The Creation of a Lovely Monster

Combining different colors, genres and styles of clothing can make unusual dolls. I have always loved pannier dresses, sea creatures, and the atmospheric writing of H.P. Lovecraft. Now first off... Yes, Lovecraft was a racist who was afraid of pretty much everyone and everything. He thought he was too good to do menial work. His education left him thinking he was some lord of the manor caught out of time. Amazingly he had a Jewish wife who doted on him for a while but she got tired of supporting him and eventually left him. BUT, I have to admit he put his irrational fears to good use and the paranoia that permeates  his stories really can get that shudder/cold chill factor going when you read his work.

One thing to remember about talent....it is not always given to nice people.

Now pannier dresses, they are fun because of the layers of fabrics that can be used to mimic the frilly pieces in the tails and fins of sea creatures like sea horses or sea dragons and squids. As many of the Cthulhu Mythos seem to be based on squid like monsters, combining a human torso with some tentacles makes a nice human squid hybrid bred from the Elder Gods and their willing devotees.

I usually work with lots of bright colors and patterns, so in this Brides of Cthulhu series, I wanted to strictly limit my color palette and use pattern to create visual interest in this piece and the other dolls I'm planning.

While I was shopping for the black,  silver and white beads for this series, I fell in love with these adorable little brightly colored skulls. The fact that some of them had little rhinestone eyes made them just perfect. Yes, skulls can be cute.

So, now I just need to give her a suitable name and list her in my shop.

Halloween Dolls- Soceresses, Demons and Ghosts.... Oh my! Part 1

Halloween is my favorite holiday and many of my dolls, while they are inspired by more than Halloween themes, fit quite well into the season.

Mythology and history combined to create the black winged demon Lilith.

Bats and cats inspired my little vinyl winged Flutter cats.

Now a sort of gruesome type of period song called Silver Dagger Ballads inspired the floating blue green half doll. In these ballads, men murder their wives or lovers and often go home to a good nights sleep. Now these songs are quite the MRA anthems, so in my version of the poems, the ghosts of the women get their revenge.

The final ghost Lavinia is actually daughter of Titus Andronicus. Titus was a great melodrama of a Shakespearean play...murder  and rape and the lopping off of limbs and even cannibalism.  I guess mind numbing gruesomeness takes your mind off the short lifespan and religious domination you're experiencing.

Matilda, the Batgirl is my attempt to make a cute batgirl. I'm pleased at how well her hair and little embroidered teeth turned out.

Well, these are a few of your choices if you're looking for a doll for Halloween.

My next post will discus monsters... among other things

Newest HexCat Jasper

My newest

HexCat Jasper went to his new home last week and was well received. I'm working on a large monkey that will be used as a model in yoga classes for kids. His head and hands need to be finished and he will be on his way in just a few days.

It's been interesting doing custom work. I hope to do more.

Doing custom Art dolls and Animals

I am in the process of creating several different new designs, but wanted to make sure that the pieces like my Minkeys and my Runes cats were still available regularly.

I still intend to make and list them of course, but I want to make sure that getting a customized piece is always available.

After creating the Cthulhu inspired Whateley Rooster, I found that I enjoyed creating the tentacled versions so much that you have several new animals to look forward to in the coming weeks.

So if you have a favorite beast that you think deserves a tentacled makeover, feel free to suggest it. I like getting input because it helps me expand my ideas.

One new Cthulhu based series I'm starting are what I'm calling my Brides of Cthulhu. Except for Frankenstein's Bride or Mothra...okay maybe Drac's women, there aren't that many female monsters. I'm hoping to create a few new monstrous women.

So keep your eyes open and check out my new pieces as I add them and if you want one of my older designs it will be possible for you to do so by special order.

 

 

Friday the 13th...eh

Since I'm not Gilgamesh hunting through the underworld for my dead friend Enkidu, scary numbers aren't a phobia of mine. Me, I'm scared of artificial humans like mannequins or ventriloquist dummies. A few TV shows and films that cemented my phobia? Oh yes, I want to share them with you.  I'll post all the links I can find so you can watch at least clips if not the entire show or film.

Kolchak was a favorite of mine and the episode with the moving mannequins really got me.  I know the effects weren't perfect, but the episode scared me.

Oh, and yes the effects are cheesy, but you've got to love a character like Kolchak... Who else would crawl into the resting place of a zombie only armed with a needle and thread, some candles, matches, and a container of Morton's salt. He was the best monster hunter.



Ventriloquist dummies are another creepy thing. Who the heck ever thought these things were cute needs to be smacked.  The Devil Doll just scared me to death. Let's see evil magician who can stuff his victim's consciousness into his little friend and force the animated dummy to do all kinds of nasty things.

Wouldn't you just love to see this little creep by your bed in the middle of the night?

Oh I do have to admit that there is one ventriloquist dummy I like. If you have never seen the Canadian comedy Puppets Who Kill, you should. A rehab or halfway house for killer puppets may seem an odd idea for a comedy. but it's quite funny. The dummy Bob is as evil as I think ventriloquist dummies are so he doesn't scare me.. go figure.

So if you want to watch something scary on this oh so frightening Friday, check out one of these.

Okay, the Devil Doll as a complete movie is here but the MST3000 version has the cleanest images.
MST3000 Devil Doll

The Kolchak The Trevi Collection episode...
Kolchak-The Trevi Collection

oh and as a bonus... The Zombie episode
The Zombie

Puppets Who Kill
Puppets Who Kill Episode 1

So, let me know what you think!

Unusual Holiday Traditions - Holland

Now, some traditions can seem odd to those who have never experienced them before. Probably why I always believed  that it's important to travel and read as much history as possible.

From what I've read Sinterklaas' black helpers are either just guys covered in soot, the chimney thing, slaves or servants. I guess Americans aren't the only ones who try to revise embarrassing history.

 

From the recent images I found when writing this, free Black Peter signs show up on Dec 5th with Sinterklaas now. So I guess it's nice to know we all have holiday traditions we'd like to avoid.

One of the funniest essays on strange customs  like Sinterklaas and black Peter was written and read by David Sedaris.

Click on the link below and enjoy.

6 to 8 black men-David Sedaris

Obscure Holiday Movies- The Hebrew Hammer

 

One of my favorite holiday movies is The Hebrew Hammer.  Yeah, I know it isn't your usual Santa movie .... I mean  Damian Claus is the villain, and it's horrible that he murders his Dad and wants to destroy Chanukah and Kwanzaa but hey it's funny.

 My favorite scene is when the Hammer and his sidekick go undercover to a meet Santa Extravaganza to stop Damian. 

So.... If you want a laugh, click on the link and enjoy the whole movie.

 ...The Hebrew Hammer