Yet another vice Saragrace is trying to addict me to (twist my
arm, go on) is soft sculpture doll-making. I got started after browsing
through some of her doll books by Susanna Oroyan, like
Designing the Doll and
Anatomy of a Doll. There's nothing like rooting through the book
collection of a chum during a quiet moment for acquiring some weird new hobbies,
let me tell you. These days, I try not to even look at Saragrace's
shelves! Anyway, then she talked me into going to a show with her.
It was all down hill from there, and I left with three patterns and a bag full
of findings. Typical.
This is Slick Chick, my first "doll". Saragrace had a co-conspirator in
this venture: Slick Chick is assembled from some beautiful fabrics
generously given to me by her friend Lonnie
Bullington, a fellow doll-maker. Lonnie and SG were having a doll day
at Lonnie's house shortly after the above-mentioned show, and I tagged along,
bringing this pattern with me for something to puzzle over while they did their
thing. Hah! Lonnie quickly threw open the doors to her incredible
fabric stash, getting me going that very day.
I deviated only slightly from the pattern as presented to me in two ways,
though epb encourages doll-makers to be liberal.
First, Slick Chick's lower leg is attached directly to his foot, and the leg
claw is treated more like a detached sleeve cuff, um, I don't know, kind of like
Playboy bunnies wear on their wrists, but on his ankles, you know what I mean? Second, rather
than tacking his neck feathers directly to the body, I cut them from leather and
strung them along with beads and assorted gewgaws onto Stretch Magic Bead &
Jewelry Cord, so his neck feathers are actually a necklace that I can take off
and wear as a bracelet. Just kidding, I think. I was actually thinking
along the lines of ease in swapping out gewgaws as I encountered more
shamanistic chicken accessories I could give him. Anyway, one of these
days, I'd like to make Slick Chick a girlfriend and some chickadees, and I'm
sure they'll all want to share jewelry.
This is Slick Chick, my first "doll". Saragrace had a co-conspirator in
this venture: Slick Chick is assembled from some beautiful fabrics
generously given to me by her friend Lonnie
Bullington, a fellow doll-maker. Lonnie and SG were having a doll day
at Lonnie's house shortly after the above-mentioned show, and I tagged along,
bringing this pattern with me for something to puzzle over while they did their
thing. Hah! Lonnie quickly threw open the doors to her incredible
fabric stash, getting me going that very day.