'all.
LeeAnn

I wrote:
Steve, One of the many intriguing things about this project, for me, is the diversity of direction from which the artists are coming. I can't wait to see how an engineer approaches art. My brain is as far from an engineering brain as you could get, so your approach is going to be very different from mine, I'm guessing. And that's a great thing. To me, your technical perspective and male perspective are going to be invaluable parts of this adventure. Jana

Steve had written:
Wow...all of you are so poetic in regard to your doll creations! In the words of the great Steve Martin..."Some people have a way with words, and other people...NOT have way, I guess." I can't come close to the elegance of your musings, and I just hope I can keep up with your artistic abilities! I have always been fastiinated with the human figure and it's construction. All those joints and directions of movement! This will be my main focus. Hopefully I will have enough time in what is left of the month to get it done. I don't yet know if mine will be male or female, but it WILL be one or the other without a doubt...maybe even one of each.
Steve

Wednesday, May 4, 2005: Greetings all!
Y'all are going to think I'm weird, but I have to tell you what I did yesterday. I was having trouble getting my mind around who we are, where we are and what we do. So I printed out a Kentucky map and I marked the towns where we all live and wrote our names and media out to the side. Then I drew a red line with arrows, marking the route that the dolls will take. It was fun to do, and it's helping me get my bearings.
Also, if anyone wants to see what my art looks like, you can go to www.creatorsoutlet.com , click on Creators Directory and find my name, or click on Ceramics and find my name. My page includes a bio/artist statement thing.
Talk to y'all later,
Jana

Sunday, May 8, 2005: Hey, everybody!
Happy Mother's Day! I think this project makes us all mothers, whether we were before or not -- even Steve! I'm so pumped. I started work on my doll Friday and worked about 3 hours straight. I got her head and torso made -- after a couple of false starts. Today I made her hands and feet. The parts will have to dry for a few days now. It's going to be hard to wait while that happens. I've also started her diary and taken some photos. Hope everyone has had a great weekend.
Later, Jana

Wednesday, May 11, 2005 Steve wrote:
I find myself thinking, planning and sketching almost all day long at work, anticipating quitting time so I can go home and do something I really want to do!
Can I ever relate!

Steve also wrote: I have an idea, it may not fly, but I'm going to run it by all of you. What if, instead of mailing our dolls on the first of the month, we set a time and place that we could all meet and exchange. We could take turns meeting at each artists town, or home, or a McDonalds. This way we could meet each other and put faces to names, and get an idea of personality. I realize that getting 6 or 7 people to agree on the same meeting time and place can be a logistical nightmare, but I for one would like to meet each of you...it would make this process much more personal, and it could make for some solid friendships...just a thought.

I wrote: I like Steve's idea of meeting to pass along our dolls. If not every time, then maybe just the first time -- or the last time. It might be interesting to form impressions about each other through the dolls and then actually meet each other at the end. I'm interested to hear what everybody thinks.

Wednesday, May 18, 2005:
I was just thinking that it's funny that I didn't write anything in here about my doll's head exploding this past weekend. I seem to have let my doll (in her diary) do all the talking ever since she started to take physical shape. After the head mishap, I immediately made two more clay heads, but now that I'm waiting for them to dry, I've begun to think a lot about what other kind of head I might make if they don't survive a firing. No solid ideas so far … just constantly shifting possibilities.

Monday, May 23, 2005: I was missing my fellow doll makers, so I wrote:
Hi everybody! I haven't seen much chatter lately. Are you all busy working on your dolls? I'm busy mostly thinking about mine, while her new heads continue to dry. I think the smaller of the two heads is probably ready to go in the kiln. But I'm afraid to fire her. I'm afraid she'll blow up again. I think I'll fire the heads one at a time; maybe they'll have a better chance that way. Or maybe it will just prolong the agony. Aaarrrrgghh! Anyway, I plan to tinker with the arms and legs tonight. Everybody else coming along OK? (Arlene, I know you're done and you're waiting on the rest of us stragglers -- and doing some beautiful paintings in the meantime).

Tuesday, May 24, 2005: Joyce wrote:
Dear Jana & all, Are we telling each other about our dolls yet? I gather Jana's doll is a ceramic figure with a tendency towards tension headaches ... Are we going to share dimensions, materials used, etc. in our online ramblings or are they to be a surprise for the next recipient in line? I'm going to be really curious about what happens to my doll in the next five months. Do you want to know, or do you want to be amazed at the transformation? Also, do you want to know if my doll has a name? I have created the essence, but after each of you adds to the doll, I'm afraid the name might not be right for who he becomes. I'm also afraid it might change the way you view the doll as it arrives at your doorstep. Which way do we go about this??? Hmmm.

I wrote:
Hi Joyce and everyone, Joyce, you do come up with some interesting questions! I don't have any problem sharing what we're doing to each other's dolls as we go along. I figure that's one of the things we all get to discuss and decide. Even if we do talk about our plans in e-mails, it will still be a surprise to see how it actually looks. And when Candi gets the Web site going, we should be able to see each of the dolls as it progresses along, right? Joyce, you pegged my doll precisely. She is mostly ceramic. Her arms and legs will be a surprise -- since they will be a surprise to me too! She has a name, and it will be on the front of her diary. If she changes along the way, and some other name seems more appropriate, I wouldn't have a problem changing her name. I think that would be an interesting aspect to the process. What does everybody else think?
Jana
P.S.: I'm going to bite the bullet and fire one of my two doll heads tonight. Send up some prayers and positive energy!
jj

Tuesday, May 24, 2005: Steve wrote:
I'm all for sharing. In fact, I'll start! My doll is a girl. She is approximately 16" tall, and is made of wood. She is very posable. I have named her "Anya," but anyone who wants to change that has my permission. I see her being transformed into a dancer of some sort...maybe a ballerina, but she may be better suited as another type of dancer. As she is only an "essence," she will need some additions: Hair, her face painted on (makeup), jewelry, clothes (of course, unless she becomes a stripper!). By the time she gets back around to me, she may not even be a dancer! I am like a father afraid to let his daughter go out into the world! I hope she does well, and is treated nice and doesn't hang out with the "wrong crowd" (other strippers!). She is nearly ready to be shipped, I just need to make her some hands and smooth her body a little.
Hope I haven't given away too much! Steve

I wrote: Steve, she sounds great! I can't wait to see her -- and I get to see her first!! I will take good care of her, and keep her away from any seedy types. My mind is racing on what I might add. Fun, fun.

Wednesday, May 25, 2005: I wrote: Good news, everyone! My doll's head survived its first firing. I fired the smaller of the two I had made, thinking it would be more likely to be completely dry and therefore less likely to explode. Tonight, I will high-fire it, and then, hopefully, I will be able to put all the parts together tomorrow night. That way, I can get a picture of her to Candi by our Friday deadline. Whew!