Oddfellows

Oddfellow Drawings

 

The Beekeeper Drawing    9"x12" framed   Pencil on drawing paper in vintage frame

The Mystic   6"x 8"x2" framed    Pencil on cream drawing paper in oval frame

 

Heart in Hand   8.5"x11" framed    Pencil on cream drawing paper in vintage frame

Oddfellow's Sophie + Hannah Dolls!

Sophie Dolls:

   

 

Sophie Dolls measure approx 18" tall from tip of toes to top of head. They are each an edition of 1, and are crafted from wool felt, new and vintage cottons, custom fabrics, muslin, and are stuffed plump with poly-fil. Each has an entirely hand-painted face.

Without their capes...just click to enlarge each one!

     

Hannah Dolls:

   

These Hannah Dolls measure approx 9" tall from tip of toes to top of head. Each design (Mystical & Bee) is an edition of 4. The dolls are crafted from wool felt, new and vintage cottons, custom fabrics, muslin, and are stuffed plump with poly-fil. Each has an entirely hand-painted face.

 

The Golden Rule Society Member

 

The Golden Rule Society Member    8"x10"x2"    Acrylic on canvas with gilded edges

This young hedgehog was orphaned at a very early age, and consequently became inordinately attached to a coarse-bristled scrubbing brush. When he was finally separated from his beloved brush, he quickly attempted to build a nest in the facial hair of Oddfellow Bluebeard, which, in texture, bore a slightly less striking resemblance to his departed mother. With time, Edward (for that was his name) grew more independent, and founded the inaugural chapter of The Golden Rule Society at Oddfellow's Orphanage. He tries to "Do Unto Others" at all times. It is to this philanthropic streak that the school's janitor mistakenly attributes Edward's eagerness to help scrub the oak floors.

All Seeing Annabel and Heart In Hand

 

All-Seeing Annabel     11"x14"x2"    Acrylic on canvas with gilded edges

 

Heart in Hand     11"x14"x2"     Acrylic on canvas with gilded edges

Illustrated Imogen

Illustrated Imogen    11"x14"2"     Acrylic on convex canvas

Imogen comes from a long line of Illustrated Men and Ladies, though sadly none of them survived the Winter of her seventh year, or the particularly insidious strain of influenza that came with it. Having only one remaining relation, a wild-eyed grandmother prone to bouts of rageful somnambulism, she spent her eigth year lonely and nervous in a little white house on a river. One night, as the grandmother slept much more horizontally than usual, Imogen tiptoed to her row-boat, and drifted speedily on the current into the inky night. When the sun woke her, she was on the back of a giant hare - and approaching Oddfellow's Orphanage.

 

 

Dancing Bear Gallery

As I believe I have mentioned before, at Oddfellow's Orphanage, one of the primary sources of sponsorship comes from their famed troupe of dancing bears.  Delia is the foremost student-caretaker, but the tasks of training, brushing, and collar-making fall to many in the school's Society for the Care and Appreciation of Dancing Bears.

Here is a gallery of small drawings depicting some of their dapper ursine stars:

 

Bear Cameo     6" x 7"    Vintage paper in vintage frame

 

Be Good     5" x 7"   Cream drawing stock in vintage frame

Portrait with Ruff    7" x 8"  Vintage paper in vintage frame

 

 

 

The Oddfellow's update is coming soon! And thank you so much for coming along on this little story with me - it has been such amazing fun to build a little world through these pictures and mini-stories.

The Beekeeper

The Beekeeper     16"x20"x2"     Acrylic on canvas

The easterly outskirts of the orphanage grounds is the enigmatic domain of The Beekeeper (or The Spirit of the Beehive, as she is sometimes known). Her bees buzz happily amidst the clover fields and topiaries, and come back to her to receive instruction. Together, they keep the children in good honey for toast and tea. But far more importantly, they keep the real breadwinners of Oddfellow's - their renowned troupe of dancing bears - happy.

The School Nurse

 

Nurse Effie     11" x 14" x 2"     Acrylic on canvas

With all of the adventure and mischief to be gotten into, it's a wonder it took the orphanage so long to find a suitable school nurse. The headmaster searched high and low for someone with both a kind heart and  gentle hand, but when Euphemia Jane interviewed for the job, he was so dazzled by her crimson lips andn faraway look that he gave her the job on the spot! Luckily for everyone at Oddfellow's, (small and tall alike) bumps and bruises, measles and mole-bites are treated by a thoroughly clever and thoroughly soothing nurse - and her snappy, coffee-hued finger waves are just an extra nicety.

 

Ollie Onionhead

Ollie Onionhead     9" round     Acrylic on wood plaque

Oddfellow's has made it a point to welcome young individuals of all stripes, which is how Ollie found a home there. More specifically, it was after a particularly insidious strain of the onion-blight known as Smudge claimed nearly every member of his family that he ended up at the orphanage gates. One might expect, with so much tragedy in his young history, that Ollie would be profoundly glum...or at least a bit cranky. Gladly, though, it is quite the opposite - perhaps because of his intimate knowledge of life's fleeting nature, Oddfellow's only Onionhead is the jolliest of all students and possesses an infectious joie de vivre.

Ava

Ava     11"x14"x2"    Acrylic on canvas

Ava was sent to Oddfellow's after her parents, also albino,  were fatally overrun by bandits while traveling with the unscrupulous Captain Marvelous' Sideshow. Ava escaped by pretending to be a pile of laundry, and, as she is very quiet, was quite convincing. The Headmaster himself accompanied the police to the scene, and found Ava folded up in an enormous quilt and whispering to the finches, whose cage had toppled over in the scuffle.  In 1902, she was the first student to recieve the Ornithology badge, and with curiously little effort on her part. It seemed the badge-bestowing committee couldn't help but notice that birds, wild and otherwise, were always landing on her shoulders.