More Samurai Photos

 Here are the photos finally of Randy Martin's Samurai Kokeshi Doll.  He was very gracious to allow me to show more photos of his doll and to promote his Dojo Marial arts studio.  Check out his web site at:http://www.roninjj.com/home.html

 The Mon or crest is Randy Martins own which he uses on his web site.  The Japanese symbols on the Bo Staff say "Bo Staff" in Japanese. 

 And you may have noticed the car magazine tucked into his belt?  There is an old Ford Model A on the cover, of course.  He loves classic antique automobiles.

 The various symbols across the bottom are Japanese.  The vertical set shows the central symbols in the "Code of the Samurai" or "Way of the Warrior".  The rest are symbols showing his name and Title of Certification and Honor as a 6th level  Shihan Sensei, or Master,Teacher.

It was a real honor to be commissioned to make a Samurai Kokeshi Doll for Randy Martin.

Jack Russel Terrier and Flowers!

 

Jack Russell Terrier, indeed! He is the dearly loved companion for a wonderful lady. Her daughter called me asking if I could make a custom doll for her for her birthday one week later! The lady used to be a florist and loves gardening and flowers, and her puppy dog, of course. So after some discussion and thought...here's what came into being.

This Kokeshi Doll is 5" tall, which made her a nice size for all the extra little details.  She is now in my favourites category, for sure!

Not Kokeshi, but very cute!

Not Kokeshi, but very fun. I made this cake for our daughter's third birthday. She loves Calico Critters and so we bought another small set to add to her collection and decided to use it on a her cake. It was allot of fun to make and she loved it!

 The little squirrels are eating bread, and butter, cheese, cherry tomatoes, and cup cakes with tea (of course)!

 Our daughter loves to play with water, so the pool idea was perfect. And She also loved eating the flowers!

And the scene would not be complete without the puppy dog.  She put him with her set and now he is part of them! 

So there you have it, a little off the Kokeshi topic, but we thought it would be fun to share. 
Have a cute and happy day =)

Woodluv at Etsy is up and running!

So my Woodluv Etsy Shop is up and running now!  I just put the Etsy mini on my blog today (amazing for me, eh?) It is official, I am now selling my Kokeshi Dolls ONLINE!  Thanks, Mom, for that amazing book that is helping me get this set up! 

 Hope you like this little carpenter of mine, too.  I just had to put him on along with the announcement about Etsy.  My carpenters are some of my most popular dolls and I love making them.  Each one is slightly different than the last and the little details are what make them so unique and special.

Have a great day =)

My most recent custom order Kokeshi Dolls

 This little girl will be traveling to England as a gift for a lady from her sister here in Canada. I may even get a photo of her once she's there. If I do, I'll be sure to post it. Little world travelers - if only they could talk! 

The order was for dragon flies and wild grass along with the cherry blossom.  Dragon flies are special between the two sisters and so they add a personal touch to this Kokeshi doll.

 This Kokeshi girl is another one I made along with the one above.  Sometimes I will make two for one custom order if I want one for my own inventory as I prepare for shows. I get people calling  sometimes to see what I have readily available for special gifts, as well, so this helps keep my stock up. I love her long lashes!

She has dragon flies as well, with wild grass.  Her body shape shape is considered more traditional.  Both of the dolls have the note hole under the head so a personal message can go inside as a surprise for someone special.  (It's also fun to lift the head off to find a note inside - people like taking the heads off!)

Birch log and then...

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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My Newest Kokeshi Doll

Welcome to my blog!  Creating a blog is a totally new venture for me so I hope you enjoy the ride along with me.  For my very first entry, I'd like to show my most recent creation.  This Kokeshi was commissioned for the Owner/Black Belt Master of three Japanese Martial Arts studios here in the Okanogan.  He wares the outfit of a 16th century Samurai Warrior going to court to visit the Emperor.  The research alone took a fair bit of time for this doll.  I feel very honored to have been asked to make such doll for such an accomplished Master.  If the Gentleman that received this doll permits, I'll be adding more photos to further show the workmanship on his doll.

Kokeshi dolls are my passion and making each one totally customized and one-of-a-kind excites me every time.  Over the next while I will try to post some of the dolls I've made in the last few years that I feel reflect my work well and are my personal favorites.  I make my dolls to sell and love doing custom orders.  If you see anything here that you'd like, contact me and I'll let you know if I still have that exact doll or not, and if not??? Then Custom Kokeshi Doll here we come!  Hope you enjoy my budding new blog!

To view my web site, click here