I began this journey creating human art dolls. “Harmony” won a first place ribbon and is currently in a private collection. Costuming was silk crepe and silk ribbons, woven to create the bodice and draped loosely for the skirt. My first ‘animal’ was the little bird singing with her!

“Whimsical William” was created from a pattern kit by Anke Daanen after taking a class with her. I created a story about his travels, with two mice helping him to pack his suitcase. This was my first attempt at a complex story with multiple characters.

First exploration into Steampunk – I decided I liked it! She is a ‘cage doll’ – her legs (made from gears) are encased in a toy birdcage. It was a challenge to connect her top and bottom half, but she turned out well! She is in a private collection.

Another Steampunk girl – dressed in dupioni silk and sporting a necklace made from vintage jewelry. I used real pipe fittings for this one, and perfected my hat-making skills. Also in a private collection. Seems as though Steampunk gets a lot of love!

My transition to animal sculptures. She started out as a discarded head, and I added felted ears to see what I could make of her. I just kept going, adding felted legs and bunny feet. Her costume is dupioni silk and vintage lace, with cotton bloomers. I like her a lot – I might make another one!

One of my first full animals. The face is from artist clay (same as the human figures), and the body is a full-on ‘stuffed animal’ in sherpa, with clay toes. He was fun – loved finding the faux fur for his tail! He happily resides in a private collection.

This gal is one of my favorites, and is not for sale. She was my first full felt character, and I had lots of fun creating the “Once Upon A Time” book that is her perch. Note the steampunk-ish eyes, her pearl necklace (yes, they are real!), and her cute toes. I want to make another owl soon, maybe with a clay face like the Cheshire Cat.

Oh, how I love this lady! I was sad to see her go, but she resides with a very sweet young lady who loves cats. She was my first animal bust, and is fully Victorian in dupioni silk and vintage lace. She has another hand-crafted brooch, and a lovely top hat complete with bow and feather.

And finally, here is Captain Steampunk Bun. He was also snatched up very soon after I created him, and he inspired me to make more rabbits both as busts and as full standing characters. His epaulets have steampunk gears on top, and his monocle clearly marks him as steampunk. Both items were handcrafted by me.