OSS, where art thou?

I have been intently focused for the past few weeks on the OOAK (One Of A Kind) fashion doll I am donating to the upcoming GAW (Grand A Wish) Fund Doll Convention in Michigan.  I have donated a doll to their charity auction for 4 years in a row.  I guess it’s become an OSS tradition.  I have been asked why I chose this particular convention to which to donate my creations, and I really have no fabulous answer.  I am asked to donate my work to various conventions every year, and I have realized I have time for only one.  I know other artists who donate to multiple conventions, and to them, I say, “Kudos!”  But for OSS, one convention donation is what I can handle without putting myself in the loony bin, and even one often takes me to the brink.  My near insanity is self-imposed as I seem to fail miserably at budgeting my time, but when you work from home, life often inserts and asserts itself.  The OSS agenda is always at the mercy of TRW (The Real World).

All that being said, my absence from my usual haunts…doll boards, Facebook, The OSSome Blog…has been the result of my time being usurped by “Sterling”, the newest Genie of OSS who was created for GAW with their 25th Silver Celebration in mind.  I thought I had allotted enough time for the project, but I had somehow forgotten how long the bead-encrusted costumes take.  And I ran into some roadblocks with the base/stand as well, so um…yeah, I teetered on the edge of going bonkers several times before I actually completed the project and was able to ship her off to Michigan before the deadline.  I  must thank Laurie Lenz of Angels Doll Studio who created the silver saran wig for Sterling.  I had originally planned on rooting the doll, but I realized that I would never finish in time if I had gone that route.  A desperate email to Laurie, and my crisis was averted.  Thanks to my hubby, the stand took shape as well.  He always cringes when I approach him and say, “So, I have this idea…”, but he always manages to fulfill my vision.  So…now that Sterling is safely in GAW hands, I can get back to my minis and other doll projects.  Thanks for not abandoning the OSS ship!