The Office

Oh my goodness. This one was a long time coming. I’ve painted over a thousand sets of these dolls in the last decade and I simply cannot stop, not when there are so many people throwing so many ideas out at me. I have a little notebook absolutely filled with the sets I’ve yet to paint and there are only so many hours in a day in which I can physically make things happen. I am so glad that The Office has finally happened. I adored the British version and liked the US version just as much. This is only a small portion of the cast and it still took two sets to fit them all in.

There are actually two different versions of Michael Scott, which means I’ll have no choice but to crank out a third set!

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Reno 911!

This was, and always will be, my favorite show in the world. It also made me realize I would never A. Be an actor and B. Be an improv comic…not that I ever have aspirations to do either since I’m more of a “behind the scenes” kind of person. I’ve painted Reno 911! a long time ago and was happy I had some time now to revisit it. Painting this set brought up some really happy memories, such as while waiting for an ex-boyfriend to get ready for a night out on the town, I watched half an episode for the first time and knew right then and there I would be a lifelong fan; hosting a girl’s night in with my bestie and the two of us laughing so hard that mops and cleaning products had to be brought out halfway through the viewing.

The Music Department

This set features some of the music teachers at a girls school in Sydney. Judging from the photos I received for references, they looked like an energetic and dynamic lot who not only get things done in the classroom and on stage but make sure the kids have fun in the process.

Cheers

Here’s another blast from the past. I used to watch a lot of Cheers re-runs back in college. Let’s face it, I’ve spent a lot of my time in college watching TV. It the first time in my life that I had a TV set all to myself…didn’t have to share it with anyone except when my two-nights-a-week roommate who didn’t like TV was over. I was so possessive of my TV that I’d been known to throw a boyfriend or two out of my place because they insisted on changing the channel/turning it off. I’m grateful that my husband is more of a TV fanatic than I am. Now I find myself telling him to turn the TV off!

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

It seemed kind of serendipitous that when I was working on a set of Ruth Bader Ginsburg that I had the third US presidential debate on in the background and Trump went after the supreme court justice.

“Ooooh,” I stopped painting momentarily and stared at the overly coiffed nominee in dismay. “You’re in deep doo doo now!” Not that he has kept his shoes free of scat since he dove into politics, but rather, this statement would no doubt anger the legions of RBG fans. The fact that Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a supreme court justice, has fans, says a lot about this woman, and that she’s so awesome that I was asked to paint her likeness in doll form.

Since I like to add a little surprises into sets that doesn’t include the littlest doll, this one will feature two gavel charms for the recipient to fashion into earrings.

Availability

Just letting everyone know that I’m still currently sourcing materials for a very very limited edition of Pink Flamingos. As for the other sets, there will also be a limited number scheduled to be painted in August. Check back for more deets then! Thank you so much for your interest and inquiries! All my work are hand made in my little sweatshop, so it’s not humanly possible for me to make more than a few of these dolls at a time.

In the meanwhile, here’s a little video made by the outrageous Emi of The Pygmy Hippo Shoppe (sadly, she’s also sold out but check out her other fabulous wares!):

30 Rock

Moving to a new country at any age is not easy. I was fortunate enough to have landed in an English-speaking realm. Other than that, there are still a host of things to get used to such as Kookaburra attacks, calling appetizers “entrees,” converting currencies and measurements in my head and thus blowing a few fuses (as I mentioned before, math and I are not on first name basis), having to wear sunglasses just to hang up laundry…the fact that I have to hang up laundry instead of tossing the whole lot into the dryer, and sighing over the same but slightly different version of food and daily products that I was accustomed to. It can really do one’s head in. But the one constant is of course my first love—television. It has never disappointed me before and it still didn’t. I got through the first few tumultuous years in Australia by being able to tune into American television, and the one that helped tremendously is “30 Rock.” Not only is it well-written and quirky like the way I love my television, but it’s also shot in my old home NYC. Every week was like a brief visit back there and that had more than made up for trying to figure out why there seems to be a new prime minister every other year since I’ve been here.

Here’s some of the cast of “30 Rock” with (large to small) Jack Donaghy, Liz Lemon, Tracy Jordan,  Frank Rossitano, Jenna Maroney, and of course, the NBC page: Kenneth Parcell.

Here are some closeup shots of (left to right) Liz Lemon’s Mexican cheese puffs “Sabor de Soledad,” Tracy Jordan’s “EGOT” necklace, and Jack Donaghy’s drink.

It wasn’t easy trying to pick out a hat for Frank but I do enjoy pairing the words “karate” and “sluts” together. Here’s Jenna Maroney looking calm and collected, and there’s Kenneth in his full page regalia.

Coming to America

The best part of my childhood was finally being allowed to trek all the way to the Fresh Meadows Cinema by myself (or with friends) to catch an afternoon matinee. “Coming to America” was one of the best cinematic experiences I’ve ever had ’cause let’s face it, it’s a great movie and what girl didn’t want their Prince to turn up, put on a dorky uniform, and proceed to woo you with lines like, “When you think of garbage, think of Akeem?”

Here’s the cast featuring (largest to smallest) Akeem, Semmi, Lisa, Cleo McDowell, King Joffery Joffer, and Queen Aoleon.

There was a slight incident with the crown as I got a bit too carried away with my Dremel and ended up taking an extra spike off. Oops. Luckily it was easily repaired but man alive, I just can’t be trusted with power tools.

Some deets:

Supreme Court Justice Matryoshka

My BFF from way back when is one of those people who can be counted on to answer questions concerning the events of the human race, be it past or present. I mean, there’s nothing that girl doesn’t know. She was like this when we were eleven, and even more so at the ripe old age of (not applicable). So when I posted this “teaser” photo of my current project on facebook, I said to myself, “that girl is going to know exactly who this guy is.”

I was right. Despite wrangling three small boys from six months old to four, she still manages to know every single one of the nine supreme court judges of good ol’ USA.

When the idea to paint the nine supreme court judges was proposed to me, it was suggested that Judge Roberts’ ears ought to be prominent, as they are quite large. I eagerly looked for photos of Judge Roberts, hoping it’d jut out like Ross Perot’s except comically bigger. To my disappointed, Hon. John G. Roberts turned out to be a rather handsome man and his ears, although large, didn’t resemble Alfred E. Neuman‘s.

I initially thought I’d have to painstakingly sculpt a few ears, cast them, and then spend a few days sanding them down to identical sizes. Since I now often have to choke down meals at my work table and resent the easy lifestyle the ginger cat down the street was living, I was not looking forward to this extra work. Then I remembered that I had eaten straight up Ramen for many many months just so I could invest in a 3D printer and everything started to come together after that.

From biggest to smallest: John G. Roberts, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen G. Breyer, Elena Kagen, Anthony Kennedy, Samuel Alito, and Ruth Bader Ginsberg.

This was a set of 10, which means I had to leave out the last doll and put something else in its place…as a surprise for the buyer. So I looked around and found the best accessory for these judges:

This fabulous miniature gavel!

Also, here’s the 3D printer, which the Hubs has modified somewhat. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with this thing. One one hand, it has the ability to print me a pair of ears. On the other, the sound it makes whilst printing is driving me insane.

I Gots to Have That Bear Coat

This is the deluxe version of “Workaholics” that I painted as a break from painting commissioned stuff. Yes, yes, I know. I need to go out more.

In this version Blake is wearing the bear coat,

Adam’s got a butterfly clip on his neck,

and there’s a new addition of Montez and Jillian.

Why is Jillian looking like a Kiss groupie?

She’s not a Kiss groupie! She’s straight up Juggaho!