The Pixie Knoll

The moment we have all been waiting for has finally arrived!  Today was set-up day for the IDEX show and believe me when I say it took all day to complete and a great deal of worker bees to get it ready for the big opening.  Thanks to all the ladies who participated in the set-up today, I'd say we managed to pull of a pretty nice looking booth once again this year.  As you can see, there was a great deal of items that needed to be placed around the tables with nearly 20 artist being represented in our booth alone!  That is a great representation of the fine artist of the International Art Doll Registry!   The slide show consist only of our final booth display once we were finished setting up, with a few snap shots of some of the gals.   These are in no certain order mind you, and the lighting isn't the best, but, I think you all might enjoy them nonetheless.  :-) 

For those of you who have been waiting to see what I have been so arduously working on, you will have to wait no longer!  It is true, the dryad is finally finished and just in time for IDEX 2012.  Actually, she has been finished for a few days now, but trying to get a good day to take pictures outside can be rather burdensome to say the least.  One day there is too much wind, the next too overcast, and so the story goes.  But, today, as you will see by the slide show, was a great day to take pictures.  And so, without further adieu, here is "The Dryad".  (yeah, I know, it is a little lackluster for a title, but, *shrug* we can't always be fancy.)   And, for the curious minded, yes, there really is a big line in the middle of the tree.   The reason is she measures 27" x 15", so due to her size, I had to make her in 2 seperate pieces in order to bake her in my house oven.  That was an accomplishment in itself!  

Again, keep in mind, that she is the beginning in a serious...just to get you accustomed to seeing something...uhm...different.  haha  Enjoy the pics.  And remember, I really love to get feedback on what you think of the new pieces as they are finished.  As always, thank you for following along!

So, now that you have seen The Dryad, I wanted to also show the re-dressing of "Xylia".  Originally, when I created her, I used natural lichen for her clothing, which I thought was a very suitable item for clothing for a wood dweller.  Well, apparently, this really was not a very smart idea as I had thought it to be originally.  For some reason the lichen became very sticky and really created a mess.  So, this is why she needed to have a do-over on her clothing.  I was very happy with the lichen until I discovered the mess.   Her make-over is not what I wanted in the beginning, but it will have to do.  :-D   At least she isn't running amuck naked through the woods!  

So, I will bring with me on my trip to the IDEX 2012 show:  The Dryad,  The Woodland Troubadours, and Xylia. 

As we embark on a new year, so must we travel the road to self-improvement, that idea we like to coin the good old fashioned "resolution"!  Most of us make them, then turn around and break them.  The idea though, is to be realistic about the goals we set for ourselves.  In other words, those goals that are obtainable so we feel a since of accomplishment,  self-worth, pride and success.  Key words:  Baby Steps!  So, in my endeavor, I resolve to become and even better artist.  ( I bet you didn't see that one coming at all!  haha)  This year, I intend to work on a series of work that relate to each other in a theme.  What will the subject in the theme be?   It's a very simple and deep-rooted theme:   Life.   (and yes, the pun was intended here as you'll fine down the road) 

I have already began the first piece in this series that will more than likely consist of 5 pieces in total.  This first piece will be one of the pieces that I am bringing to IDEX at the end of the month.  Yes..you read that right!  IDEX 2012 in Orlando!  I will be displaying my work with the International Art Doll Registry.  This is scheduled to take place on January 27-29.  Here is the link so you can see what other fabulous artist will be displaying at the show!  
 http://www.regonline.com/builder/site/default.aspx?EventID=942999    If you are in Orlando for that weekend, I would love to meet you at the show.  It's a great show with a lot of great artist from all around the world.  I believe it is the biggest doll show in the U.S.!  And, judging by the line up of artist, it will be a wonderful show to see. So, come on out and meet the artist and see the work in person! 

In the meantime, I should get back to work or I'll not have this new piece finished in time for the show!   Oh, I suppose I should tell you a little about what I'm working on.  It is a Dryad, or "tree spirit".  It stands about 2 feet tall!  Yes, it really does.  haha  The figure  is 1/2 human and 1/2 tree form.  This is all the details at the moment.  She is nearing completion and once she is finished, I'll stick some pictures up.  I am really pleased with the outcome of this piece, and I'm most certain you all will be too.  :-D

This is just a small update to show you all the last 2 commissions I have recently completed.  Both were Santa Claus dolls made especially for a couple of dear people that I have met through my "real" every day job at the vets office.  I am very happy to say that both of my collectors were VERY pleased with their Santas this year.   It brings me great joy not only to create a special Santa for someone, but also to see the looks on their faces when they first set eyes upon their one-of-a-kind Santa.   Those are some of the best moments for me!  So, this is a special 'Thank you' to those 2 collectors who had faith in my skill and believed that I would produce a bit of Christmas Magic made special for them and their families.   Without further adieu, here are the 2 Santas I completed this year.  Enjoy! 

On the First Row is "St. Nicholas"  and on the Second Row is  "Christmas in the 'Brink' of Time". 

I have now updated the Etsy store with the ornaments listed below as well as the remaining dolls I have left in my current stock that are not at the Hyder Gallery.  I will be adding more ornaments in the store soon as well.  In the meantime, feel free to purchase directly from the Etsy store as the shipping and prices have been set.   You can find the store at www.pixieknoll.etsy.com   Once again, thank you for your patronage!

Finally, after a long wait, I have found the time to take the pictures for some of the OOAK Christmas ornaments I have been working on over the last few months.  If you are looking for that special ornament to add to your collection for this year, then look no further as I'm sure if you don't see the one you want now, keep checking because there is something for everyone soon to be listed here soon!  There are Santa's and Snowmen for your holiday picking pleasure.   I will also be placing them in my Etsy store as time permits.  So, if they are not listed there, then please, feel free to contact me by my email:  lori@thepixieknoll.com  with the ornament description and number as indicated.  (You will receive that same ornament as request.  So, it is very important to be certain you give me the name and number of the ornament.  :-D)

The Santa ornaments are made from polymer clay, with hand-made eyes and painted with acrylic paints.  They have natural sheeps wool for their beards and velvet hats with faux fur trim.  Each of them have my initials under the hats as well.  They measure approximately 5 inches in length each.

 The Snowmen are also polymer clay with stocking net hats and have a nice textured glitter on the outside for added interest and sparkle!  They also measure approximately 5 inches in length. 

 And, of course, the snowball head ornaments sport a felt top hat, and measure about 2-3" in diameter. 

I can tell you that these pictures truly do not do these ornaments any justice at all.  You really need to see them in person to appreciate the "Old World Charm" of the one-of-a-kind Santa ornaments and the "fluffy" appearance of the snowmen ornaments.  These are not my words used to describe them...these are the words of previous buyers!

This is just a quick thank you to all those who attended the Hyder Gallery Center for Fine Art opening event this past Saturday evening.  Judging from the amount of patrons who visited, it was a huge success!  I really enjoyed meeting the visitors and the other artist in the gallery.  It truly was a fantastic evening.   Unfortunately for myself, I forgot to bring a camera to the event so that I could share the festivities with you.  But, as luck would have it, I came across a wonderful lady who is a great supportor of the arts in my area, and she DID have her camera!  So, thanks to Abbe Arenson and her wonderful blog, you can get a snippet of the event and see a sampling of some of the art inside the gallery here:  http://abbesworld.wordpress.com/    Thanks, Abbe, for sharing with all of us!

 
Contact: Sharon Hyder

Telephone: 407-951-0743

Email: Sharon@hydergallery.com

Grand Opening of Hyder Gallery Center for Fine Art

Date: Saturday November 5th
Time: 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm
Location: 104 E First Street, Sanford, FL 32771

Come join in Celebrating the Grand Opening of the new Gallery and Training Center in Historic Downtown Sanford. Meet and greet the artists and view their fantastic work. View the new training center as well. Refreshments will be served. Please bring as many guests as you like for this festive occasion.

The cost is free

Normal Gallery Hours: Mon – Sat 10am – 6pm, Sun 12 – 6 pm
Classes: Contact Sharon for times and dates and curriculum.

Web: www.hydergallery.com


I just wanted to add that I realize this might be a late notification for most of you if you already have plans for this particular evening.   I have only received the confirmation on the dates and times myself.  At any rate, if you live in the area and wanted to see my work in person and meet and greet the other artist and their work too, this is the night to do it!  We would love for you to come and join us in the grand opening event.   

The Colliii Awards has finally posted their final results.  I am sad to say that I was not among the awardees, but I am happy for those that have won in their category.  In particular, some of my friends in the doll world have placed in the competition so I am very pleased for their accomplishment.   If you can't win yourself, it is better that a dear friend is the one that beats you to the mark!   You can see all the category winners at the Colliii website www.colliii.com.  Congratulations to all the winners this year at the Colliii Awards!

The Colliii Awards still have not made their epic announcements as of this morning,  10/29/2011.  According to their site, they were supposed to make the announcements on the 28th.  I am certain there is a good reason for the delay.  Stay tuned to www.Collliii.com for the announcement or feel free to keep checking in here.   Again, thank you all for your patronage. 

Recently, I stumbled across a new art gallery in Historic Downtown, Sanford, Florida, who had a "Call for Artist" notice taped to their front window.   I decided to try my luck to see if by chance my artform would be of interest to the gallery curator.   To my good fortunes, the curator and gallery owners loved my figures and have invited me to sign a contract with them to represent my work.  The wonderful part is that I am not bound solely to their fascility but am permitted to have other galleries represent my work as well.  Their mind set is that the more exposure an artist has via different galleries and opportunities, the better it is for that artist and the gallery representing them.   Therefore, today made it official, I am now on the gallery listing at Hyder Gallery in Historic Downtown, Sanford, Florida.   They intend to hopefully have a soft opening by the end of October if all the preparations go accordingly.  Their official grand opening will be Saturday, November 5, 2011 for their first art show starting at about 6:30 p.m.  For those interested, you may visit their website at www.hydergallery.com.  Hopefully, I will see some of you at the opening! 

Well, folks, the first round of the Colliii Awards voting has been tallied and I am pleased to announce that 2 of my pieces,  "Woodland Troubadours" (pictured below) and "Cecil's Snail Mail" (pictured left) have BOTH been nominated in the Fantasy Figure category to proceed to the final level of judging!  I am so happy with this news that I am beyond words.  :-D   All I can say is thank you to all of you who went to vote and a heart-felt thank you for your continued support.  Without your supprt, I would be just another hobbyist, but with your continued support and encouragement, you all are what help to make me an artist! Thank you! In the mean time, all is left to do, is wait for the final judging.  We will not know the final judging until the end of October, around the 28th I believe.  Continue to wish me luck!

Just a little update to bring you some great news for those following events happening in the knoll. 

I recently received word that the "Woodland Troubadours" took 3rd place in the Professional category for the Annual Prosculpt 2011 event at www.artdolls.com!  I am really excited about that, as you can imagine.  You can see all of the other fantastic winners here http://artdolls.com/media/?album=20.  I have to say, there are some great pieces of work.  Please be sure to stop by and check them out!

As for the Colliii event, the voting has closed to the public and we are currently waiting to see which pieces have made it through to the final judging stages.  I'll be sure to keep you posted once I receive word.  In the meantime, feel free to check for updates at www.colliii.com.  Stay tuned in for more updates. 

Yes, yes, it's true, there is BIG news in the Knoll!  Where, oh, where should I start! 

It's official, I will once again be at the Mount Dora, Florida Fall Craft Festival on Saturday, October 22, 2011, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the The First Presbytarian Church at 222 West 6th Avenue.   Although the festival is slated for both Saturday and Sunday, I will only be displaying on the Saturday at the church.   This is when I will first make all of the ornaments available to the public.  So, for you local folks who are interested in snagging up one of these ornaments, you will have first dibs on selection at the festival.   I am not sure what I will have available that day as packing up for a single day show sas proven to be a bit much in the past couple of years.   But rest assured, there will be at least a few pixies or something for your viewing and buying pleasure!

As for other BIG news,  I have taken a very bold step for myself and have entered a VERY prestigious contest at www.colliii.com.  The contest is a world-wide event and based out of Germany.  There are quite a few categories for judging that encompasses many types of dolls in this huge contest.   My entries can be found in 2 seperate categories, the "one-of-a-kind fantasy figure" and the "one-of-a-kind mini fantasy figure".  One of the awards given is a "Viewers Choice Award".  This is a wonderful award that is selected by the viewers! 

As stated by the people at Colliii:

"You can take part in the online voting and help decide who wins gets nominated and wins awards in this years largest online doll making competition.  The online voting will run from the 16th of September until the 30th of September and is free to all Colliii.com users".

So, in other words, you have a short time period to cast your votes!  Registration is free and only takes a quick moment.  So get out there and show your support for doll artist around the world (*cough, "me", cough*).  It's a great way to get involved and show your support for your favorite artist! 

My entries for this show are in order from left to right "Cecil's Snail Mail",  "Hide and Seek" and "Woodland Troubadours".  I had a tough time deciding which ones to pick, but I think I made good choices.  I will let you good folks decide on that though.  In the meantime, wish me luck!  Oh, and remember to register at www.colliii.com so that you can cast your votes!   

I finally have found the time to put up pictures of the last three commission pieces that I had been working on over the spring and early summer months.  I am happy to say that the recipients of all three commissions were very pleased with the outcome!  As an artist of one-of-a-kind art dolls, I admit, that is it is very satisfying when the client gives you complete artistic freedom to create when they commission a piece of work, and in the end, they are extremely happy with the outcome.   It's very satisfying indeed!   Below, you will find the three pieces recently finished, from left to right, "Esther",  "Adilyn" and "Veronica".   

As previously mentioned, I have been very busy in my neck of the woods creating the Santa ornaments I spoke of in my last update.   I estimate to have nearly finished about 50 of them!  It's amazing at how much time it takes to create something as simple as a Santa face ornament.  I admit, to me, they appear to have an "old world" Santa feel to them.  I will have to let you all decide that though once they are completely finished.   I have also decided to add snowmen to the mix this year.   Currently there are only snowmen head ornaments complete with "carrot" noses in the making.  I hope to elaborate on the snowmen ornaments and have a couple of options available for the snowman lovers out there in the world.  Once I have my lots completed, I will post up a "lot" picture of all the pieces I have been working on.  When you see them laid out in rows, it's nearly mind-boggling to see the amount of work laying there.   You will have to wait until I'm finished to get a sneak peek of the ornaments.....until then, I'll catch you in the Knoll!

To some of you who have recently passed by the Knoll on their internet travels, I am certain it must seem like a period of inactivity here in the Knoll.  But, do not worry dear friends; the lazy days of summer have not hit me just yet!  The truth is that I have been very busy working on a few commission pieces over the last couple of months.  I am currently finishing up with the final one....a little fairy.   There were 4 altogether.  Unfortunately, one was a failed project that took some of my time.  Please see my blog for the explanations on this project.  www.thepixieknoll.blogspot.com   Recently, production has been slower than normal due to my youngest son graduating from high school, the added work hours from the "real" job, and the daily normal life that tends to get in the way of my creative liberties.  

Anyway, while you are waiting for some pictures of these commission pieces to appear (again some of these you can see on my blog),  I wanted to give you something to look forward too!  Soon, I will begin work on my menagerie of Santa ornaments and will have them individually posted in my Etsy store once they are complete.  Along side the ornaments, hopefully I'll have the time to create another Santa or two as well before Christmas hits.  If time allows, I am planning on a Halloween piece too.  We'll have to wait and see how things go.   

There has also been talk from the group at the International Art Doll Registry to attend the IDEX show in Orlando this upcoming January.  As you might have guessed, I could not resist the temptation of attending the show with my critters.  With that said, I have a few ideas that have been tossing around in the old noggin for a while now just waiting to get out.  I think its about time to start unleashing them out into the world of the Pixie Knoll.

So, there ya have it, Folks!  Soon, there will be plenty of new stuff to see.  So sit tight and make ready for the barrage of pixies and their friends that are soon to follow in the next few months.  

Recently, I was interviewed by Debbie McCain of the International Art Doll Registry as the spot light artist for the month of April, 2011.   I am truly honored to be chosen as the spotlight artist.  You can read the interview on the IADR website here:  www.international-art-doll-registry.com/