In Progress

I finally have enough pieces in progress to post. I have pieces for the indie film and pieces for the art festival and upcoming holiday season. The latest new designs are my genies. I have my staple of angel ornaments (above) and new angel designs (below) which may turn out to be folk angels. Haven't decided.
I have also started a very large doll, her head is 6". She's going to be a fortune teller and I even plan on making ears for lots of earrings. She'll have individual fingers for lots of rings too. Two will be made. There will also be witches, fairies, sprites coming soon. I also put on my list, mermaids. The next couple of months should be exciting.
Will have to work on photos too. Everything is a work in progress.

Fabric, fabric everywhere!

After waiting on budget money for a month to buy fabric for the dolls, I finally got it. Paperwork, banks, lawyers. Blah, blah, blah. Nathan was a wee bit upset that his main designer, me, was behind schedule. The main component, dolls, of the movie was not getting made. I refused to get upset. What was the point? The money for me was finally there, now I just had to be able to access it.

I got access and my dear friend Maya, went shopping with me. She's very good to take along fabric shopping. She watched as I pulled different colors and textures, amazed at the process and taking joy in the gleam in my eyes. She was also great at hauling a lot of the bolts for me too. Love you!

It was a good feeling to be able to buy whatever I wanted. The fancy fabrics I normally don't buy to make art. The colors, textures and patterns not usually used. This was my chance to show off. Every time I pulled a different bolt of fabric, Maya would say how she couldn't wait to see what I would do with it. I can't wait either.
Some Asian prints.
Fancy silks and some stretchy, tied dyed, shimmery stuff.
More satins and stretchy stuff. I have dolls in mind just for that. Ethereal beings, faeries, mermaids, gods and goddesses.
Couldn't pass up some upholstery pieces either. The shopping spree was fun and exhausting. Now I've got to get busy.

The Film

Ever since I can remember, I've been fascinated by movies. Movies with stop motion animation, my favorite being 'Jason and the Argonauts'. The sci-fi movies of the 1950s, I would sit there and figure out how they did the special effects. Whatever book on sci-fi and fantasy films I could get, I did. Like so many others, I told myself that one day, I was going to make movies and animated films.

I was told that I would have to go to Hollywood or New York. I attempted Hollywood several times. The first when I was accepted to UCLA for film. I wanted to be a matte artist. Loved the work of C. Bonesteel. Couldn't afford to go. The second time, the same reason. The third time, 911 happened and I lost my job, along with my savings. Disappointed? You bet, but I filed that dream away. I refused to let it go altogether. That was my dream.

Fast forward some years and I'm in a new place emotionally, a new part of the country, a new state and a new town. I joined a writer's group and was introduced to a fantastic and dynamic person, Nathan Ross Freeman. Please check him out. www.nathanrossfreeman.com
www.mrbonesfilm.com www.authorityaction.com

The first time we met, he was the guest speaker for the group. The second time we met it was at the writer's group member appreciation party. He remembered me and asked me if I was still writing and I said no. After receiving a dirty look, he asked, "Why not?" Not having seen this man in months, my left eyebrow raised, not really knowing which direction to take my answer. So I cut him some slack and quelled the mini 'Wrath of Wendy'. I mean, who did he think he was? I smiled and told him that I was busy making dolls.

His eyes widened, a light had gone off over his head and lit his face.
"You make dolls?"
My eyebrow goes up again. The bad, mischievous Wendy is fighting to be a smart ass as I recalled having just told him that I was making dolls. Me being a better looking Santa. The good Wendy prevailed.
"Yes, I make dolls."

He put a finger up and said, "Wait a minute."
Cogs in his head began to grind.
"For sale?"
"Yes, I sell some of them."
Before I could say anything else.
"Wait!"
He closed his eyes and placed index fingers on his temples. I could actually see the wheels of creativity turning in his head. Really, it was amazing. I wasn't expecting the next question.
"How would you like to be in a movie? Have your dolls in a movie?"

Not one to pass up on too many creative opportunities, I said, "Sure."
Now on the inside, I was jumping up and down saying, "Hell yeah. You don't have to ask me twice."
We set a date for our first meeting and the rest.... well it's becoming history. Herstory. My story. My side of this creative endeavor with a bunch of other creative folks.

There were a few glitches at first. Funding being one but this is Nathan's baby. One of those life projects that just won't go away until it's done. It has baked a little and changed a lot. Things were regrouped and money raised. Which is ongoing but that's cool. An LLC was formed with Nathan at the helm, Jarrett Tolman, LaMyra Kinzer (actress extraordinaire) and me, Wendy Luane Barber. Artist. Is this sweet or what?

I'm going to use my blog to document my journey into filmdom. I can't give details about the movie but I can give details of my part, my creative process in the making of it. I am making dolls for a character who makes, wait for it, dolls. She's got this whole house of dolls.

So please join me on my journey. Check back every now and again. All of my entries will be marked as film. Am I excited? You bet. And I'm not even in California.

Good to Go

July just blew by me. I totally don't know what happened but it's gone and now I'm into August. Was July a mid-year lull? It was truly a blur. Was it a belch? What? The beginning of the year was a mad dash. Many projects got done, goals accomplished. Had a great time for my birthday and now back to reality. Was July a break from the first part of the year?

Well now, the blink is over. It's time to get revved up for the last part of the year. Halloween, Christmas and the independent film I'm working on are all on the docket. All are doll/figure related. New designs. Designs to challenge me as an artist. Designs to help me get to what I really want to make.

I have a couple of friends who like Steampunk. Researching this genre, it seems as if I've always liked it but never knew it was called Steampunk. The one series that comes to mid that I really liked was 'The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.'. It took place in the old west but they had so many things that weren't invented at the time, made up and in a way to make it look like those things were from that era. Western Steampunk. The 'Wild Wild West' is like that too.

My sci-fi short story is being edited and I have ideas for a few more. Steampunk like. Why not? I have ideas for Steampunk dolls. Finish editing my kid manuscript and I'll be good to go.