March is the month of huge contrasts in weather going from winter to spring, from death to rebirth. For me this doll has similar symbolic elements. Her body as white as snow. Feathers that remind me of the birds that welcome spring. The crow and the snake her companions from the earth and sky. A shield, bow and arrows her tools to provide food and clothing. Talismans like the dream catcher and the trophies that hang from her belt to show she endures all challenges and pays homage to the spirit world.
This doll was a collaborative project from my Akron, OH doll club, Time For Dolls. This group really enjoyed round robin's. I think this was our third RR. We each started with a basic doll size dress form.
We were to come to the first round with the form decorated as we wanted for her to begin the journey each month to a different member to embellish in any way they chose.
To start, I made a head out of a paper mache cupcake. I had this face cab and doll arms in my stash. I first painted all of this in copper Lumiere and then applied a white crackle finish to everything. I put another coat of the copper to the pedestal only.
I made accordion folded books for each doll with tags that were numbered for each round. The members were to document on the tags what they added to the doll. When I read through my tags today, I noticed two people either did not work on my doll or forgot to fill out the tag. That makes me sad because this was our last project together before I moved to Colorado. Here are some close-ups of the finished doll.
