Alice Books

I'm working on something new and I'm really excited about it!  It all started yesterday when I had an idea to make a fabric "Alice" dress.  I've been trying to come up with some sort of character design that's all my own.  So I pieced together a little dress for Alice to wear in Wonderland.  I ended up seeing some yarn and ribbon that would be great for her hair, and some eyelet lace that I liked for a pinafore, and I was off!  Okay, I was completely obsessed.  I was up late making it, but it's totally different from my other work.

Can you believe her dress is made from vintage bedsheets? 

 Look at the waistband! It's a corner of a fitted sheet! 

The rabbit hole was my 10 year old daughter's idea!  Love it!

I struggled with the face.  What to do?  I am not an illustrator.  I like piecing things together so I came up w/ a pieced together/aged look for texture and depth.  I'm happy with how it turned out, although my 6 year old son thinks it's looks really creepy. 

I like how the book seems to come alive. 

So this morning I got up and (again) became completely obsessed with another Alice book.  Was the first just a fluke or is this a sign of things to come?  My artwork kind of takes on a life of it's own.  I really never know how things are going to turn out.  I have a base idea...."alice" or "alice at the tea party" and then I just begin working on the background and adding.  Ideas arrive and I try them out.  Usually they work out, but sometimes they don't and I have to rip things up.  It's almost like the art tells it's own story along the way....

Here's the second book.  It's a bit busier than the other one....Alice attends the Tea Party here. 

The neat thing about this book is that the table cloth is a vintage napkin that my Grandma Rozen embroidered.  Amazing to incorporate her artwork into mine decades later. 

See the bunny ears popping up from under the side of the table?

I like how the buttons fall of the side of the book all haphazardly!  I may need to add some color to the Hatter's hair.  It seems to blend a little too much with the background.  I tried some orange in it but it didn't look right.  I'm also not sure if I dig his shoes.  Hmmmmm....

Again, my daughter is brilliant.  I had both of Alice's arms back below the table on her lap, but Abby said I should make one covering her giggly (non-existent) mouth. 

I love this picture because you can see how the Hatter's buttons stack up to look like plates and teacups!

Have you noticed the door mouse yet?  He's there too!

Thanks for looking at my latest project!