I never run projects in the studio that I have not worked out previously on my own. I always want to make sure I work out any kinks prior to introducing the project to the kids and make sure skill wise it is appropriate to the age group. I had done a "test run" of this project a few years back and created a ballerina doll for my youngest daughter, in honor of a dance performance she had done as a tooth fairy when she was four years old.
The doll sculpture had somehow come off the base and so I had it in the studio to fix. The preteen class saw it and wanted to do one themselves.
And why not?
This project is a great way to introduce all the details of creating a face in 3D. We used a very lightweight air dry clay and the girls started these with a small cardboard cone that they taped an egg shaped head made from aluminum foil too.
The first week they just worked with the clay to create the upper body, face and hair.
The following week once dried, I gave each girl a small piece of sandpaper so they could sand off any really rough areas. Then using acrylic paint, they did all the painting. With this clay, there is no need to gesso.
Once they finished the painting, we adhered the dolls to a wooden dowel base with some hot glue. As you can see, one student was able to begin adding a skirt before the end of the second class.
The final week was spent getting the dolls all "gussied up".
First they each added a skirt to the doll. I had a bolt of white tulle they could use, but also offered up some old book pages they could pleat to make the skirt.
They all chose the white tulle but quickly discovered it was not as easy as they thought to trim up to create the desired skirt length they wanted once it was hot glued into place.
Each girl came up with their own unique way to problem solve this challenge. Some separated each individual layer and then trimmed and others just gathered it all up into a small bunch, cut, and then cleaned up any frayed edges.
Needless to say, the studio looked like there had been a cat fight between two brides at the end of class with bits and pieces of tulle scattered all over the place.
Once the girls were happy with the skirts, they added a bit of ribbon around the waist to hide where it was glued on and then could add any other accessories.
11 year old
This lovely lady has flowers created from crepe paper and a design added on the skirt using some glitter glue.
10 year old
This artist wanted to make flowers out of clay, so I gave her some oven baked clay to use. She also added some details to the skirt with glitter glue and if you look carefully, you will see she also gave the bride a couple of beauty marks near her eyes made of glitter!
Here's a look at the doll's veil, held in place with some more flowers. We went over the traditional saying of "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue" which is how the pretty, soft blue ribbon was chosen, instead of white.
And finally, a fairy godmother! Because who doesn't need a fairy godmother in their life?!
10 year old
The artist adorned the skirt using rhinestones I had left over from a pinecone elf workshop at Christmastime. She used a HUGE glittery gold ribbon to create a bow, so that her fairy godmother looks like she has wings to fly.
As the girls finished, my eyes teared up as I could literally watch their chest swell up with pride as they admired the final work. They were so pleased and happy with their dolls. It was such a special moment for me as a teacher to watch each of them.
Each girl was so excited to finally get to take these works home. In fact, one artist was heading straight to her grandmother's house to share her doll. Her grandmother is a local artist who exhibits textile dolls and her granddaughter was hoping she would use her creation as inspiration!
I have no doubt that these dolls will be very special pieces in their rooms at home and I can't say I blame them. I hope they enjoy them for a long time to come.
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