At last my Gruby Little Lenore is complete!

Follow or join in the fun goings on at Art Dolls Only or at Deanna's blog, Blue heron Dolls.

For the last few weeks doll makers from all around the globe have been madly and creatively working on a challenge called '4 elements', Earth, Fire, Water, Air, You can pick all four or just the one. I choose Earth not only because I consider myself an earthy sort of gal, but because the of my mildly morbid fascination with horror so naturally my first thought associated with earth was death, the grave, rotting molding corpses. My mother tried her best when I was young to steer me clear of such thoughts but like Tim Burton' s 'Vincent' I too wanted to be like Vincent Price and read Edgar Allen Poe instead of 'Go Spot Go'.




Didn't think I was going to finish her tonight as so many other things came up and interfered with my train of thought. I read over and over Edgar's poems, Lenore, The Raven and Annabel Lee, watched A Nightmare Before Christmas and Pan's Labyrinthine to get back that thought process. I also remembered my online pal Severina once posted a pattern for a 17th Century Death Shroud.....and so Lenore was born!
The stand is wood but I covered it with sculpey and drew deep lines into the surface to give it a sort of drawn earth look. This and the headstone were baked in the oven to harden.
Around the base I painted a thick coat of white acrylic paint and when dried applied a crackle medium and then rubbed burnt umber into the cracks.
Lenore's arms are 4 rusty nails and her whole body and clothes have been heavily stained with coffee.
This is a photo I took while I was applying the coffee. I had to laugh as it reminded me of the scene in pans Labyrinth of the mandrake root.
Anyway to completely finish this project I also wrote a little poem....are you sitting comfortably??

Three children dug deep
in their sand pit so sweet
Until they came to a door

That door, that door that led to Lenore!

Their curiosity grew as
from the earth they withdrew

Down, down, down towards
the cold rusty arms of Lenore

one by one each child in a trance
walked slowly towards deaths last dance
with the beguiling voice of Lenore
singing 'Never more'!