Ironcraft Gets an A!

This challenge called for being inspired by the letter A. Wow! What a concept! I didn't know what to make of that one at first. It could be anything we could relate to the letter A, a technique, an item, whatever. I chose to make an art doll. Her name is Anne inspired by a little girl I know by that name. She is a wonderful child growing into a beautiful young woman. Now, the art dolls I've studied are intricate works of art that transcend the human form to become an interpretation of the artists who make them. I don't profess to create such works but I do aspire to do just that some day. But, you have to start somewhere and Anne is my humble beginnings. I found this neat stamp of a young girl's silhouette and using fabric paint, I stamped the image on this sheer drapery fabric. Experimenting with paints and fusing I dressed her in her favorite colors and clothes. Anne is mostly always a jeans kind of girl! I free-motioned her glasses and some of the clothes. Added hair using some brown wool. The back is the same stamp that I painted to look like the back of her body.
I presented the doll to Anne and asked her what she saw and she immediately saw herself.
As in all challenges, I ask myself what I have learned. I learned a bit more how paint reacts on fabric, how it will bleed on some and not on others. I learned how to clean up the bleeding and the wonders of Gesso. I practiced more free-motion explorations. The experts say that the way to mastery of that technique is practice, well, I'm a little more knowledgeable now. I have also redefined the term art doll, at least for me. I have visions of dozens of such dolls all standing in a row and seen in that context, then yes, they are art dolls. I already have my next subject in mind.  With practice, I will move away from the stamp and draw my own body and head on the fabric. That is also part of my vision of the future. And remembering that I won't buy any fabric for these projects this year, I can get even more creative using the material I have on hand. The doll is very zen like to make, kind of like paper dolls were when I was young. For brief moments, I am just a little girl with my paints and my canvas. I like that!