F.E.A.R.
F is for Feral. E is for Effervescent. A is for Anger. R is for Survivability.
My effigy doll bits and pieces survived the kiln firing back in July and this afternoon, I decided to craft a body for him. Why is my doll a he you ask? I dunno, it just seemed right to me at the time. Maybe a yang to my yin or something…
Anyway, my journey began with no pattern, simply a head, feet, and hands. As he began to appear, I just knew this fellow, otherwise conceived as fear, was very suave and needed a smoking jacket and cravat. It couldn’t be otherwise. Needless to say, F.E.A.R. is often colorful and very in your face – in other words, hard to ignore…
Once finished, he needed a name. I couldn’t voice my inner most concerns without calling him by his birth name! Garth? No. Goth? No. Ogre? No, too ominous… “Harry”, I suggested to my daugher, alluding to her otherwise favorite make believe character,? NO! “How about Larry”, she responded. Yah, apparently his name is Larry! No offense to any Larries out there, but he’s awesome! Who can voice their fears to him without at least smiling at the pompous lout?? Well, apparently, I can’t.
I invite everyone to craft a doll – share your inner most secrets and reservations with your creation because it’s highly liberating! If you don’t like mine, check out Jafabrit’s or Bad Kitty’s dolls for a different take. Thanks JB for pointing out the cool music widget!
| Evanescence – Fall… |
Effigy Doll
There has been lots of discussion about the frustrating aspects of building a successful art career in cyberspace lately. I almost wonder if there isn’t something in the air, or is it a viral infection much like Rage in the movie 28 Days Later?
A couple of days ago, I made a scheduled stop to one of my favorite artist’s blogs, Jafabrit, and became enamored of a voodoo doll that she and a friend had made for another friend whose husband walked out on her. It was a way to cheer their friend up and for her to vent a little bit. I decided that’s just what I needed! I need my own doll and I decided to set about making one, partly out of clay of course, so that it can serve as a reminder that I’m really okay.
The doll that Jafabrit made is not pretty – it’s rather raw and fitting for the occasion for which it was made. Normally, I make pretty things. I’ll admit it. But, in the case of my effigy doll, I want to craft a crude incarnation – to encase those ugly feelings such as frustration, fear, etc. that I occasionally experience.
The image above is my original sketch, not quite Odilon Redon or Goya, but my own version of how I imagine I look inside when I’ve got those ugly feelings bottled up. I still need to make some hands and feet and will add a cloth body to the head – hence the holes in the neck.
Guess what? I feel better already! If anyone else feels like making one, go right ahead. Just make sure you send us a link.
In other news, our house was chosen to be on the 2008 West Washington Park House Tour this fall. Boy, oh boy, do we have a lot of work to do! We live in a popular area of Denver where older homes pre-dominate and when we remodeled, we kept our house small instead of scraping it off as is the style now a days. I guess I’ll finally finish painting, make curtains & slip covers etc. I’m honored and excited to have our home featured this year.
Have a good weekend everyone!
