Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Looking into Doll Faces


Welcome to Day 17 of Drawing Into Poems, my daily drawing/seeing/writing study into poetry.  You can read more about this month-long project here on my April 1 post.  Feel free to read the books with me, and pull out your own sketchbook and jewelry box full of metaphor too...

Day 17 - Hope's Doll
Click to enlarge the drawing.

Students - I have been thinking about drawing this doll all month.  But I've been a little bit nervous about it.  She's so cute...and I wanted my picture to do her justice.  Today I just jumped in.  (I think she was calling my name!)  There is something different about drawing something with a face: an animal, a person, a doll. Drawing, I form a relationship with my subject, and I do feel closer to this sweet doll now.

Tracing Juniper's edges and curves, drawing her knitted garments, I was transported back to my childhood again, most particularly to the doll that Grandma made for me.  Flopsy and Eva were handmade and special, and as I remember them, I also remember the kelly green handsewn doll that I received from the hospital when I had my tonsils out at 6.  I was amazed that someone I did not even know would make a doll for me. Her legs were satin, and her face was sewn with thread.  What a parade of little faces I have known.

What little faces have you known?  You might wish to choose a face from your life...look at it, either in real life or in a photograph, and let your pen or pencil make marks to match it. What memories arise in you?

Today, Robyn Hood Black is featuring my Drawing Into Poems project over at her very cool artsy blog, Artsyletters.  It's an honor to be there today, and I highly recommend Artsyletters, Life on the Deckle Edge, Robyn's writing blog, and her Etsy shop!

Please share a comment below if you wish.
To find a poem by topic, click here. To find a poem by technique, click here.
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3 comments:

  1. Amy, I LOVE the line work all over and around the shawl of your special doll here. You've given such warmth and texture to her handmade clothes. :0)

    Thanks for all the shout-outs! It was an honor having you visit my blog.

    I know I'm not alone in appreciating how you share your wonderful work.

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  2. Amy,
    I'm enjoying following your drawings. I've shared a few with my students as an example of ways they can collect ideas in their writer's notebook.

    I had to smile at this picture of the doll. When I was young my grandma had a doll that she had purchased that had two sides. If I remember correctly, one side was Little Red Riding Hood and the other was Wolf. I had COMPLETELY forgotten about the doll until I read your post.

    I enjoyed the story of the doll --- and the memory of the doll your grandmother made for you. I can't help but wonder what poems these pictures will eventually become.

    Thanks again for sharing your process,
    Cathy

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  3. It's so interesting to see the interplay of words and drawings.

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