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Spoon DollsTM What is a spoon doll? Well, traditionally a spoon doll is a wooden spoon where the back of the bowl is painted with a simple face and then the handle of the spoon is dressed with a sewn dress or clothing. These dolls are a very old New England tradition to create and have as a plaything or puppet. As a child, I was fortunate enough to have a mother who made these especially for me! These folks to the left are some of MY childhood buddies. I believe we called him Henry, the name of his blushing bride I can't recall ...at the moment, but I assure you they were very dear friends, and are among my most cherished childhood memories. |
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SpoonHilda was my first try at
designing a new kind of "spoon doll
TM"
inspired by the memory of my mothers
wonderful creations (February of 2003). I quickly fell in love with
using the wooden spoon as a "armature" for my polymer clay art dolls,
SpoonHilda was one of my most traditional dolls (historically speaking).
Her face was sculpted on the inside of the spoon (and baked) and then hands
were sculpted on armature wire and wrapped and epoxied onto the spoon
handle, just below the bowl
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| After SpoonHilda I tried simply sculpting the head as an art doll, the head being one of my favorite parts to create. As February turned to March my "Spoon Dolls TM" began to evolve even farther away from tradition... |
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By mid March still using the spoon things still kept evolving, I love the idea of a puppet, but felt that my guys weren't coming across as finished... I kept reworking Haman and tried different bases for the puppet style dolls....
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Finally, by May I think I'd work out something I was happy with... I still called him a "spoon doll TM," although at this point he really probably isn't, he something all together NEW! Haman was my first completed spoon doll (or so I called him *chuckle*) And I've been hooked ever since! Sometimes I stray away from the spoon, but for the most part it's my preferred base for beginning an art doll. Some I do are still more traditional (puppet like) and some are ... well ... a horse of a different color! But rest assured all are close to my heart! SO, this is what I mean when I say "Spoon Doll TM", and although it may not be what my mother created, I like to think the term still works with my pieces! OH! And By the way, if you haven't tried making one I highly recommend it! General directions are below, these are loose instructions to be modified to your personal preference. Art is about discovery ... so remember to explore and have fun!
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