Documenting the Process

A person always hears how people document their art processes, filling sketchbooks with plans, notes, thumbnails, etc. I don't tend to work that way, but have, in the past, wished that I had a record of the path an artwork has taken, from conception to completion. I had the presence of mind, with this piece, to take photos right from the beginning and will endeavour to do so until the end, regardless of what mishaps arise and what detours I might need to take.

The idea for this doll has been brewing in my head for a while. Having finally percolated long enough, the idea materialized on my table two days ago, rather than in a sketchbook. I'll have to cut that piece of the paper out if I want to keep the actual hard-copy of the sketch:



Today, I thought I'd try out a "test" doll to make sure the pieces of the head and body fit together properly, so grabbed some old blue jeans and started to sew and cut and assemble. When those pieces fit together well, I threw out the idea of a "test" and proceeded to sew and cut limbs and digits of the other body parts, getting more creative with using the jeans as I went along.



It remains to be seen if I'll be able to turn the fingers right-side-out. I think I set myself quite the challenge there. I've put fray-stop on the edges in the hopes that I don't rip the fabric out of the seams when I get to that step.

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