The Wee Peeple Newsletter     

   July 2008                          Issue 17        

    The CAT WOMAN   

Janet Gelles and her amazing Catpeeple Doll Collection...

Just LOOK at all of them! WOW! Janet has been collecting Wee Peeple Cats for many years.

An unusually pure collection- all cats- she missed a few years,

but almost every year since the Lady Kandra has had the Catpeeple Dolls at Renaissance Festivals,

 Janet has befriended at least one- often more- up to five at a time some years...

The last time the Dollmaker saw Janet, the cat was in the bag. It was her 36th.

She was taking that white kitty- that serene one there- home to meet the 35 others.

(You can imagine what a cool guy her husband is!)

You GO, Janet!

Thanks for sharing your collection with the Wee Peeple Readership!

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and now...

Wee Peeple Doll Constructions 

presents...

The Infamous Summer of '08

when the Dollmaker added another Style

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Wee Times, they are a'changin...

Yes, it's true-  about every twenty years or less- the dollmaker adds another style...

Some old-timers or kids-now-grown may remember the original Wee Peeple Dolls

in the early 80's which stood up in children's shoes-

and then, how that doll style changed in 1988

to the draped style most people are familiar with today.

Well, hang on to those dolls ladies and gentlemen, because it's 2008 and  the Wee Peeple Doll World is getting seriously rocked as

the Dollmaker Changes Again!

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What is Happening!? Explanation, please! 

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Insisting upon hands with fingers... brought on the

EVOLUTION OF THE MINI-WEE DOLLS!!

OK! GOT HANDS! WITH FINGERS! YAY!

OH boy!  GOT 3-D NOSES!  and ARMS!

(WHOA! ARMS INSTEAD OF PIPE-CLEANERS- BIG  BIG  IMPROVEMENT THERE!)

HOW ABOUT- SHOULDERS! YAY! AND WAISTLINES!

Oh think of the styles these dolls will wear!

so it's Hallelujah Sisters!

The Mini-Wee Dolls have New Bodies!

(...do we detect the influence of a certain sculptor in the life of this Dollmaker...?)

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  So it was like Once Upon a Time... (about time, really... the Time being- FINALLY!)

when the Dollmaker set out to build the first NEW DOLL BODY right on top of an old wooden Mini-Wee Doll Body-

 wow what a powerful feeling to flesh something out in clay...

a very awesome clay which has a lot of wax in it, so one thing you do not do with this clay is fire it-

 do not cook the waxy clay, for it will melt faster than the wicked witch of the west if you heat it up...

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Once the figure is cast in hard resin (the resin cast is the blindingly white one),

 it can (and sometimes must) be touched up with a dremel tool- this figure was cast in a two-part mold-

 you can see the line where the two parts of the mold met- along the arms and down the leg.

The figure can be sanded and primed and painted, or- it's probably more clever and efficient to add a dye to the resin for skin color.

Arms up! Arms down! Now a second mold (and a third! and on and on...) could be made from this same little waxy clay figure-

Yes,  it's terrible to think about, but the clay model usually loses her arms in the mold-making process- eek! But! Not to worry!

 The Dollmaker just takes her back to the Dollmaking Workshop, adds more clay- and - Voila! new arms! this time in a different position!

  After "Arms Up" and "Arms Out", it will be "Arms Forward",  with hands positioned to hold some cool precious thing in front of her.

It's going to be a real joy for the dressmaker/dollmaker to be able to use smashing and sexy dress styles which require bare arms,

 real shoulders and a bustline, woowee!

And hands with fingers look good with any outfit.

Just think...

...you can look at these first rudimentary doll bodies and know

that these are prototypes  for doll bodies  which will be used

in upcoming Dollmaking Classes! yay!

(You may as well start thinking about those sexy witches now ladies. cackle cackle)

((for those who haven't a clue why I would say that, the Witch Doll Classes are the most popular of all the Classes taught by this Dollmaker-

nobody admits to knowing why...))?

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There will be more written in next month's Issue about the other figures in

the Summer Line-Up of Majorly-Changed-Dolls

as photographed, above.

but a quick over-view:

The female figure behind the mermaid is a remake of a Bottle Doll,

See the Topo Chico Bottle beneath the clay...

(these will probably be hollow rather than solid, and they will probably be the doll bodies used for the classes, since they will be the right height.)

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And those adorable fierce little Wee Men made by Joel on the bench in the back,

are waiting for the Dollmaker to construct facial features.

(see next month's Issue for  the story about the Wee Men)

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Meanwhile.............

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This is what happens when a Dollmaker and a Sculptor get together...

MOLD-MAKING!

The Dollmaker gets to make hands with fingers! yay.

and the Sculptor gets to show the Dollmaker some of the fancy new  materials used nowadays in mold-making.

This mold rubber is called "Dragon-skin".

See the little hands disappearing slowly into the liquid mold rubber! Help! Help!

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After the original sculpy hands have been removed from the rubber mold, it is time to pour the resin into the mold.

Notice how the resin is a two-part mixture.

The two parts become one, however, just before the resin is poured into the hand mold.

 So, first the resin is clear- but then it turns white when it heats up- an internal thermal reaction. (reminiscent of your old plaster-of-paris).

 Then when the resin cools down- the hands can be de-molded- in around eight minutes.

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These hands can be reproduced many times from the same mold.

 They look like porcelain but they are much stronger. These don't break if you drop them.

 The stark white has GOT to GO, though. The white is just the natural color of the resin- it can be dyed or painted- did I mention- dye is better.

This is the first Wee Peeple Doll made with a hard head and hard hands- and believe me, she is  a hard-headed woman!

But it is hard to tell that her head is not full of fluff.... that it's solid as a rock.

These hands were painted- see-  they came out blotchy.

But- she can hold much larger things in her hands than her "old-style" sisters could, so you've got to 'hand' it to her...:}

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ok....

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Now then... About those mermaids....

 (Feel the ZING! All that recently-released pent-up mermaid energy accumulated after years of needing to make mermaids 

 and never being able to figure out a way to make out of fabric an easily reproducible doll body with lots of fine detail and a very fine tail!

 Oh yay! Hear the slow and deep revving of the Mermaidian Engines!)

This Mermaid stands only 7 inches high.

The vision for this one is for her to be suspended in the air as if she is swimming through the water... this is a work in progress....

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and so.........

Meanwhile...

The Dollmaker, on a roll now, created

 the first

 Mini-Wee Mermaid Queen

 using a one-part mold of dragon-skin rubber this week

that same little clay Mini-Wee figure served as a model for this mermaid...

this time she got a tail...

The above photo shows three stages in the casting process:

1. the original brown model made of clay 

2. the dragon-skin rubber mold and it's supportive outer companion mold

(technically the dragon-skin rubber mold is a one-part mold- the supportive companion mold is in two pieces

 because it is stiff and will not bend or stretch to release the finished sculpture)

3. the final white resin cast  (center)

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The Mermaid figures above are studies for doll bodies

but if the Dollmaker wanted her Mermaid Doll to be able to be suspended in the air- (simulating water)

she would have to build the clay body upright on a wire armature.

This Mermaid is the one Bill is working on right now- he is using this type of armature.

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Bill's mermaid is a mother- she will be guiding a baby mermaid- (a mermette?)

and the piece will be entitled "The Swimming Lesson".

pretty cool, huh? You go Bill.

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the Rock Sculptures are back too!

(new Madonna head rock sculpture)

remember 0h- about 15 years ago when you could go to the Wee Peeple Doll Shoppe

and find these cool little hand-carved stone Goddesses made by the Dollmaker...

well, they're back.

we're calling them "Stonesculpts"

or you could could call them rock-heads...

(made from fossiliferous limestone)

Look for  them at the Texas Renaissance Festival

 in October - November

speaking of the 

Texas Renaissance Festival 

This just in...

News from the Kingdom

Advance Discount Tickets Are Still Available:

A variety of discount ticket options offer tremendous savings over the gate ticket price of $21.00 for adults

 and $10.00 for children ages 5-12 (children ages 4 and under are always free). Discount price options include:

Opening Weekend Discount Tickets: Good only on Saturday or Sunday, October 11 and 12, 2008.

Adult Tickets (Ages 13+) - $11.00 Child Tickets (Ages 5-12) - $5.00 

Advanced Discount Tickets: Good for one day of the Festival (including Thanksgiving Friday).

Advance Discount Tickets must be purchased by September 26th, 2008. 

Adult Tickets (Ages 13+) - $16.00 Child Tickets (Ages 5-12) - $6.00 

After September 26th, Opening Weekend and $18 Discount Tickets will be available

 online, by phone, or at participating HEB, Randall's, Market Basket and Woodforest National Bank locations.

To purchase your tickets click here or to receive more information, contact us at 800-458-3435 or visit our website at www.texrenfest.com

Group Gatherings: Groups of 25 or more adults can order tickets for $15 per adult and $6.00 per child, a savings of $6.00 over regular gate admission.

Enhance your group's day at the fair with a private, catered picnic.

To book your group event, email groups@texrenfest.com or call 800-458-3435.

TRF is Going Green! Beginning in 2009, our season brochure and accommodation guide will be available online.

 If you would like to remain on our mailing list, please email your updated information and preferred method of contact to

update@texrenfest.com or by calling 1-800-458-3435

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OCTOBER 11TH TO NOVEMBER 30TH 2008

SEE YOU THERE!

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and the hair just keeps getting shorter...

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BIG changes in the summer winds...

more next month....

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"Feminine Spirit" special order for Holly Wilson

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 Back to Home Page

edited 05/17

02/18