Meet "Wendolynn" a little witch who cannot make a decision about a new hat! Of course this doll vignette is Halloween-specific. Wendolyn is shopping for a new hat at Jacque's shop. She is in a conundrum as to which witch hat to buy! Wendolyn is just shy of 12 inches tall, when standing. Below the photos of Wendolynn's finished vignette is a photo-documentation of her and Jacque's creation. Also in the vignette are the props I made by hand: the hat stands, which were small wood candlesticks that I painted and then topped with acorn bells. Her chair was a patio candle holder that I upholstered, and I designed and made all the hats along with Jacque's shop sign. Jacque's shop mirror was purchased (from ebay) and the platform it stands on is made from two wood discs I glued together. The vignette's floor was a wood plaque, that I removed the hangers from and then varnished. Jacque is also sculpted from clay, he began life as a clear glass ornament ball. Wendolynn is wearing an exquisite velvet gown made by the talented seamstress Linda Hall, you can find Linda's doll apparel treasures at her shop "State Street Treasures", on Etsy and on Ebay.
Tip: Place your cursor over a photo and click once or twice, to enlarge the photo.
THE SCULPTING OF WENDOLYNN and JACQUE:
Like all good posable art dolls, Wendolynn begins with a skeletal armature of twisted armature wire. Scroll down to see the progress.
And... Wendolyn now has a face! Her wig, which I just glued into place ( I can still smell the glue!) is by Monique, it is "Trix" and the color is black/red. The wig has not settled, so it looks a bit puffy here, and there are some stray hairs that I will trim after the glue has dried. The wig came out of the box pretty much the way it is pictured, other than needing to trim stray hairs and wetting it down a bit so it hangs freely, I am very pleased with her hair. I put eyelashes on Wendolyn, on the top lids, they are 4mm long. I'm thinking purple must be her favorite color. . . why else would she wear that shade of eye shadow.? For an idea of size, measuring from the top of Wndolyn's eyebrows down to the tip of her chin is 1 inch (north to south) and then measuring from the outside corner of one eye to the outside corner of the other is 1 inch wide (east to west.)
Tip: Place your cursor over a photo and click once or twice, to enlarge the photo.
THE SCULPTING OF WENDOLYNN and JACQUE:
Like all good posable art dolls, Wendolynn begins with a skeletal armature of twisted armature wire. Scroll down to see the progress.
Wendolynn will wear a dress that has a lower neckline than what is seen on Yorick and Ambrose, so I have created Wendolynn's bodice/torso from clay. Wendolyn will have arms made similar to Yorick and Ambrose in order that she can be posed. I am using a custom blend of "Living Doll' clay in the hue of 'Baby" and to it I have blended in Premo White pear/perle. All of Wendolynn's skin will be this color of clay. The pics below show the freshly cured bodice, I have done a little buffing on it and may do more sanding/buffing. The small pinkish/orange square sanding sponge in the photo is what I use. It is slightly rough on one side and smooth on the other. For size comparison, think of a Barbie doll, Wendolynn's bodice/torso is a bit more slender/petite,for instance her shoulders are not as wide as a Barbie and I have made her a bit long waisted
In the pics, her torso may appear crooked , lop-sided or leaning, it is not. That is the effect of the wobbly armature stand I have the bodice on, for purpose of taking a photo.
Revisions happen, such as what happened to the bodice above, I decided I did not like it, the neck really was too long and I wanted her a little more average--waisted. So I made another bodice for Wendolynn and then sculpted her head , added it to her new bodice and BINGO, Wendolynn's new bodice and her head are below. This was a three-step process of sculpt the torso, bake, sculpt the head and then bake, attach head to neck, add clay to meld neck to head and smooth out clay lines and bake. I have done some sanding /buffing and will do a little more, mostly buffing and polishing next time, before I paint her face. You cannot see her eyes very well in the pics, but she has pretty green eyes.
And... Wendolyn now has a face! Her wig, which I just glued into place ( I can still smell the glue!) is by Monique, it is "Trix" and the color is black/red. The wig has not settled, so it looks a bit puffy here, and there are some stray hairs that I will trim after the glue has dried. The wig came out of the box pretty much the way it is pictured, other than needing to trim stray hairs and wetting it down a bit so it hangs freely, I am very pleased with her hair. I put eyelashes on Wendolyn, on the top lids, they are 4mm long. I'm thinking purple must be her favorite color. . . why else would she wear that shade of eye shadow.? For an idea of size, measuring from the top of Wndolyn's eyebrows down to the tip of her chin is 1 inch (north to south) and then measuring from the outside corner of one eye to the outside corner of the other is 1 inch wide (east to west.)
In the pic below I'm trying a new method to de-fluff and straighten Wendolynn's hair. I cut and tapered a section of a toilet paper roll and wrapped it around her head.
The pic below shows Wendolynn with her 'parts' all put together, before I pad and wrap the armature. She is standing on her own, without support and is 11 and 1/2 inches in height. When done, she will be sitting in a chair, in front of a mirror . . . so much better for trying on hats!
The 3 photos below show Wendolynn. I 'batted' her body today, which filled out her lower torso, arms and legs. . . and she is dressed! I have her posed in a hattery salon chair, (courtesy of Jacque's Bewitching Hats, Wendolynn's favorite hat shoppe) and I'm pretty sure she as her heart set on a hat she is pointing to). Her gorgeous black velvet medieval dress in one of Wendolynn's favorite gowns, I wish I could say I made it, but I did not. I purchased it from a very talented seamstress: Linda Hall, you can find her shop: State Street Treasures on Ebay, and on Etsy. Wendolynn still needs a complete beauty treatment (some hair styling and skin buffing) before her final debut. . . but til then I must get busy creating the rest of her vignette.
I've been crazy busy making hats for Wendolynn and her favorite hatter : Jacque! Below are pics of Jacque, who began life as a glass ornament ball! Notice that Jacque is offering one of the hats Wendolynn will have to choose from.
Jacque is created from Premo polyclay (orange) that I sculpted over a glass ornament. His eyes are French paperweight flat ovals, which I placed in a North-to-South position, instead of the usual manner. Jacque's gloved hands and feet are sculpted in cartoonish fashion from black Premo, which I also painted black to make them shine. His arms and legs are 12 gauge wire. He is holding one of the many hats I have made. . .so far. His hat was purchased. Jacque is self-supported, though when he is holding a hat he is a bit unsteady on his feet. Thus, when I place him in the vignette, I will probably velcro his feet to the vignette's floor.
