I am the originator of this doll.
I decided to use the four seasons as a guide to the seasons of life: childhood (spring), maidenhood (summer), motherhood (autumn) and cronehood (winter). I hope the other participants will enjoy the project as much as I did!
I started this doll shortly after hearing the news that my mother had died (on 9/16/03). In fact, I was sketching the concept during my flight back to Montreal, and had sketched four heads, one for each season. I wasn't sure which one I would select to do myself, so I drew all four. The oldest of the four, the one that I'd dubbed "winter" looked sombre and spent. I suppose my sorrow at my mom's passing, as well as how I knew she'd been feeling, especially as of late, resulted in this particular depiction.
I decided that I would pick autumn, in the end. Fall my favorite season, although California takes the joy out of it somewhat, because the leaves don't turn here as much as they do back east or in other colder climes. It also represents a time of life that I am looking forward to. I look forward to feeling good--established and comfortable with my "self." I'm getting there... slowly.
I used Cernit–a new polymer clay for me–to sculpt the face. Oh, such heaven! I loved the clay... it's wonderful to work with! It's got some of the qualities of the translucent Premo but it has a lovely color to it–looking much like the clay resulting from the many hours I'd previously spent on mixing a variety of polymer clays.
I'd originally wanted to paint the outside of the glass container into different colors with glass paint, but changed my mind, because I wanted to let the other artists decide what to do with each of their sides.
Ahhhh.... I love the journal work. Paper as a "canvas" has been my first love, for many years preferring to sketch with a pencil than any other tool. Then I discovered that I could lay paint and a variety of other materials onto the page, without totally distorting it. The journal as an art form has been a wonderful discovery for me as well. I have Kelly Kilmer, artist and teacher extraordinaire, to thank for that, as well as the kind folks at A Little Bizaar in Lake Elsinore, California, for providing the venue.