WITCH CRAFTS

WITCH CRAFTS

Tuesday, April 27, 2021

SOME BEAUTIFUL CREATURES

Hi All,

I made some more Bird Skull ladies. I call them "Beautiful Creatures".




I made some like this a few years ago. I think I called them "Elegant Beasts", but I never liked that name. I think "Creatures" describes them better than "Beasts".'

Anyway, these dolls are inspired by the work of artist Adnan Karabay, who made figures from animal skulls, plus paws or claws on clay human bodies and dressed in wonderful vintage fabrics, lace and beads. Adnan died in 1998.


Originally, I used real bird (mostly pigeon and chicken) skulls. But, the process of turning a delicate bird skull into a head strong enough to be attached to a cloth body meant hours of inserting air drying clay into hollow areas, different glues, and layers of tissue paper over the finished skull made it almost unrecognizable as a REAL bird skull. Plus, I liked inserting animal eyes and adding human eyelids for an added effect. So, I decided to make a mold of a bird skull with all that work already done. I cast the skulls out of air drying paper clay. 

I connect the head to a neck made of wire and 2-part Apoxie Sculpt for strength. I add more paper clay to the neck to blend into the cloth torso.


This time, I created "gothic" looking dresses, using a lot of black as accents. 




The headdress are all made of heavy Venice lace, beaded and backed with fabric.




These 3 will go to Roger's Garden to sell at their Halloween Event in Sept.


Have fun, and keep wearing your mask -- it's almost OVER! Get vaccinated!

AB







Monday, April 12, 2021

A BIRDCAGE WITCH

 Hi All,

I'm still working on Halloween dolls for Roger's Garden. Even though their event doesn't starts until Sept 1st, I have to stop at the end of May for another job. This is a Birdcage Witch. (I made 2 of them - the other one is in an orange dress). 


I found these small birdcages at Hobby Lobby. They're about 15 inches tall. The finished doll is 23 inches.

So, how does one attach a cloth torso to a birdcage? Very carefully. I made a doll torso and cut it off just below the waist. The idea is the top curve of the cage will become the hips of the doll. I don't try to remove the finial at the top of the cage -- that just goes into the body of the doll. I cut a circle of fabric that I stitched to the bottom of the torso, inside the cage (stitching between the bars of the cage. I had to glue a wooden disc inside this circle of fabric, as the fabric wasn't strong enough by itself to hold the torso down.

After that, I just continued making the doll like any other doll. I wanted some of the cage to show under the dress (otherwise, why use a birdcage??). I made the skirt long in back and short in the front. I made the skirt in layers. The first layer just covers the top of the cage (it's of green silk - you can just see a tiny bit of it between the layers.) The next two layers are sheer. The front skirt, of olive sheer, I added a ruffle and gathered it on the sides to drape in the front. The back skirt, made of black sheer with a sparkle stripe, I trimmed in lace. It's cut in a half-circle. 


The last skirt layer is made of green silk with an overlay of black "spider web" netting. The skirt is gathered around the waist and gathered up in the back. I added a "spider web" ruffle to the edge.


Next comes the bodice. Using the same green silk and spider webbing, I added a crinkled green/gold metallic insert in the front.


As usual, I finished the arms/hands/sleeves before attaching to the torso. 


Here, I've pinned the arms on to check the pose. I've also added some antique beaded jet trim on the bodice and a black lace ruffle around the neck.


Once the dress is mostly done, I start on the head. I lightly outline the features and needle-sculpt the face. 


Here's the finished painted face. I use acrylic paint for the eyes and lips. The shading is done with pastel chalks and colored pencils.


Here's the finished head on the body, with an added "hair pad". This little stuffed pad helps hold the hair up high. ---I've also added ruffle of black trim to the waist, and an antique beaded motif to the neckline.


Now for the hair. I wanted an "up-do", reminiscent of the classic 18th century-"Marie Antionette" - look, but wasn't trying to be authentic. I used wool roving for the hair, which I don't use very often. It has the look of cotton candy. I stitched a "weft" of hair, long enough to go around the head. I attach the weft along the hairline with the hair hanging down. I fold it up and, using a felting needle, felt the wool into the head and hair pad.


Here's the finished wig with the hat. (Sorry, I forgot to take a photo of the finished wig). 


A back-view of the wig. I gather all the wool to the back of the head and twist it under, to make a neat little roll.


A shot of the witch hat. I like to add feathers to all my witch hats! --What's a hat without feathers??




Here's the orange one:

I'm still working on what to put inside the birdcage. 


Have fun! AB