Busman's Holiday

When you are self-employed it's hard to have a "real" holiday, even at Christmas!

 

This year I've spent most of my break having a busman's holiday, assembling, painting and dressing a reproduction Izannah Walker doll.

 

I'm running a workshop next year, to create one of my Izannah Walker inspired dolls. My sculpt has been created in Paperclay, using pictures of original antique dolls as reference material. Whilst photos are "OK", you can't beat using a real life model to sculpt from. As these dolls are so rare, I doubt I'll ever be able to see (let alone handle) one here in England.

 

So when I heard from Dixie Redmond that Little Hamptons were selling a cast head and pattern from original antique Izannah walker dolls, it seemed like my dream come true.

 

Hannah arrived on Christmas Eve, since then, at every spare moment.....

 

I've stitched.....

 

Attaching cloth thumbs

I've painted.....

 

Painting curls

Building thin layers of paint

 

I've distressed & assembled,

 

Body assembled

 

And finally, I've costumed....

 

Heavily distressed Izannah Walker Reproduction

Profile of finished doll
 

.....and what's  more, I've really enjoyed myself.

 

If you fancy making a copy of an original Izannah Walker doll yourself, I highly recommend Lynda's kit, she's a great seller, and you have 3 different antique dolls to choose from too. I think I will probably add another to my collection later in the year as well.

 

Despite being almost twice the size of my own Izannah dolls, this gal is going to be a great reference for my sculpting.