round robins and trees

Sunday was my local doll club's Anniversary meeting. The club has been together for 5 years. I have been with them for four, next month. There are currently only two of the original members still attending. We are a very small club, but that has meant we are very supportive of eachother, and we have had the ability to have more intense-or messy-meetings. Its hard to heat tyvek, or paint, or dye fabric with a large group. Last fall I suggested we do a round robin doll, since they hadn't done one since their first year, and I have always wanted to participate in a successful round robin. Everybody picked a pattern and made the doll body. Over the following months we each did something on everybody's doll. The first month it was sculpting the head, and coloring the face. Then costuming, embelishing, props and stands. Hair was done by whichever artist decided it needed done at that time. Every month we would bring the dolls to the meeting and pass them to the next person. Whose ever doll it was would have to leave the room, but the rest of us got to see what had been done. We also did a journal to go with the dolls, in order to tell the dolls story. The end results were varied, colorful, whimsical and fantastic. I will have to post pictures. Two of us were so inspired by the project that we talked our other local doll club into starting a similar project.

I have a new project going. part of my new years resolution was to do something artistic everyday. To achieve this I bought a pocket sized sketch book at Dick Blick, and some new pens and pencils. Since purchasing the book, I have been doing a small sketch everyday. My hope is that this will help me refine my face drawing skills, especially for eyes, and expression, and encourage me to trust in my ability to draw other things. Right now my fascination is Trees. The starkness of branches in Winter and the grace of each limb, has captured some piece of my imagination.
I wonder where others get their inspiration, and those lovely sparks of creativity.