Beautiful Birch! That's where most of my Kokeshi dolls start. I do use other woods, but my favorite is Birch. It has such an incredible grain pattern that moves and swirls and yet is very uniform in it's firmness and texture overall. Birch handles so well on my lathe and is great with my wood burner as well. So - I turn the shape I want and then hold the "Doll Blank" in my hands for a while just to enjoy the beauty of the piece, and the feel of the wood. I love to study the grain and color hues as well as I begin to "See" the doll on the piece. Sometimes I have a Kokeshi design I've already sketched out and will choose the Doll Blank accordingly for that design, other times I let the wood determine what the doll will be. I know - sounds flaky, but if you're an artist of any tactile medium, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about! Once I have the inspiration for that pc. of wood, then I'm off to my sketch pad and my imagination...
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1 comment:
I love the look of your blog... very professional. And it's great seeing the process of making the dolls, too.
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