All About Keanu

I’ve recently had a bout of unpleasantness and stress thrown my way that I’ve allowed to interfere with my work. For the first time since I started this Babushka business, I had to terminate a project. It was truly upsetting because I’d painted over 800 sets of dolls to date and you’d think I’d get better at my craft, not worse.

Needless to say, I was apprehensive about starting a new project after that failure. There are, of course, ways to get over it, and with the kind of schedule I was facing, I had no choice but to “stay calm and carry on.” I popped on the audio book version of “The Art of War,” shut out the world, and forced myself back into the groove again as I listened to the ancient words of wisdom uttered by my ancestors.

Fortunately, this one was a set of four depicting Keanu Reeves in several of his films. Say what you will about Mr. Reeves, but I think he is a fine actor. Understated, underrated, and cool as a cucumber in real life. Like cooking, you get what you put in and I stayed calm and happy while painting this set.

Here we have Bill of “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” Johnny Utah from “Point Break,” Jack from “Speed,” and of course, Neo from “The Matrix.”

Desperate Living

When it rains it pours. Just as I was about to start on a Desperate Living set for the man who played Bosley Gravel in the movie, I was asked to paint another version. It gave me a chance to really change things up with both sets, which, in my line of work, is most welcomed…makes me feel less like a one-woman assembly line.

Here is version one:

This one features Bosley Gravel and his wife Peggy along with Grizelda Brown who ended up murdering poor Bosley. Along with this set is Muffy, Mole, and Queen Carlotta.

Version two:

This time Peggy Gravel is decked out in a gold raincoat and sparkly pink hot pants; Muffy clutching her lotto money while sporting hosiery couture; Queen Carlotta looking resplendent in her pink gown; Mole wearing her vagina leotard from her flashback; and Grizelda in her sequin top and pink tutu. I recently unearthed some wool meant for doll hair in my collection and made three miniature wigs out of it. It wouldn’t hurt to look into wig school, since need to learn how to make ringlets for a Marie Antoinette set I have in mind!

Harry Potter

Once a year I get a request to paint a set of dolls based on a little girl’s latest obsession, which is, quite frankly, very flattering. Although I don’t exactly produce dolls, I do recall, as a child, my bedroom had a wall of shelving units that I literally cluttered with knickknacks. Some were toys, most were miniature rooms I made out of Kleenex boxes, but a majority were ornaments that made dusting day a real headache. The point is, there are children out there who appreciate receiving ornaments as presents rather than toys and I look forward to this time of year when I get an email from the little girl’s mother.

This, apparently, is the year of Harry Potter. I’ve done a mega set a few years back so I was happy to repeat a few of the characters and adding three new ones. This set focuses on the students themselves.

When Harry Potter was at its height of popularity, I was a school teacher then and was amused to find all the girls in my classes were VERY attracted to Draco Malfoy, so I wasn’t surprised that he would be the first doll. Most girl appreciate a bad boy, I suppose. Hermione’s all about girl power, so’s Ginny and Luna, the two other new additions. Harry and the slovenly Ron are also in the mix, almost as an afterthought.

In the first Harry set I did I was asked to paint the characters’ accompanying creatures. That’s done again for Harry and Ron, but with the others I played it up with wands and broomsticks and also the time turner again for Hermione, an artifact I kind of wish I have so I can finally sit down and eat my lunch!