Wonder Woman is the 1000th Set

Nine years ago around this time I ordered two sets of blank nesting dolls—one was to be a gift for my hostess when I was in Japan a few months earlier and the other was a just-in-case-I-messed-up-the-first-one. I’ve never painted nesting dolls before and wasn’t sure how I would feel about repetition. I mean, that’s the reason why I never took children’s book illustration seriously even though that had been my concentration at SVA. The first set went all right and I wanted to paint another one. And another. And another. 1000 sets later and I’m still going at it.

For a few weeks I was low-key anxious, wondering which set would become the 1000th, as I normally work simultaneously on 4-6 sets daily. When it became clear that Wonder Woman, one of my favorite movies last year, was to be the one, I immediately decided to give up my sugar-free diet for the day and made some cake to celebrate. I’m regretting the cake now, but thrilled about how the set had turned out.

I started painting these dolls at the dining table, wondering if I could ever make a living at it. Turns out I can’t, really. But it does provide me an ample opportunity to meet with people from around the world and hone my craft to a very sharp point on a daily basis. To quote the friend who had gotten me on this path: “When you love what you’re doing, you got it all, man.”

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Mean Girls Version 3 (Spring Fling)

Before I got started on this version of Mean Girls, I had to figure out how to rig up Regina George’s spinal halo and make it removable so the dolls nestled inside her can be taken out. It’s a good thing I suffer from a mild case of hoarding so after rummaging around a bit in a huge box of abandoned bits and pieces from the time when I was really into extreme scrapbooking, I managed to cobble together the spinal halo and made it functional.

Here’s the set of Mean Girls all gussied up for their Spring Fling.

Here’s the breakdown of the spinal halo I made, which, in mid-construction, I discovered my pliers were missing AGAIN and had to have a serious talk with the Hubs about returning things to their rightful place after use. It’s really my fault because I didn’t hide my tool box. I’ve already succeeded in hiding my snacks, now I’ll just have to figure out a way to hide my tools.

Mean Girls Version 2 (Halloween)

I have to admit that my high school experience is vastly different from ones portrayed in film, TV and movies. First of all, I had to take the subway to school (which was why “The Princess Diaries,” the books, not the movie, jibed with me), and a bus. Second of all, my high school was located smack dab in Manhattan, but in fact so removed from all the fun parts of the greatest city in the world that it’s pretty boring. If it weren’t for the Forbidden Planet and a few movie theaters nearby, I’d probably transfer to my local high school in Queens and used the time commuting to study for my SATs. No, I’m just playing with you. I wouldn’t be studying. I’d get my own teenage gang together and wreak havoc on the streets of Flushing.

So when movies like “Mean Girls” came out, I couldn’t really relate. There were some cliques here and there in my high school, but not so distinctive that people in those cliques don’t mingle with ones outside their own. I myself bounced from group to group. There weren’t any apparent bullying either, just a bunch of really focused teenagers trying to hone their craft. It might have a lot to do with the fact that I went to an art high school with a special concentration on architecture and commercial arts. From what I gathered, these fine people I graduated with are functional members of society, most of us still pursuing our dreams of being an artist or have attained that near-impossible goal. So, “Mean Girls” is a largely fictional piece of entertainment in my book and I genuinely feel bad for people who DID have to deal with horrible people in terrible situations because I myself have been spared of such trauma. Still, I did have fun painting this version where the girls were all slutted up to go to a Halloween party except for Cady, who didn’t get the memo. And also Janis, the only voice of reason in the high school jungle.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

This is, hands down, my favorite Indiana Jones movie of all time.

I was asked to paint just an Indy doll for a fan of the movie, but it occurred to me, why not paint an entire set? Then I found a mini hat and thought, hey, why not turn the last doll into a voodoo Indiana?

Edward Scissorhands

Although Edward Scissorhands isn’t technically a “Christmas Movie,” I always lump it in with my usual cache of holiday binge this time of year. And why not? I now live in a place where snow is non-existent, sort of like in the movie.

This set features Edward, Kim and Peg Boggs, Jim the hoodlum boyfriend, the Inventor, and a mini topiary dinosaur.

Well, Merry Christmas, wherever you are!

Repo Man

I have to admit this had been quite a roller coaster ride of a holiday season for me, so I was grateful that I can escape into my little world of paint and music and TV shows…just to hide from reality for a little while each day. One such escape was painting “Repo Man,” which was a lot of fun although the recent death of Harry Dean Stanton kind of made this project bitter sweet.

Preacher

When I was three or four years old, I was given this “interactive” toy that plays music and had a screen of some sort which made it look like a TV set. I recall sitting in my playroom with this thing and wishing that it’s an actual TV set and it’s all mine and I didn’t have to share it with anyone. Then I wished that when I was an adult and had to get a job, I would get one that enable me to watch TV shows and movies all day every day. Know what? Both wishes came true. I don’t actually have a TV set in my work room per se, but I do have a portable DVD player and two tablets I can watch TV shows off from. As for watching shows for a living, what I do now comes close. Often times I am asked to paint characters from movies and shows I haven’t seen and I will have no choice but to binge it out. Poor me, right? Tee hee hee.

“Preacher” is a show I have been interested in checking out but never did get around to. A recent request to paint some of the characters finally got me to tune in. What a trip! It is even more fun to paint it!

This one features The Saint of Killers, Jesse Custer, Cassidy, and Tulip O’Hare.

A Little Shop of Horrors Reprise

Many many many moons ago I made a Little Shop of Horrors set with a non-working Audrey II. By non-working I mean it’s basically just a Papier-mâché plant that won’t open. It’s been haunting me ever since the set was completed. Every now and then I catch myself looking up at the moon and thinking about what I can do to make it even more extra.

This is the older version:

I will admit that I had a lot of fun papier-mâché-ing Audrey II. It still has a place of honor in front of the TV set.

But you know how it is when you’re looking at something online and one thing leads to another (I now know how to fully furnish an underground bunker, thanks to one of my after midnight forays into the interwebs), I found an old Maxwell coffee can, the same one Seymour used in the movie when he first bought Audrey II and things sort of spiraled from there.

This is the new and improved Audrey II. The plant structure itself, I’m happy to say, now opens. Most of the leaves and vines are papier-mâchéd. As this is one of those sets I constructed after after hours, I more or less use what was sitting around to make the greens, including utilizing hardanger fabric meant for embroidery, wires I filched from the Hubs, and tissue papers saved from something someone sent me. I suppose years of working as a public school art teacher has taught me to successfully scavenge for supplies!

As the plant now opens, I can happily put in the core cast from the movie. Here’s Seymour Krelborn and Chiffon, Crystal and Ronette…

…along with Audrey, Dr. Orin Scrivello D.D.S., and of course, Mr. Mushnik.

The Ultimate Babs Johnson Set

I’m the first to admit I’m not the most fashionable person in the world. Once, when I was the dance teacher, a job that I believed was handed down to me out of pity and desperation, the only thing that got me up in the morning was the knowledge I could spend the day in sweat pants. Nevertheless, I do appreciate fashion and what people can do with bits of fabric and a fabulous sense of color. This is why every now and then I feel the need to paint something fashion-y and what’s better than going through “Pink Flamingos” and examining each outfit Babs Johnson wore piece by piece? This is the outcome.

Naturally, what with Babs being the “filthiest person alive” and all, the seventh “doll” is a pile of poo.

Divine Madness

It’s always fun knocking out a Divine set, mostly because she was such a colorful entertainer. This one features dolls shaped just like my favorite rotund entertainer!

The best part of doing this set is making those cotton candy wigs!