Dutch Touch Graduation Houston 2009

I have a new Flip camcorder, and I have to try it out. (So what if I've wrecked two iPods. This toy will be different. To see the Dutch Touch graduation, try this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzuZxd71pak. Failing that, go to YouTube, keywords: Dutch Touch Houston.

Dutch Touch 2009 Day 5

To see all our wonderful creations, visit Lynda Watkins' blog here:
http://claymama1.blogspot.com/2009/04/ta-da-our-dolls.html
Aren't we full of talent?

We all finished in plenty of time, so we goofed around and took photos and had a *very serious* graduation ceremony.

I have a video to post of our graduation ceremony. I just have to figure out how to upload it....


Boo hoo! The girls are gone. No more zucchini bread. Wahhhhhhhhhhh. Wahhhhhh. The magic is all packed up...

...and on its way to the next doll stop in California! And it does make me feel better to know I could always take an online class. But if I can't wait till 2012 (yes, yes, we'll do it all again} there's always Paris!

Dutch Touch 2009 Day 4

Before we start today, you should know if you ever host the Dutch doll duo Marlaine and Ankie that they are VERY demanding. They must shop EVERY SINGLE NIGHT after class. They need shoes and pants and tops and everything imaginable {we don't think they make these things in Europe so it is understandable they must come to America}. Here they show off their polka dot socks.


Now back to work! Today we are attaching the hands, feet and head and getting our costumes on! Yay! It is hard to concentrate on this rather boring work when we are t-h-i-s close to the funnest part - the costumes - but we have to be good. Here are me little shoozies painted with acrylic paints.

After we get the stuffing j-u-s-t right and we get glue all over everything, we bandage up the legs to look like our doll is wearing support hose.

Now I apologize to Colette [my dolly!] for this inappropriate shot, but you have to see how our work is progressing! Ankie is now front and center and we are busy sewing our costumes to the body. And I am a pokey puppy when it comes to hand work. Everyone else seems to be moving along faster, and there I am with like, one leg complete.
So God knows pleats are more flattering than a gathered waist, so I tack those down. And I signed her of course! With a big heart and the date before I cover it all up. Who will ever see it? I don't know but Colette is bound to have an adventurous life as a little French girl, oui???? {She just started looking FRENCH to me for some reason...}

Uncle Fester! Oh c'mon, you know she's beautiful. Dolls are being born all around me. So exciting!


Now I admit, I am a teeny bit jealous of tablemate Sherry's knife-pleated pants *sigh* but I am a big girl and will get over it (or buy Ankie's costume book and do a pair for my next dolly).

This is Sherry's baby again - the gentlest face on this one! And to think her maker is so cranky!
And this is Mable, whom Sarah (who offroads when she is not dollmaking) thinks is too plain to be Mary with a Little Lamb, and so she will get a GOAT! She is lovely!



Tomorrow: finished dolls and our graduation!

Dutch Touch 2009 Day 3

The armature is made from electrical wire that goes straight down the torso from the shoulder to the groin. You insert the wire after you've got the body stuffed (And then you add the arm and leg "sleeves" and stuff madly). Hey, was I the only one who was fighting to get that wire in that body? I practically had that torso on the floor under my foot pulling that wire through. Finally I got Bruce to do it.

Jeez. And that was before we started for the day. Today is face painting! AAAAiiiii!!!!! Marlaine said we were to have a "suddle touch."



We used just four watercolors and mixed till we got the colors we needed. I needed a drink! I was scared of that paintbrush!!!! But it ended well. I did the eyes and they didn't exactly match, but I didn't want to mess with it because I thought it would only get worse. So I kinda hid her under a towel and hoped Marlaine wouldn't notice.

HAH! "I am tinking that one eye is a little lighter ten de utter." Yes, and I'm thinking I should probably go get lunch for everybody. [Yes, Marlaine fixed it for me - but she asked first, not like some teachers who take over your doll like the devil taking possession of a fresh body.]

Meanwhile, there is the steady hum of Ankie's sewing machine in the background. Just look at this!
And the rain! It was pouring and flooding by the minute! Plus it was PROM for Jessica!!!!
Quick, everyone inside to give Ian the third degree! "What time is the prom, where is the afterparty? Are the parents home? Where are you going to dinner?" "Yes, ma'm, no ma'm, I will, ma'm."


He passes! The fairy godmothers are happy and give their blessing! We send Jessica and Ian off in the downpour!

Sally is unimpressed. "Let's see if they are home on time." [photo by Mary!]


We interrupt this blog for a prom photo - couldn't resist, love the picture. Malibu Barbie's tan is courtesy of MOI [and Sephora's tinted bronzing mist!].

Dutch Touch 2009 Day 2

After our heads were approved by Marlaine, we popped them in the toaster oven to shorten the drying time and got to work on our hands and feet. We worked from base pieces supplied by Marlaine.

We added the four fingers first, and ten the tum (that's "thumb" to you dearie). Very cool. Don't you love them? We worked on both hands at the same time - so you don't get one hand completely done, and then you can't match it. So you do index finger, index finger, pinkie, pinkie, etc. And slightly bent fingers and thumbs are more elegant than ramrod straight fingers. You want to be careful, though, that you don't splay the fingers, or else you will never get the costume on.



So to make a finger, you make a shape like a carrot - "not too tin and not too fat like a sausage". And you put two creases on the inside of the fingers where the joints are. To make the thumb, you shape something that looks like a teapot spout (or a penis, take your pick). And then you add wee little flat circles here and there to make the knuckles and pads of your hand.

We put little "worms" of clay on our feet to make shoes. Too cute!



Meanwhile, as Marlaine was teaching us to sculpt, Ankie was working away quietly in the other room - whipping up costumes. I was confused as to why we didn't all need sewing machines, but now I get it. She made a gabillion costume variations from our fabrics. It was like that fairy tale where the shoemaker left out the materials at night and found perfectly finished shoes in the morning. Magical.


Of course, during all this time, we are drinking coffee and eating Marlene's amazing brownies and zucchini bread and carrot bread and brownies and chocolate chip cookies and more carrot bread and banana nut bread and oh, dear, another brownie. We are happy doll artists!

Our homework tonight is to attach and stuff the arms and legs of our doll.

Dutch Touch 2009 Day 1

This just looks like an average house in a suburban neighborhood, eh? NOT! Inside, 12 dollmakers from Canada, North Carolina, Mississippi, Texas and Iowa are hard at work on one-of-a-kind creations under the direction of master doll artists Marlaine Verhelst and Ankie Daanen.



We spent Day One shaping our little "eggs" into a head, sculpting a forehead, adding a chin, building a nose, creating the eyes, all the while smooting, smooting, smooting (dat's Dutch for "smoothing, smoothing, smoothing").

It was a wee bit stressful for me, as I am not a sculptor at heart. But as the day wore on, I made friends with the squishy Darwi clay. To add more clay to your head, you just add a little water to the spot, smack it on and then smoot it.

We would work a bit and then Marlaine would come around to inspect what we did. Among other tings, I had to go back and add some to the "snottenholder" -- dat's Dutch for the fleshy part undernead the nose. (Tip: If you're sculpting a smile, it doesn't have a snottenholder. Go to the mirror and see for yourself!)



Here is Yvonne "smooting" with the sculpting brush (aka a paint brush).

So you know, you won't get out of this class without sculpting ears. Doesn't matter if they will live forever underneath an adorable hat or mop of hair; Marlaine will make you make the ears. It is pointless to fight.

Tomorrow: we smoot the heads some more and start sculpting the hands and feet. Our homework is to stuff the muslin body firmly. De hardest part is over.

And the winner is...

Not Jessica but hey, pretty dang close! The kid
got third runner-up, so she will move on to the next level - which is Miss Texas Teen (I think).


That's her, second from the right - she has my abs, don't you think?

And here are the top five - the pink girl in the middle won.



Is this not a Bob Barker moment or what? The final evening gown walk-arama. After it was all over, the poor kid's face hurt from smiling so much. Love the big Texas hair.

Who knew that having hair extensions was like having another pet!
This is "Wayne," the little sh*t who ate one set of extensions when Jessica hung them up outside to dry. After the fact, Bruce says, "I knew it was a bad idea to hang them there..." Well, gee, I really enjoyed my special time with Jessica, half a bottle of detangler and a toothpick salvaging that hair piece, lemme tell you.
So you know, these are THE WRONG ROLLER CLIPS momma. They LEAVE DENTS in your hair! [note to self: new eBay business - roller clips - Sally's Beauty Supply in Houston (I talked to the regional manager, mind you) hasn't received a shipment of the RIGHT ROLLER CLIPS since November 2008. Rarer than the new Lincoln penny!] I'm surprised she could even place with the roller clip snafu. You probably have 75 of the right kind of roller clips in a drawer at home * sigh * Who says pageants aren't real life! How many times will the kid have to deal with the real-life-equivalent of WRONG ROLLER CLIPS? This is all just chock full of LIFE LESSONS dearie.


Bruce #2 and Bruce #3 (Bruce #1 would have l-o-v-e-d to see this!)


Celebrating with family - daughter #2 and bestest daughter-in-law #1

Me and peanut. (She looks a little too shake-n-bake, but that's the stage makeup, ya'll.)
Adam wouldn't come, the little shi*t. I can see why, as he was BUSY. He was on his longboard with Johnny, being dragged through the neighborhood by a dog named Garth (and hair-eating-dog Wayne's best buddy) with a cape and a Mexican Lucha Libre mask (wtf?????!!!!). Sorry, no, don't have a picture.

All hands on deck - there's a pageant to go to!!!

So daughter no. 1 (third from the left, back row, totally obscured) is competing in Miss Teen Houston. Today, right now, at 3pm!!! No, we're not pageant people, I can't even use a curling iron. But the kid wanted to do it. She babysat and hostessed and saved her pennies for bathing suits and interview suits and then *POOF* a fairy godmother (in the form of Laura) appeared and ***WHOOSH*** we are swept into pageant world with hair extensions and fake boobies and oomba-loomba spray tans.

Here she is with Chelsea (center) the bestest coach EVER and Laura, the fairy godmother (I want one!) What I have learned! Oh. My. Gawd. There really is butt glue!

But the news!!!! So last night was the Preliminaries, and Jessica did fabulously! She walked the walk and smiled and oohed just like Malibu Barbie! I was so proud. She was runner-up in the Preliminary Swimsuit Thingie. And I am expecting her to be one of the 15 finalists today (my logic: if you're a finalist in the swimsuit in preliminaries, you gotta be one of the 15 finalists, eh?) So that's 3pm TODAY, Saturday, April 11 at the Hilton Post Oak.

Meanwhile, pageants have bizarre effect on family members. Husband-who-refuses-to-wear-anything but tennis shorts turns up in this Miami Vice outfit (and his new Superman glasses). And that's uber-cute daughter no. 2 (who has been a valiant little sister throughout this ordeal, save for the wicked imitations of pageant girls, her big sister included).


And where to even start with an irritating little brother who picks this moment to get a haircut straight out of My Name is Earl (at least he has that stupid hat on...)

Now if there's any doubt about what a cutie-pie Jessica is, here's absolute proof from this early early morning shot. Truly 17 going on 3 years old. I think I captured it.


p.s. SHHHHHHhhhh. We don't expect the kid to win :-( because these other girls were straightening their hair and doing pageants in the womb (not to mention all the mysterious-but-not-surprising politics of it all) but I give Jessica credit for having the guts to give it whirl. That SAID, I'd love to see her in the top 5. So pray with me sisters, can I hear an AMEN!

Where you'll find me...

After upmteen gabillion months, my chicken wire purse finally saw the light of day in the newest Haute Handbags (spring 2009). I'm on page xx. Check it out. You can find it in Joanne's, Michaels, Hobby Lobby and sometimes Barnes & Noble. Boss, man.

Welcome to the Departure Lounge

So I just finished two books: Welcome to the Departure Lounge: Adventures in Mothering Mother by Meg Federico and The Sum of Our Days by Isabel Allende.

Both memoirs, both in response to a death. One hilarious (death of a mother), one deathly serious (death of a daughter and what's come to pass since). Too serious. I picked up Departure Lounge at the library. I loved the cover! There is something funny and goofy and touching about a refined old lady holding cucumbers up to her eyes. I hope I am so funny, but that I completely REALIZE how funny I am rather than just being demented. (I also like to imagine them auditioning old ladies for this photo shoot. Yay! There will still be a job for me when I'm 85, which is good, because I will still need a job.)

What did I like about Departure Lounge? It was honest (no syrupy crap here). The good, the bad and the ugly about taking care of a loopy parent 2000 miles away. It was laugh-out-loud funny. I did wonder, though, what the mom would have thought about sharing certain undignified details with the WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD. But oh yeah, she's DEAD! And while the dying mother was not Joan Crawford, neither was she June Cleaver, and everything didn't all come together in one big verse of kumba-yah at the end. I liked that A LOT. Go Read It Right NOW!

By contrast, there was nothing funny about Isabel Allende's memoir, and that would have been okay, but it had a certain preachy tone. I mean, I like Isabel, but man, she's a little over the top in the considering-everyone's-feelings business. For example, her son's wife, after having three children in rapid-fire succession, figures out she is actually a lesbian and wants to start a life with Isabel's stepson's fiance. (I mean, I knew something was up with her when she wore combat boots the first time I met her on paper. And Isabel is entirely sympathetic to this find-yourself-at-all-costs business!

I would want to sock her in the eye for breaking up my entire family and hurting my son's feelings. (Hey, I like lesbians as much as the next girl, but figure out that stuff BEFORE you have three kids, hon.) But lo, Isabel, is oohing and gooing over her, fully recognizing the nobleness of her struggle, etc. Puleez. And I can just see the kids having to make THREE mother's day cards - think of the confusion! (And this one's for mommy #1, mommy #2, stepmommy #1....oh jeez, have I forgotten anyone?)

Isabel is the matriarch and she just relishes that role, but I don't think I want her to be my matriarch. Who knows, maybe I will act just like her when my kids start getting married, but she's too feeling, too thinking, too, too, everything. She would wear me out - like someone constantly noticing if you have the sniffles. (Course if your kid dies from a routine infection, maybe that has something to do with it...) I did like, though, the descriptions of her grandchildren. She was not sentimental and I think she got their authentic weirdness down pretty well.

Backstory: Isabel lost her daughter Paula in her early twenties to a bizarre medical condition (as well as medical incompetence). This is the story of Isabel's life SINCE then. I am glad she has thrived and was not broken by her daughter's death. I'm glad she writes her mother weekly and has this complex tribe of folks to look after. And honestly I admire the sheer will it takes to gather family from all points of the compass, but it's just that I thought Meg would be more fun to go out to lunch with.

P.S. I finished Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult some months ago, but I just couldn't talk about it. Jodi Picoult is a fabulous writer with great hair, but it was too close to home. The story of a troubled kid who loses it and shoots up his high school. Here's how it came to pass told from the perspective of two mothers: the killer's mom and a survivor's mom (their kids were friends when they were younger). And when I say close to home, I mean it is easy to see how all the tiny humiliations and invisible steps (+ a big hunk of mental instability that looks suspiciously like the average sensitive kid) inevitably leads to something unspeakable. Terribly sad.

Love & kisses!
M