Good Morning one & all!
I have finally returned to the delightful business at hand, working on my doll project. After having two shows back to back the past two weekends, it leaves very little time for anything fun. But with a 6-week window of opportunity, I'm back into the thick of it and having a fabulous time.

It seems like we have many jet setters this month. Travelers abounding going here & there....I hope all are safe and finding inspiration in their travels. But for those of us at home, the chatter seems to have dwindled, so I'll pose a few questions to get us to thinking and talking once again.

I'd like to get to know your artistic personalities. Tell me how you approach you art...methodical - with a plan, willynilly - whatever happens, happens, or some other way entirely. Pick a couple of words to describe your art style and then tell me if they are the same words that you would describe you personally.

Maybe they are the same, maybe they are totally different!

I'll go first.

My artistic approach is that I am usually inspired by color or texture. I love combining the two elements to create something new. I usually make things in stages, there are always projects in my workroom that are in various stages of completion. Many times a piece will undergo several progressions before it become what it is ... sometimes not what I envision originally. I'm a lot less organized artistically that I am personally. If you ask my friends, the words they might use to describe me might include organized, wise, humorous and patient. Not necessarily word that I would use to describe my art.

Now put on your thinking caps, I'm going back to my doll!

Joyce

Hi Joyce and everyone,

Welcome back from back-to-back-shows exile, Joyce. I haven't been getting to do much doll or art stuff either because of my regular job and life in general. I have done a little doll stuff the last couple of evenings, and I hope to spend more time in my studio this weekend.

You pose the most interesting questions. And I'm glad you asked -- I've been missing the chatter too.

In addition to being a visual artist, I'm a word person. I've been in journalism for nearly 30 years, so words are important to me. I'm often inspired artistically by words and phrases. Something I hear or read will suggest an idea for a mask or a title for one. Titling my work is just as important to me as making the art itself.

Colors and shapes -- often geometric -- inspire much of my work. I use a lot of bright colors in all sorts of odd combinations. Influences include Native American art, African art, Picasso and colors of the Southwest and the tropics.

Artistically, I'm not much of a planner. I have some general idea of what I want to make when I get out a chunk of clay, but it often changes as I go. I don't usually draw anything in advance. (The exception would be that I sometimes sketch while on an airplane or waiting somewhere, like in an airport or doctor's office. Funny thing is, I rarely end up making anything from those sketches.)

I'm a little more organized in life than in art, but not much. I plan what I have to and take everything else as it comes. I'm not a worrier.

I'm one of those people who have lots of little piles of stuff on my desk, in my studio, around my house. They look like messes, but I know exactly where everything is -- in which pile. If I put it all away, I can't find anything.

My artwork is a way for me to express a goofy streak that I'm too shy to display myself. My masks are kind of crazy and fun, but I'm more timid and reluctant to try new things. I need a nudge. My husband is a very good nudger. He has all kinds of ideas for things I should do. He would say that I reject them all, but sometimes they sink in and percolate and I get some really good results from his ideas. I signed up for this project because I thought it might nudge me. And I was right. It's gotten me to try new things. In fact, I think I've become obsessed with heads. I've made several since finishing my doll. I don't know what I'll do with them ...

People would probably describe me as quiet, patient and kind, with a dry, warped sense of humor. I'm nice to everyone because I'll do most anything to avoid a confrontation. Which isn't always a good thing.

That's pretty much what I'm about. Probably more than anyone has time to read.
Got to get back to work,
Jana

At this point in the adventure, I continue to consider my essence doll mostly "my doll." Judging by comments from some of the other dollmakers, they feel the same way about their dolls. Some of the dollmakers talk about their dolls as if they were children. I have made similar analogies. But the more I think about it, the difference with me is that I never considered my doll my child; I considered her to be me -- not me exactly, but a symbol of myself. So passing along the doll I started was not like sending a child out into the world. It was like putting myself out there for a makeover.

Until a few days ago, I still felt strongly about Anaj being "my doll." I think that's because I hadn't seen any pictures of what had been added to her. As soon as I saw Lee Ann's photo of her with Jeanette's jewelry and Lee Ann's dress, I started to think of her a little more as a "group doll."

When Steve's Anya came to me, I definitely saw her as "his doll." I was the first to add to it. When I got Joyce's doll from Steve, it felt like it belonged to both of them. I hadn't seen the doll in person in its original state, so Steve's additions were an integral part of the whole, to my mind.

In short, this seems to be an evolving process. As the dolls evolve, my view of them evolves. At the end, I may consider them all "group dolls," but I think I will still be attached to the one I started.
Jana John

My doll versus group doll
I've done a lot of thinking and growing this time around. I'm thinking more about the doll in my possession and less about "my doll" and where he is right now. Although I've wondered what is happening to him & how he looks it seems less important this month than it did last month. Does this mean that "absence" doesn't make the heart grow fonder? Perhaps I'm more the "out of sight, out of mind" type person. Hmmm.

Now that we're at the midway point of this project, I wonder about things and how they might have been done differently. What would have happened at the beginning if we had discussed our plans more & had a more cohesive game plan in place for each doll's progression. Would we have done things differently? Assigned tasks or made creative suggestions? I think maybe if we had, there would be more discussion amongst ourselves as a group, and then perhaps they truly would have been more of a "group" doll. Not that what we are doing is a bad thing, or wrong…I guess it's like middle age; it sneaks up on you and you think about what ifs every now and then. Hmmm.

That makes me wonder about the final stages of this project. Will it be like the end stages of life? Will there be a sense of finality and letting go of things to move on to the next level…hmmm.

I've spent a delightful afternoon with an artist friend of mine. She is older than me and wiser too, I suspect. Over a delightful pot of chamomile tea, I shared with her some of my experiences with this project and she explained that it's a good thing for me…I'm remembering how to "play". I think that as artists, we occasionally forget why we do this stuff in the first place…Thanks Virginia, for reminding me what's important.

Joyce, you always give me interesting things to think about. I think that the way in which this project was set up has created a unique situation. It poses the question "How will a group of artists, unknown to each other personally and professionally, collaborate on a work of art?" I think if we had met at the beginning and formed a plan, this would be an entirely different project. I think if we had been a group of artists who knew each other already, this would be an entirely different project. There probably would have been more specific expectations. I'm sure I would have enjoyed those sorts of adventures too. But, the elements of surprise and the unknown are intriguing to me. This type of structure -- or lack thereof -- has sparked my willingness to try new directions and -- bless your friend's heart -- rekindled my joy in "playing."