I'm having a hard time deciding whether to crackle and wash/age this doll - or leave her be. Guess I'm a little gun shy (the crackling/aging of my first Verity doll backfired). I don't have to decide immediately, as I have one more coat of Messy Mix, two coats of gesso, and two coats of flesh-color paint to apply to the arms before committing. This is the doll I used to demo face painting in the class I taught last weekend. Thought I'd better finish her, so I could have "product" to take to the ODACA Sales Room in Atlanta, mid July - gotta pay for that trip, you know...
BTW, her hair/Tibetan lamb wig is just plopped on her head - not glued down, not conditioned & styled either. So pay no attention...
Opinions?
"Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous crackling........" (apologies to The Bard)
ReplyDeleteWell.......I dunno. I've seen lots of examples of beautifully aged dolls, but I just have the feeling that artificially ageing with crackle etc is somehow 'cheating'. I guess.......I just like the idea of things ageing naturally better. Your beautiful dolls will age gracefully by themselves without the need for artificially-applied 'age'. So I think I'm saying - don't age. Bit long-winded - sorry!
Deanna, what exactly did you use last time you tried to crackle?
ReplyDeleteThere are different products out there that perform differently. Some crackles are like the size of cracked eggshells, and others are what they call "spider crackle" because the cracks are larger. There are also different processes involved to get crackle. In Israel, people think they need to crackle everything. It is probably the most popular type of crafting there and there are many products available for crackle. It's not that way here in the US, and it could be that you just need to find the right product. If you are interested email me privately and I will tell you everything I know about crackle. I might even be able to get you some israeli crackle but I would have to email some friends.
Hugs
Rivkah
Hello Diana,
ReplyDeleteYour dolls are so beautiful and I guess it would be interesting to see how you progress with the aging of it....please, if you do it and it is not a success, will you post the picture and discuss the problems with whatever process you decide to use. Wow...there must be something wrong with me as I was really liking your doll's "wild" hairdo...lol....
hugz
Pam
I think it depends on what look you're going for in the end. The crackle look is very sweet on dolls that also have aged clothing (abraded edges, tea dyed, etc). I have to say that I'm not very sure how to go about with crackle. I wanted to try it on my doll but at the last moment I was afraid to try it.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason this particular doll head looks very modern to me. She has a knowing or mischievous look in her eyes. :-)
Thanks for all the great advice. I've made a decision: I will not crackle this doll - she's just not right for it. But I WILL try a light wash to removed some of the bright newness of her colors.
ReplyDeletePam - I'll post before and after photos of the wash.
Rivkah - The first time I crackled, I sprayed the face with a fixative first - to keep the pastel shading in place. When the crackle had tried and crackled, I applied a thin wash of brown. Unfortunately, when I wiped off the wash, some of the crackle came off as well. I think it was due to the fixative. The crackle I used was Jo Sonya's Crackle Medium - a one-step crackle. Someone else also recommended Deco Art One Step Crackle. I think I have some of that somewhere around here...
Your blog is so interesting and your dolls are wonderful..
ReplyDeleteI was wondering what "Messy Mix" is?
thanks for sharing
((((hugs))))
Maggie
Maggie~
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you saw this link in an earlier post, regarding Messy Mix. It sums it up nicely:
http://sympletymes.blogspot.com/2009/01/izannah-walker-dolls-helen-pringle.html
Deanna