I am a resident of Washington State. I have been crafting and selling for well over 30 years now, and have evolved in my tastes. I have taught classes, and have taken classes. Classes and workshops are wonderful, but I always end up doing my own thing when I create instead of following exactly how something is taught, or recommended to do. What I have always done is get the basics either from a class, or many hours of research, and reading, then I go to my studio and basically figure it out for myself. The best teacher you have is your own hands on experience.
I took a long stretch of porcelain doll classes, lace drape, spanish oils, and ceramics. I went a bit crazy and ended up with a kiln, molds, a pouring room and met with a nice group of ladies every week in my home. I had a lot of fun with the dolls, did shows and sold a ton of them, but I ended up selling it all when I began to feel it was too much, and my interest in that medium was waning. This is the one thing that has advanced my skills more than anything else I've done, I now incorporate these skills into the things I create today in so many ways.
I learned the art of tole painting from a wonderful teacher, and ended up teaching a class in a fabric store I worked in. My favorite projects are those that incorporate some kind of painting, especially doll faces, I could do those all day long! My favorite tool in the craft room are my paint brushes.
I took sculpting classes from doll artist Lee Ann Davis, wow how I loved that! to this day I enjoy playing around with clay and making OOAK's. I now incorporate my love of sculpting and tole painting on gourds, dolls and whatever strikes my fancy. There is nothing like the feeling of taking a ball of clay and having the power to make it come to life.
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I love making dolls, always have and always will, they just change in their appearance as I try new things. I have tried quilting, beading, scrap booking, pretty much everything, and definitely know today what I love, and do not love doing. The journey has been fun along the way, and the learning experience has been invaluable.
I adore all things old-fashioned, and tend to make my things to look aged, or as if they came from an earlier erra. I will buy an anitque any day over a new piece from a furniture store, the antiques have so much character and history. I would have been quite happy to have been born 50 years before I was, I'd have fit right in! Well..... maybe not so much without my beloved dishwasher, washer and dryer.
I keep almost nothing I make, why? because my joy comes from the creating and not in the keeping. This is the case with most artists, almost all of them will tell you this.
I love what I do, and hope you can see this in my artwork.
Jody Johnson
