WITCH CRAFTS

WITCH CRAFTS

Thursday, April 25, 2019

CLOWN WARDROBE

Hi All,
I belong to a mixed media art club, and we recently had a challenge to find a thrift store item and turn it into an art piece. So, I went to my local Goodwill's and saw an old jewelry box for $7. I knew would be perfect. It looked exactly like a miniature wardrobe for a doll (at least to me, it did). It's about 15 inches tall and has glass panels on the doors with a mirror on the inside.

I painted it red with gold trim, added some wood filigrees to the top, and painted the glass panels with mirror spray. I took out the mirror in the back and covered the inside with black felt.

Now, I had to create the doll and the wardrobe to go with it.

I remember seeing a doll by Friedercy on Pinterest that inspired this idea. I made a simple rag doll and dressed it like an old-fashion clown. I wanted the colors to be neutral, so I created the costume all in grey with black trim.

That was the easy part. The next part was more of a challenge for me. Instead of clothes for my doll wardrobe, I wanted to make MASKS! This would be very theatrical. I researched 18th century "comedia del arte" figures and masks (this art form came from Italy, and was the origin of our modern theater company).

I created masks of polymer clay (I used "Super Sculpey"). I made a second cloth head so I could use that as a form to hold the clay shape while it baked (you can put cloth and stuffing in the oven, as long as it's on low temperature).

I decided to first make a thin shell of clay that would be the base of the mask. I rolled out a thin piece of clay, cut it in an oval shape, and draped it over the cloth head. I baked this shell for just a few minutes, as it was very thin and I didn't want it to burn. When the piece was cooled, I sculpted the mask face over the shell. I baked the finished mask again. I colored the mask using acrylic paint and chalk.



I had originally intended to tie the masks on to the head with ribbon -- that's why my clown has ears (to stop the ribbon from sliding down the head). But, I decided the masks needed some hair or a hat to finish the character of the mask. I decided to make simple hats out of felt. I made the hats in the style of the "comedia del arte" period to complete the look.


The final mask is a skeleton mask. --Sort of a "death mask".

This is Friedercy's doll art, titled "The Wardrobe". As you can see, hers is far more detailed and elaborate than mine.



She is such a talented artist. I hope she doesn't mind my piece being inspired by her great art. To see more of her work, click here.

Friday, April 12, 2019

GETTING READY FOR HALLOWEEN WITH GHOSTS

Hi All,
I haven't posted for a while. It isn't because I haven't been busy -- I have. But, I can't share what I'm working on until fall. But, I have started on my Halloween dolls. I've been working on some more "Dearly Departed" Ghost dolls.

So, for my ghosts ladies, I start with a wooden candlestick and glue a large base to the bottom for stability. I've patterned the torso in a way that makes it lean forward slightly. (Just to make it easy for me, I glue on pom-poms to make the breasts.)

I make a tight "slip" of some stretchy silver fabric that helps hold the torso to the candlestick, and helps hide the base. Then comes a tulle petticoat to help hold out the skirt.

Over that, I start to build the dress. I am building the skirts with multiple layers. The first, and longest layer is gray. Next is a silver or iridescent color. These photos are all of various phases.

Over that is a white sparkly layer, and finally a sheer layer of the finished dress.

I love using lots of textures, mixing sheers with opaque fabrics. I want my ghost ladies to be "sparkly iridescent visions" floating about, looking for their final home. I'm looking for an "incandescent" quality to my fabric choices.

More later.
Have fun!