Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Miss Mousey Says Goodbye to some of her favorite toys before she leaves for France





Catherine and I http://miniaturemaisondesouris.blogspot.com/ have become friends. Thanks to Blogger and Google translate. Which can be a bit confusing in its email translations.
Last summer we started talking about a mouse for the gorgeous French mouse house she is working on. She thought she would like to have a little girl about eight to ten years old. One that bared a family resemblance to the portraits Catherine has painted of them for the house. Which she explained had more of a rat like face.
Having never made a doll or dressed one, I wanted to give it a try. The first problem I knew was the fact I didn't have anything to dress her in. Catherine sent me a box of fabric. Many pieces were over 100 years old. 
The challenge began.
I had no idea what the body of a child REALLY looks like. You have to begin a sculpt with a drawing or a photo. So as usual I went to Google.  
Ah-oh! The last thing you want to do is search for....dare I even say it here...NO, I can't. I don't need the FBI at my door thanks. So I searched instead for little girls in a ballet class. That I thought would be fine. Children in leotards. PHEW!
 Refining the body sculpt. OOPS....Her bottom got a little flat. I left her on it while I was away.

I spent many hours sculpting a body that would be hidden under clothes. I printed pictures of all the portraits on the walls of Catherine's house.
I needed to understand what sort of face Miss Mousey should have. She was going to be 45 to 48 inches tall in RL 1: 1 scale.
 The sculpt finished, it was time to dress her. I was worried, I played with fabrics for ages. Never cutting into anything. I quickly found out that fabric has a mind of it's own. I didn't want to torture these beautiful fabrics by using some stiffening agent.
I drew my patterns and first tried them in something of my own. The only fabric in Catherine's box that would act right turned out to be a cotton print and it was new (not antique). It would hold a finger pressed pleat. You can't iron pleats into place without making them look unnatural. Asking fabrics to become 1:12 scale curtains is one thing but this was a lot smaller. 

I gave her leather boots that had to be built right onto her feet and legs. I was very happy with how those worked out.
It is very hard to capture what someone has in their minds eye. Perhaps it is impossible. It is too bad they take so long to make. You usually come a lot closer after five or six.
Please visit ' Suzanne' in her GORGEOUS new home on Catherine's blog at the above link.

 

36 comments:

  1. As you know I had the pleasure to meet Miss Mousey / Suzanne here in Paris....let me just say that she is exceptionally beautiful, far nicer than even a well taken photo can portray. You are amazing with the skills you posess. I am so pleased to have seen her in the 'flesh' soto speak. I did not look up her dress, so I am surprised with all the detail you went to that (yes) would be covered! Yet again Catherine.....your skills amaze me!!!!

    Linda xxxxx

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    1. You cannot imagine how envious I was knowing that Miss Mousey was out to lunch with all MY girl friends in PARIS. OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!I was pea green with envy. haha

      Thank you Linda. I am so glad you got to meet her in the 'flesh'. ;-)

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  2. What? That is your FIRST doll? OMG, you are such a talent! Not only is the body beautifully wrought, but the costume is outstanding, too! Brava!

    Happy Thanksgiving!
    John

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    1. Thank you John. It was great fun. I learned a lot too.

      Happy Thanksgiving. XXX

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  3. Heu...je trouve que le derrière de Mademoiselle Mouse est extrêmement séduisant il est dommage que l'on ne puisse plus l'admirer sous ses jupons !

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    1. Je souhaite que mon deriere ressemblait à la sienne.

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  4. Miss Mousey is lovely :) And omg, Google Translate is a life saver... even when it tells us weird stuff.

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    1. Thank you Heather. YES! What would we do with out Google Translate!. ;-)

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  5. Your first doll, NO WAY ;)!!! She is gorgeous Catherine, and well made, I like the way you've dressed her. I've seen her on (French) Catherine's blog too........oh dear, above is an other (French) Catherine, wow, there are lots of Catherine's here LOL!
    And please, don't talk about the Google translator, it never works well, for example: try to translate an Italian or Spanish text, you only can guess what the writer of the blog post meant to say......;)! It is such a pity, because I would love to say more to all bloggers, but I can't express myself very well in English, I am sorry.
    Ilona

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    1. Thank you Ilona. I have always understood every lovely comment you have ever left me. So not to worry about the translator here.

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  6. Amazing and beautiful work as usual, Catherine. And how cool that you have been able to work with a blog friend from France! Happy Thanksgiving to you.

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    1. Thank you Alessandra. It was a lot of fun.

      I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving.

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  7. WOW Brilliant! Everything from scratch....just wowww

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    1. Thank you, I am glad you like her.

      She looks so nice in her new home. What a gorgeous room she is in.

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  9. Oh my she is splendid! A real reward for all the painstaking work. Clever thinking to look up the ballerinas! Even though your anatomical attention to detail may not be seen it must influence the way she stands and the way her clothes hang so well worth it the attention to it I should think. (By the way, I've tried the technique of lying around on my back for hours on end to see if the your accidental bottom flattening technique would work on humans but I am sad to say it was a dismal failure ...)

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  10. Thank you Norma.

    I have spent many hours on my backside and it hasn't flattened mine either. LOL

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  11. You're right, I would never have guessed that's who the hand belonged to. Your sculpt is very good Catherine. I love all the trouble you went through to research what she should look like beneath her clothes, even though you won't see that anymore. It is funny that she has a human body with a mouse head. She does look like her portrait! Beautiful work!

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    1. I just realised she doesn't have whiskers, is that because of the human/mouse combination?

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    2. I thought about giving her whiskers. Then I worried it might make her look too old. Haha she is only eight. Maybe she will grow some around the age of thirteen. ;-)

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  12. She is too cute for words! And the little boots!!!!! Precious! Who would have thought the strange hand would turn out into this elegant (and dare I say, well behaved) young mademoiselle.
    Véronique

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    1. Thank you Véronique. I learned a lot while making her. If nothing else I now look at the dolls others have made in polymer clay and appreciate them in a whole new way.

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  13. Oh my, she is just wonderful! I just jumped over to Catherine´s blog to see her in her new spendid home, what an eyecandy! It is so funny, seeing the hand I would have never though that you were up to make a mouse girl! But she is fantastic and you´ve done a great job on her outfit, too! Chapeau!
    Hugs, Sandra

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    1. Thank you Sandra. I never would have thought I would make a doll of any kind but I really wanted to do this one. "Suzanne" is a very lucky girl to be living is such a gorgeous house.;-)

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  14. How beautiful she is and her clothes are gorgeous. You did a wonderful job. It wil be perfect in Catherine's house.
    Geneviève

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  15. I think you have created a mousterpiece! She is beautifully crafted and you've made a lovely job of her hands - I understand hands can be difficult to recreate. Thank you for the link to Catherine's blog - your little creation looks very much at home

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  16. Thank you Irene. I have heard people say hands are difficult. Making two that match is what is really takes time.

    Catherine's mouse house is beautiful. The room "Suzanne" is in is nothing short of being one of my all time favorite miniature rooms.

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  17. Miss Mousey is beautiful. I like her clothes.
    Greetings, Faby

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  18. She is just gorgeous Catherine, and totally not what I expected you were making. And she looks so at home in her final destination, great job, I admire anybody who can work with clay!

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  19. Thank you Elga. It was a totally new experience that I enjoyed.

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  20. Great job Catherine, I am sure her ancestors will approve, I will go to the link to see her insitu.

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  21. I adore the story of this little mouse.
    I am sure she found the perfect place to stay in Catherine's house.
    XXX

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