In the spring I saw a Facebook post from Hally Levesque about an exhibit she was having at a local Canadian art gallery where she would be exhibiting and selling some of her beautiful "The Spirit Woods" art pieces.
Lady of the Woods Tryptich by Hally Levesque
I was thrilled as Hally is an exceptional artist who creates art dolls, mixed media art, paper art, collage art and more. Not only is she an exceptional art doll artist, but she is also an art teacher, storyteller, photographer and a bit of a history buff.
Her online class video's are easy to follow and beautifully taught as well as being sprinkled with all sort of historical tidbits or stories, which I just love.
Hally Levesque - Artful Gathering 2015 - Bonnets & Bows: A Regency Doll Project
I first encountered Hally after taking her "Bonnets & Bows: A Regency Doll Project" at Artful Gathering in the spring of 2015. I, of course, was interested in this class as she was showing you how to make a paper-clay historical Regency period art doll.
To me I had hit the jackpot: a Victorian like art doll with historical tidbits sprinkled throughout. What's not to love.
Hally Levesque - Artful Gathering 2016 - Romantic Rosabella - A Ribbons & Roses Doll Project
Hally Levesque - Artful Gathering 2016 Wee Winter Whimsies - Primitive Folk Art Dolls for the Holidays
Hally Levesque - Artful Gathering 2017 Tassels & Tiaras: A Winged Wonders Doll Project
I loved her first class so much I ended up taking 3 more or her Artful Gathering online classes. Each of those classes was just as good if not better than her Bonnets & Bows class.
As I already said, Hally is an exceptional artist as well as an exceptional teacher. Luckily for all of you Hally's classes are available as video's on her
Creative Works website
here. Her video's are well thought out, easy to follow, and entertaining. If you love dolls and get a chance to take one of her classes or buy one of her video's you won't be disappointed.
After taking her Romantic Rosabella class I learned that I had won the beautiful "Winter Roses" art doll that Hally Levesque was raffling off to one of the students from her Romantic Rosabella and Wee Winter Whimsies classes at Artful Gathering.
I couldn't believe it! I never win anything - especially a gorgeous art doll made by an unbelievably talented and gifted art doll artist - Hally Levesque.
When I opened up her box I was just astonished. She was even more beautiful than her pictures depicted.
What I couldn't get over was her remarkable face. She was a totally handmade, hand sculpted, and hand painted art doll. The hand painted features on her face, which is only 1 3/4" long and 1 1/4" wide, were beautifully done and unbelievable.
All I could say was "Wow!" She was utterly gorgeous and a true inspiration for what a beautiful art doll can look like.
So, you can imagine how thrilled I was with Hally's enchanting exhibit. I was happy for Hally, but also for everyone who could see some of her beautiful art pieces in person and be able to purchase some of them - which, of course, I did.
According to Hally on "The Spirit Woods" page of her Creative Works website; "The seed for this project was planted in 2018 when I was looking for something new and challenging to get the creative juices flowing. I found my inspiration when I stumbled upon pictures on the Internet of some very unusual looking mushrooms. I was struck by how they were both alien-like and yet oddly beautiful. I began to play with the idea of incorporating the subject into my art. From there, the imagery spilled over into other areas. I imagined an entire body of work devoted to the subject of nature spirits. My fascination with moths also came into play and before I knew it, a narrative began to take form culminating in a journal with a series of accompanying art works."
Hally has four sections that you can click on and view on her "The Spirit Woods" page regarding her creations: The Spirit Woods Journal, The Video, The Art Projects, and a Gallery Display. If you love art and love learning about the inspiration behind Hally's exceptional works of art please do yourself a favor and click on the links on her "The Spirit Woods" page.
As mentioned before, Hally is a storyteller and historian who takes you into the inner world of her enchanting art pieces. I guarantee you won't be disappointed.
It was hard to choose which art pieces I wanted as they were all exceptional but purchasing all of them, which I wanted to do, was definitely out of the question.
So, I settled on three of them: Lady of the Woods Tryptich, Fungorium Agara Cut-out, and Mothology Collage Shadow Box.
I waited until the exhibit was over to receive my art pieces and was so happy when they finally arrived.
Once again, when I opened the box they took my breath away. They were unbelievably beautiful, enchanting, and exceptional pieces of art. I couldn't help but admire the amazing details on every square inch of her art pieces.
I had been blown away with just seeing the pictures and knew they would be beautiful but was stunned seeing how beautiful and detailed they actually were in person. The intricate detail in each piece had to have taken her a long time to create. I couldn't help but admire her astonishing works of art.
I asked Hally if it would be okay to post pictures of her astonishing works and she graciously agreed to let me. I knew that all my Artful Gathering friends would be thrilled to see pictures of some of Hally's creations again and was hoping she would agree.
Here's what Hally said about her creations: "Truly, I create not solely for my own enjoyment. People ask me how it is that I can part with things that I devote so much time to making. For me the answer is simple. Art is for sharing and nothing gives me greater satisfaction than knowing that I have somehow contributed to the happiness of others through something that I love to do."
I, for one, can say that every time I look at my Hally Levesque creations they not only give me joy, but fill me with inspiration. Every time I look at them I see a new piece of detail that I hadn't noticed before. They are enchanting, inspirational, and definitely fill me with happiness. So, mission accomplished, Haley.
I hope you enjoy the pictures I took of Hally's three art pieces. The pictures truly don't do her works of art justice, but I'm hoping they show you enough of the detail for you to see how truly beautiful they are.
Lady of the Woods Tryptich by Hally Levesque
18" x 16"
Paper, ink, acrylic paint, wire, varnish and plastic frame.
According to Hally;
"I created the character of The Lady of the Woods based on the concept of a mother spirit - a guardian of all that exists in her woodland domain."
Fungorium Agara Cut-out by Hally Levesque
11 1/2" x 10"
Paper, ink, acrylic paint, wire and varnish.
Mothology Collage Shadow Box by Hally Levesque
17 3/4" x 11"x 4 1/2"
Paper, ink, marker, varnish, and plastic frame.
If you would like to learn more about Hally and her beautiful art pieces her
Creative Doll Works website is
here.
And, if you ever get a chance to take one of Hally's online classes, buy one of her video's, or buy one of her art pieces do so. You will not be disappointed.
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