After our heads were approved by Marlaine, we popped them in the toaster oven to shorten the drying time and got to work on our hands and feet. We worked from base pieces supplied by Marlaine.
We added the four fingers first, and ten the tum (that's "thumb" to you dearie). Very cool. Don't you love them? We worked on both hands at the same time - so you don't get one hand completely done, and then you can't match it. So you do index finger, index finger, pinkie, pinkie, etc. And slightly bent fingers and thumbs are more elegant than ramrod straight fingers. You want to be careful, though, that you don't splay the fingers, or else you will never get the costume on.
So to make a finger, you make a shape like a carrot - "not too tin and not too fat like a sausage". And you put two creases on the inside of the fingers where the joints are. To make the thumb, you shape something that looks like a teapot spout (or a penis, take your pick). And then you add wee little flat circles here and there to make the knuckles and pads of your hand.
We put little "worms" of clay on our feet to make shoes. Too cute!
Meanwhile, as Marlaine was teaching us to sculpt, Ankie was working away quietly in the other room - whipping up costumes. I was confused as to why we didn't all need sewing machines, but now I get it. She made a gabillion costume variations from our fabrics. It was like that fairy tale where the shoemaker left out the materials at night and found perfectly finished shoes in the morning. Magical.
Of course, during all this time, we are drinking coffee and eating Marlene's amazing brownies and zucchini bread and carrot bread and brownies and chocolate chip cookies and more carrot bread and banana nut bread and oh, dear, another brownie. We are happy doll artists!
Our homework tonight is to attach and stuff the arms and legs of our doll.
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