Author: Joy Murray

I'm a 60 year old artist in Memphis, Tennessee. I spend my life trying to catch stories, give them form, color and light, then send back out into the world.

Young Dollmaker

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My friend Mary’s grandaughter Maggie came to visit Portland.  She is 12 and already an accomplished dollmaker.  I was very impressed by the fact that she was hand-sewing her creation.  I loaned her my two books on sock dolls — Stupid Sock Creatures by John Murphy and Socks Appeal by Brenna Maloney.

I decided to make her one of my Strongheart dolls.  I met her on Monday and we had dinner again on Saturday.  She’d made 6 dolls and I’d made the one.

She whip stitches the figures together.  I backstitch with the idea that  my dolls should never unravel.  Either way we had a great time  sharing our dolls.

Maggie's dolls
Maggie's Dolls
Joy & Maggie play dolls
Joy & Maggie play dolls

Then we traded — A Strongheart for Raspberry the Spotted Owl

Raspberry the Spotted Owl
Raspberry the Spotted Owl
Strongheart
Strongheart

It was a wonderful experience at play and enjoying the company of a budding fabric artist.   Next post I’ll write about the series of Strongheart dolls I’m making.

Check out the sock books, too.  Both are very whimsical but I love the way Brenna Maloney writes about her craft.  Maggie said she sounds like one of her friends — chatty, informative and very funny!

Teeny Tiny Studio

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Working in a small space
Studio in the 2 room apartment

I found out today that 15 bags of poly fiber fill fit under the bed (I stored 2 more under each dresser and two in the closet — I got a good deal on a case). I’m getting all kinds of cool storage containers and organizers but making a mess is the prerogative of any artist, even those in small spaces. If you work in a small space, give us some hints on how you organize, create and live in your teeny space.

Art Where It Lives

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I took these Father’s Day week-end at the open Studio of Katy Mcfadden.  Her work is so stunning displayed in her garden.  She does this studio tour once a year.  Link up to her website for better pictures and more info on her unique work.

http://www.katymcfadden.com/

Art Where It Lives

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I’m still getting used to my smart phone.  I wanted to use it to take pictures of art (especially fabric and figural art) and share them here on my blog.  I can load them immediately onto my facebook page but I haven’t figured out how to put captions on them.  I figured out how to download these — not perfect but you get the idea.  These three I just took at the Tapalaya New Orleans Style restaurant here in Portland, Oregon.  They have lots of cool art with a real New Orleans feel, but I liked the dolls in the bathroom best.