Last year, I was contacted by some people from HP about using my content in a downloadable application for their web enabled printers. After many months of conversation and discussion, I’m excited to announce the Paper Thin Personas App for HP Web Enabled Printers featuring Marisole Monday.
I’d probably get them in black and white if I had kids, because than the paper dolls become a fun coloring activity. And who doesn’t like fun coloring activities?
(Plus, in an entirely unscientific study done by my friend with her cousins, small children + crayons + black and white paper doll sheets = almost 20 minutes of occupied time. And this time of year, who doesn’t want that?) A few things you should know… You need a web enabled HP printer to print out the Marisole Monday paper dolls. All of the paper dolls in the App have appeared on the blog in full color before, but not all of them have appeared in black and white.
I think the Paper Thin Personas App is great for parents or grandparents who want something for their kids or grandkids to play with every Monday or if you just want a Monday morning pick me up. It’s really very fun to walk into the room on a blurry-eyed Monday morning and see a paper doll waiting.
Lastly, I have to give a shout out to the wonderful team I worked with. They were all fabulous and made the process quite painless. 🙂
The blog calendar. I never said it was attractive.
I talked about my Red Binder a little while ago. I love my Red Binder, but I wanted to write about the other tool I use for organizing blog posts.
It’s a calendar.
I use Calendar Labs to create my monthly calendars. I like Calendar Labs, because you can choose which day to start your weeks on. Since Marisole and Friends Paper Dolls always post on Mondays, I can choose to start my weeks on Monday, rather than Sunday. I find it’s easier to plan if I do it that way.
As you can see from the photo, the Calendar gets filled in as I figure out what is going to go up each week. I took this photo mid-November when I was still figuring out what the month was going to look like. These posts often change and move, but my general goal is to have two printable paper doll posts and one non-paper doll post each week. At the bottom of the calendar, I keep a list of what posts I think I am going to have completed in time to post them in any given month.
Since I work in spurts to activity, its possible that I might have four or five pages of paper dolls ready to go up. Now, I could post these all in a row… which would be great for five days.
The problem is that the next five days there would be nothing.
In Blogging, consistency is just as important as frequency.
So, while I might want to show off what I’ve done from a long Saturday afternoon spent working on blog things, I know the smart thing to do is to space out the posts and the calendar helps me to do this. It also gives me breathing room and space and makes sure that I know I’m going to have something up each week. It allows me to plan vacations or busy times of my life without having to worry about the blog.
Does it mean I always manage to get up everything I wanted to get up when I wanted to get it up? Nope, often not, but it sure helps me map out each month and it lets me know if I am going to be desperately short.
What I hate, more than anything else, is realizing at 8pm on a Saturday night that I don’t have a Marisole Monday & Friends post even drawn for Monday. Can I get it done in a day? Yes, I can, but I won’t have any fun doing it and the product won’t be very good. So, I usually don’t. I need to know ahead of time if I’m out of scanned materials.
I think sometimes blogs function under the assumption of spontaneity. There is a tendency to assume that someone just sat down at their computer and produced in a moment a wonderfully written post with great photographs.
I don’t really think that happens. (Maybe I’m wrong? Any other paper doll bloggers want to chime in here?)
A great post comes from planning, from knowing what you want to post and then carefully putting it together. It’s a labor of love and it always takes time. Spontaneity is a myth.
And after my apartment flooded, I found myself going through a lot of my childhood drawings checking for mold and water damage. Quite a few things were destroyed, but most of them were safely tucked away in plastic bins, protected from the water. I thought it might be fun to share some of them on the blog, since I often get emails from young people asking how to become better artists.
All I can say to that is practice. Practice. Practice. Also, take art classes when you’re in high school and have the time. Now that I’m out of high school, I regret not taking the figure drawing or the advanced water color courses that were offered.
Anyway, this is Riven. (I think I wanted to name her Raven, but there was a girl in school who was really mean to me named Raven, so I named her Riven instead.)
So, Tom Tierney was my favorite paper doll artist when I was a child and I admired his figures. This was my attempt at copying that style. She’s holding a brush, rather awkwardly, and brushing out her hair to cover her breasts modestly.
She has a streak of silver in her hair, but I don’t think it scanned that well. My first ever Tom Tierney paper doll was Christopher Columbus, bought for me by my sister when I was eight or nine, I think. She suggested that I not cut it out and I never have. It’s still sitting in my collection somewhere. I remember it had historical information about Columbus in it. I read all of that and then pestered by teacher about why we celebrated Columbus Day when Christopher Columbus was such a jerk.
I still have serious issues with Columbus Day, but that’s a whole different story.
November is Native American Heritage Month, so let us take a moment to consider the world of Native American paper dolls.
“Traditional Native American Clothing of the Early 21st Century” is a series of drawings by Steven Paul Judd. These illustrations come from Collecting Children’s Books, a blog which is no longer being updated, as I think the author passed away. “Traditional Native American Clothing of the Early 21st Century” includes four images of “Medicine Man” and “Chief”, “Scout” and “Warrior,” all drawn in colored pencil by Steven Paul Judd, Kiowa/Choctaw.
Mr. Judd writes that, “I’m not a psychologist so I can’t tell you the effects of seeing your people only portrayed in a certain way. I can only speak on my own experience of being a little kid and looking for others on t.v. that I could identify with. Only person I could find was Erik “Ponch” Estrada from “CHiPs”. So as a youn’un I pretended to be a motorcycle cop. So my thought is, what if our youth could see there selves not in just a historical context, but as doctors, lawyers, astronauts? So that’s when I decided to make these drawings.”
But I didn’t choose Judd’s work just because I think it’s amazing (though I do), I chose it because I believe it reveals something important about how paper dolls depict Native Americans.
Let us pause a moment, while I dust off my soap box…
Humans create societies and in these societies the dominate social groups use their position to create culturally constructed ideals which than are presented as self-evident and natural. One term for this process is “hegemony” (often used in a political science context) another term is “social construction” (often used in a psychological context), but most fields that deal with human societies have a term they use to illustrate this idea.
But what, you might be wondering, does this have to do with paper dolls?
Paper dolls are not mere playthings, rather paper dolls illustrate for how people look and who people are. When Native American paper dolls depict only traditional dress, the illustrations send a message about how and what Native American’s are as a people (or, more accurately, as hundreds of different groups of people). Not to say that there’s anything inherently wrong with depicting accurate, tribally specific, traditional dress in paper doll form, but when these paper doll sets don’t also include contemporary clothing, they create the illusion that Native peoples only dress in regalia or, more dangerously, exist only in the past. The obsession with traditional dress harkens back to the 19th century obsession with “documenting a culture on the edge of extinction,” a dangerous false idea.
When Native American children only see themselves presented in these limited contexts, they are denied the opportunity to be equals to others in society. When non-Native children see only traditional dress on Native American paper dolls, they are denied the opportunity to see similarities rather than differences, are taught that Native peoples all dress in traditional dress all the time and are presented an image of a “costume” rather than a person.
Do I think that all Native American paper dolls in traditional dress are bad? Of course not, but paper dolls should open up imaginary worlds, not limit them.
I shall now step off my soap box and welcome anyone else to express their views, politely of course, in the comments section.
After it happened, I moved. I got myself back together. I bought some new furniture. I had some wonderfully supportive friends.
One of the things I did this weekend was update the Red Binder.
The red binder is home to all important blog documents.
What, you might not unreasonably ask, is the red binder?
This is how I stay organized. It is called the “Red Binder” or, sometimes when I can’t find it, the “Where the @$^&@# Did I Put That Binder”, but usually the “Red Binder” and in it lives a copy of every serial paper doll on the site and quite a few of the non-serial ones.
The most important blog documents are the master copies of every paper doll series.
I have every paper doll base doll in a plastic sleeve in the binder with multiple copies (usually three to five) and this keeps me from losing the base dolls and it makes sure that I know where they are. Since I tend to sketch when I have time, I usually carry one to three base dolls with me, so I have something to draw off of if I’m watching a movie or have a slow evening at home. I don’t have a dedicated studio space, so I have to be able to carry around my art with me.
The Red Binder usually also houses my calendar where I chart out what posts will go up when. Since I always have multiple things in the works, having a chart keeps me sane. It also allows me to prioritize. For example, if I have just done a fantasy set, I might choose to work on a modern set next for the same series or if I have a holiday coming up, then I try to remember to draw something for it. Though this year, it’s not looking likely that my Halloween project will be completed in time.
If you’re planning on blogging about anything- paper dolls or otherwise- I recommend keeping a calendar and a binder. It’s helpful to have everything in one place. Any thoughts from other bloggers?
Um… While I was traveling, there was a slight problem with the apartment above my apartment and the resulting water damage has rendered me homeless for the moment. I’m safe, most of my things are safe, and no one was hurt. However, while I search for a new home, I just won’t be able to keep up with the blog.
Hopefully, everything will be settled in a few weeks and things can move back to normal here.
So, this is anew thing I’m trying out where I post a few interesting things I’ve stumbled across the web over the last few weeks. I might never do this again, but… I thought it might be fun to try it out. Let me know if you guys like it…
Newly discovered the Arizona Costume Institute and their wonderful gallery of costume images. Check out this Dior suit.
Canada Elle magazine published two great articles on fashion appropriation- Native American & Asian– which I just discovered because I live under a rock, or something…
So, a reader named Elizabeth made the following comment:
I just wanted to let you know that lots of your paper dolls (like this one) don’t work when you cut them out because of their hair. It’s too long so when you try and put the tabs over the shoulders the hair is blocking the way. I’ve found a way to fix it but it would be nice if you could improve that! I’m not trying to be rude so if it is then sorry!
First of all, your comment is not rude at all Elizabeth. I’m more then happy to respond to this and I’m happy to take constructive criticism.
I have a lot of paper dolls with very long hair and it’s true that I have never indicated where I expect people will need to cut in order to make the clothing wearable. I always thought it would be obvious that you had to cut along the shoulders and the sides of the paper dolls body to allow for the tabs to fit, but perhaps this is not as obvious as I always thought it was.
So, I have done some rather quick and dirty diagrams here of where you may need to cut in order to allow long haired paper dolls to wear the clothing.
Hope this helps. As I say fairly regularly, questions are always appreciated and I try to answer all the questions that I can.
I looked at the calendar and I thought… I have two weeks before I present a conference and then go to two other conferences, I have time.. I can get ready for July. It’ll be easy.
And it turned out I was really really really wrong.
So… no real post today, but instead I offer a list of the things I learned while traveling:
1. It is possible to use the word “visioning” in the sentence and not be sarcastic, though probably not by me.
2. It is possible to get lost within 5 blocks of my destination more than once.
3. Some of the buildings in Chicago are quite beautiful, though most are just really tall.
4. Being called Miss. Rachel is not JUST a Southern Thing…
5. That lake in Chicago is really big… Also, on a clear day, you can see Michigan. Hi, Michigan…
6. Academic papers on the history of the escalator are surprisingly engaging.
7. The Chicago City Museum’s Ebony Fashion Fair exhibit is really cool and is up until January and everyone should go see it if they can. It rocked.
8. There was this dude named Beverly Nichols who wrote this great book I want to read called Crazy Pavements and then faded into obscurity.
9. Librarians are nice people and sometimes being one means that publishers give you free stuff.
Normal paper doll service will resume later this week. 🙂
So, I was quite sick for the last few days and so didn’t get a Monday post up. Rather, I spent my Memorial day in bed, sleeping and eating soup. I hope other people had a better day off. Since I didn’t want anyone to think I’d dropped off the face of the Earth or was eaten by a wild goat, I have decided to post something I wrote last week and never got around to posting. I hope no one minds.
Now, I’m pretty bad at math, but I do have a formula I use for calculating outfit options. (By the way, I also use this when packing for trips where it works pretty darn well too. 🙂 )
Here’s how I calculate the number of “outfits” possible from a set of paper doll mix and match clothing pieces. First, we must define our variables. I know a certain former math teacher who would be quite irate with me if I failed to define my variables.
X=Number of Tops
Y=Number of Bottoms
Z= Number of Jackets
W=Number of Shoes
V = Number of Dresses
N= Number of Outfit Combinations
So… the formula looks like this:
((X*Y)+V)*(W+1)*(Z+1)= N
Why the formula works…
An “outfit” consists of one top plus one bottom. Since every top can be worn with every bottom, the tops multiplied by the bottom gives us the number of outfit options. Dresses are generally not worn with tops or bottoms and therefore they are added after the multiplication has taken place. The shoes (W) and the jackets (Z) both have to have one added to them, because it is possible to function without wearing shoes or jackets and the one provides for that option. If the assumption is being made that shoes will always be worn than the 1 can be omitted from the (W+1) calculation.
The formula doesn’t always work. Some sets, such as Mia at the Bathing Place or Blossom are done with the assumption that certain pieces will always be worn together or aren’t really mix and match to begin with. Further, not all paper doll sets are mix and match oriented. I generally do not take necklaces, scarves and other accessory items into consideration, because I think they don’t dramatically change the outfit enough to warrant being counted as separate outfits. For example, had I considered them, Spikes and Pleats would have included 5920 combinations, which seems a bit much, even to me.
However, if you want to include the accessory items… than take N and do the following:
N= Number of Outfit Combinations
A= Number of Necklaces
B= Number of Bracelets
C= Number of Scarves
D= Number of Outfit Combinations including Accessories
So… now the formula gets to look like this:
N*(A+C+1)*B=D
And with that little foray into math, I am now going to go take more cold medication. Enjoy the calculations… And ask if you have questions.
Man, looking for paper dolls in foreign languages is a total blast, plus I keep finding new and neat things. So another reader, let me know that lalki papierowe is the Polish term for paper dolls. Here’s a few of the paper dolls I found…
On the other hand, if you want your child to grow up to be a cleaning lady… here’s the paper doll for you. I can’t decide how I feel about this paper doll. She’s interesting, but I think about how hard the cleaning women who do the library work and I feel its a little disrespectful…
Of course, I haven’t read the entire Polish blog post, so there’s that.
One of my readers, Erin, reminded me that klippdocka is the word for paper doll in Swedish (since I did that post on Påklædningsdukker) and so that sent me scurrying off to image searches (I actually like Bing more than Google for this sort of thing) and I found a lot and got reminded about a blog I’d rather forgotten about, despite having it on my links page.
Anna’s Blog hasn’t been active in a few years, but since the archives are available, its worth checking out. Her paper dolls are beautifully rendered in pencils and markers, always full color and vibrant. Her main paper doll has incredible historical costumes (this is my favorite) and she has other beautiful paper doll sets as well. I can’t say enough nice things about her work, and I wish she was still blogging with us.
I have noticed a lot of vintage styling in these Swedish paper dolls. I think people associate paper dolls with the past more than the present, which is a pity I suppose. Online dress up games are very popular these days, but for me, as a child, the best thing about a paper doll was getting to draw my own costumes for them. I wonder if that are of the equation is missing, both with magnetic paper dolls and with the online kind.
Who knew looking for klippdocka would make my nostalgic? As always, enjoy the paper dolls.
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