Wednesday, 29 March 2023

A Grave Undertaking....

Back in 2019, I wrote about a little mourning doll I made.  During my recent clearout I came across an associated box of bits, containing a part assembled coffin box, vintage black lace, some jet jewellery etc.

The coffin box was a nightmare to design and make... no right angled corners and a devilishly difficult shape.  I remember taking a solemn oath at the time that I'd never, ever, make another.

But then, this morning, I came across this in a gothic group on Facebook.....


Believe it or not, this macabre stuff of nightmares is a doll.  I've tried and failed to imagine the sort of child who would appreciate it.  Perhaps a young Norman Bates, or a pre-pubescent Hannibal Lecter.  However the craftsmanship is undeniable, assuming it is fabricated and not an actual small skeleton *shudder*.

Anyway, I wasn't so much focussed on the horrific 'dearly departed' as the coffin itself.  It's never occurred to me to attempt a curved coffin shape, which might be more forgiving than the standard multi-angled box.

My own mourning doll was rather sweet and not at all scary



However, I remember that black silk costume was also a nightmare as it showed up every tiny mote of dust and infinitesimal speck of glue.   Nevertheless, I'm minded to revisit the idea and perhaps recreate something similar but slightly different.   

I can feel a spell of 'research' coming on.  By which I mean enlisting the services of Pinterest and Google to go down the rabbit hole of 'mourning dolls'.

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