March 14, 2011

.Are You an Opsimath?


Cat Lady Mary S. told me recently that I was an opsimath, a noun meaning "a person who becomes a student or learner late in life", derived from a Greek word meaning 'late in learning'. A few of the things I've learned since turning fifty are: how to make a hyperlink, how to make pickles, what the little bucket does in Adobe Photoshop, how to thread a new-fangled computerized sewing machine, and what the word opsimath means.

As I mentioned earlier this month, I was recently bitten by the doll bug, after drooling for a couple years over the many art dolls I was seeing on Etsy.com and elsewhere, including those of Snippet Girl/Cat Lady Carrie.

So I recently joined an online group called Cloth and Clay Dolls, and thanks to tutorials and helpful hints from many wonderful doll-makers, I'm learning the basics of using paper clay combined with a fabric body to create sculptura
l dolls. In a bold display of opsimathy, I am proud to introduce the results of my first cloth and clay doll:

Tiger Lil

She started out like this, with a paperclay head formed over a cloth body:



...and wound up like this, a little ginger tabby girl named Tiger Lil. She's all ready for Spring in her little frock that has a tulip border at the bottom.


This opsimathy stuff can be really, really fun!
What new thing are you going to learn this month?


Learn more about Tiger Lil at my etsy shop, where she is available for purchase (she's a wild one and wants to see the world and hopes to wind up in an exotic new locale...)

4 comments:

Angie said...

I am definitely an "Opsimath!" After I reached 60 (I'm now 64), I learned how to make jewelry, greeting cards, and ATC's (had to learn what an ATC was first). I also set up my Blog, became a blogger, and learned what a Blogger actually was.

I hope to get a new fangled camera real soon and do some photography! Yes, there's life after 50 and 60.

Thanks so much for posting this. It's uplifting when we think of it!

Unknown said...

Good for you Opsimath Angie! I think you will LOVE your new-fangled camera--go for it! Haha- Three years ago I didn't have a clue what a blogger was either--look at us now!

Teri and her Stylish Adventure Cats said...

A-dorable! Doll people really do want to know where their creations will reside. Every doll I've bought, I have sent photos of it where it sits...

Unknown said...

What a great idea, Teri!!