Belly Full of Bugs

I created this sculpture for the first ODACT doll challenge, the theme of which was "altered dolls." The goal was to use found objects to create any sort of doll we liked. My found objects were a wire cage, which became the torso of the character, and a bunch of gnarled willow twigs, which I used for the arms and legs. The vines and head were sculpted in epoxy and polymer clay and painted with acrylics. Because the body was a cage, I decided I ought to put something inside it. This led me to a strange sort of tree-man character looking shocked at what's in his tummy. The entire time I was sculpting I had no idea what to put in there. Finally, when I was nearly done, a friend suggested I fill his belly with lightning bugs. I thought this was a perfect idea, especially if I could figure out a way for them to actually light up. After much consulation with my husband and father-in-law (who are both far more electrically savvy than I), I sculpted the lightning bugs around little LEDs. These were wired to a microchip that causes them to blink on and off at random. The result is quite amusing to sit and watch. Many thanks to Kathy Pease for the lightning bug idea, my father-in-law for making the microchip from scratch, and my husband for wiring it all up.

Art Doll, 12" tall, 2004