Merlin
Farmer John
Hugin and Munin
La Loba
Worry
Decembrus
Belly Full of Bugs
Fear
MerlinThis doll is mainly a product of my love of birds. A merlin is a type of falcon (Falco columbarius) with blue-grey plumage. I've often wondered how it earned that name. I like to imagine it has something to do with the famous wizard from Arthurian legend, so I decided to sculpt a doll that was a combination of the two - Merlin as a merlin. Merlin has a falcon's head and his clothing mimics the body coloration of the falcon, as well. He has a cloth body over a wrapped wire armature. His extremities are sculpted in polymer clay and epoxy clay and painted with acrylics. He wears leather shoes and clothing of hand dyed and painted raw silk. 16" tall. Sold.
Photo by Dave Baker.
Farmer JohnThis was sculpted as part of a group art challenge, theme of which was simply "pumpkins." We were allowed to interpret this theme in any way we wished. The pumpkin theme immediately made me think of one of my favorite songs:
John's Garden by Peter Mayer
Farmer John wandered back And when he reached the pumpkin patch, began to speak He said “the weather’s getting colder Summer’s over and it’s almost Halloween That’s the day, the reason you were raised When everything about your life will change You will have eyes to see, and for that night, you’ll be A bright lamp burning in the darkness But remember that candle shines for only the briefest time In a jack-o-lantern’s heart” The pumpkins held a meeting then Some were very apprehensive and afraid “Could this really happen to us? What could be the meaning?” is what they were saying “This is home, it’s all we’ve ever known” Then one bold, outspoken pumpkin spoke He said “I don’t need eyes to see , it sounds like a lie to me I like it just fine here in John’s garden And remember that candle shines for only the briefest time In a jack-o-lantern’s heart” There is much to ask and to ponder in the pumpkin patch When imposing old October shows up at last Then a pumpkin from the farther end Who had been silent up till then Over the commotion, said “What would you rather have my friends A chance to shine, or die here on the vine? The better way seems very plain to me You will have eyes to see, and for that night, you’ll be A bright lamp burning in the darkness And maybe that candle shines for only the briefest time In a jack-o-lantern’s heart Oh, but one goblin’s smile should make it all well worth while You know you might even see the starlight And knowing that time is brief, makes it that much more sweet When you have a jack-o-lantern’s heart”
Farmer John has a cloth body over a wrapped wire armature. His head, hands and feet are sculpted in polymer and epoxy clay. The pumpkins are sculpted in paperclay. All were painted with acrylics. Farmer John has fabric and leather clothing and a straw hat, and he is pegged to a wooden base. The pumpkins have silk leaves and real straw bales. 15" tall. 2004. Sold.
Many thanks to Peter Mayer for granting me permission to create this sculpture based on his song, and for his words of encouragement during the project. Please do visit his website and be sure to check out his wonderful music.
Photo by Dave Baker.
Hugin and MuninHugin and Munin are two characters from Norse mythology. They are Odin's twin raven scouts and their names are commonly translated as "Thought" and "Memory". Odin sends them out each day to fly over the world and observe everything so that they may return to him with all of the information they have gathered. This led me to envision Hugin and Munin as two male human figures with raven heads and wings upon their backs, dressed identically in their solid black clothing. Hugin crouches to the ground to examine the detail of some object before him while Munin stands near and contemplates the larger picture. They both have cloth bodies over wrapped wire armatures. Their heads, hands and feet are sculpted from epoxy clay and/or polymer clay and painted with acrylics. Their clothing is made from leather and fabric and is based loosely on 11th century viking garb. I constructed their wings using real feathers over a wire and epoxy clay armature. They are pegged to a wooden base for support. 16" tall. 2004. Sold.
Photo by Dave Baker.
La LobaLa Loba is a character from Mexican legend. Also known as La Huesera or La Trapera, she is described as an old, fat, hermit woman who lives in the desert. She wanders the desert alone in search of bones, especially wolf bones. When she has gathered a complete skeleton, she lays the bones out on the ground and begins to sing. As she sings, they begin to flesh out and become furred again. She sings life back into the bones, and the animal begins to breathe. It becomes strong and finally leaps up to run away into the desert, born again. I loved the idea of the portly old hermit lady dressed in rags and wandering the desert with a big bag of bones over her shoulder, so I created this sculpture of La Loba to bring that image to life. She stands in the desert, smiling as she has just discovered a wolf's skull and other assorted bones. La Loba has a cloth body over a wrapped wire armature. Her head, hands, feet, and various accessories have been sculpted from polymer and/or epoxy clay. Her clothing is made from fabric, leather, and rabbit fur and she is adorned with various beads, turquoise chips, feathers and bones (some of which are real, and some of which are sculpted from epoxy clay). She is pegged to a wooden base and stands 15" tall. 2004. Available for sale on Etsy.
WorryAfter finishing Fear, I decided I had to make another emotion doll using the same challenge criteria. I realized that I had much more personal experience with Fear's little brother, Worry, so I set out to give Worry a face as well. This is the result. Worry has a cloth body over a wire armature with extremities sculpted in polymer clay and epoxy clay. He is painted with acrylics and dressed in cloth, leather, and feathers. He carries brass chains. He is 9" tall as a seated figure (would be 18" tall if standing). 2004. Sold.
Photo by Dave Baker.
DecembrusDecembrus is a collaborative work between myself and fellow artist, Pat Lillich. The theme for the project was 'fantasy circus.' Pat sculpted Decembrus, intending him to be the ringmaster for our fantasy circus, and then gave him to me to paint and clothe. Our circus has seen better days, though, so Decembrus' clothes are a little old and worn. Just a few more ticket sales and he'll be able to afford a new shirt ...Decembrus is sculpted from polymer clay, painted in acrylics and dressed in fabric, lace, beads and trim. 17" tall. 2004. Sold.
Belly Full of BugsThis was created for a group art 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 sculpted the lightning bugs around little LEDs that were then were wired to a microchip that causes them to blink on and off at random. The result is quite amusing to sit and watch. 12" tall. 2004. Sold.
Photo by Dave Baker.
FearThis was created for a group art challenge to a theme I came up with myself. I asked members to choose an emotion and a color, and then create a doll that somehow personified that emotion and was executed all in the chosen color. The emotion I chose was fear and the color was black. I decided to make a doll representing true fear, as opposed to worry or anxiety. True fear is an emotion that only surfaces when our lives are in danger. It's the emotion responsible for the fight-or-flight response, so I see it as an emotion that attempts to save us in life or death situations. My sculptural representation of Fear is made of paperclay with a wire armature and painted with acrylics. His body adornments are assorted beads, fabrics and fibers. The base is sculpted in epoxy clay and strung with waxed linen and beads. 22" tall. 2004. Sold.
Photo by Dave Baker.
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