Hollywood Dolls

The Melanie Hamilton head sculpt is perhaps one of the most classic ones that Tonner came out with. Close to it would be the Carol Barrie doll. I had this doll long before and attempted to fix the bun. I was not successful at doing that as the doll hair is too thick to be handled well -- kudos to those who were victorious at restyling it the Melanie way (said with a bow). Perhaps accidents happen for opportunities to happen because the sculpt opened up the possibility of repainting the doll (with loosened hair) into some Da Vinci-esque muse.

Woman drawing by Leonardo da Vinci

Woman painting by Botticelli

La Ghirlandata by Dante Gabriel Rosetti

I was inspired by the paintings of La Gioconda by Da Vinci, the women paintings of Dante Gabriel Rosetti  and La Primavera here. Noticing the crimped classical hair of the subjects of these artists, I sought out to do what could be a possible repaint.
I sectioned the hair carefully and braided these into tiny braids to capture a sculpted look that would
capture the light with the little waves. Each braid was tied with a thin thread in the end. Dipping the head into freshly-boiled water for 20 seconds, then leaving it to dry.  After which loosening the braids which is easily done with a toothpick by starting from the ends of the braid.

Then came analyzing the paintings of Da Vinci and Rossetti. The subjects hardly had any make up on and there weren't any noticeable detail on eyelashes nor brows (I tried this doll with no brows on, and it didn't look well too me although it was as faithful to the classical subjects as possible). So why not add some brows-- thin ones and hardly discernible ones.

Here is a result of this project -- as what I call my little portrait attempts these days.  I hope you like it and enjoy it as much as I did venturing into it.

NRFB, in my opinion, is like a child not being allowed to play. Tonner's tagline: The Power of Play is not all about that. This can be easily seen in the features of its dolls: the articulation, the hard vinyl, the recent release of the Antoinette blank face canvas; seems like Tonner realizes that part of the play is the art or craft of recreating or reinventing the doll to be your own.
The priceless value of hours of play is nothing compared to just looking at a doll behind a transparent box. And I personally think that life is all about that too. You can't live life with the untouchable or with too much of strict rules. It's all about balance. It's all about going out of where you are, what you do and exploring something enriching and new. What did I learn today? What did I give to this day? These are questions of life that is lived. It also means giving everything the benefit of the doubt -- thinking "out of the box" is allowing your mind to expand and experience new things whether big or small. There are little treasures found in the minutes of the day. Slow down and see what great things there are to be discovered. Each day no matter the routine will offer something new.

"Out of the Box" is improvisation. And this means doing a photoshoot with my Tonner practice doll themed after that concept (this will have to be her last repaint unless I subject her to more torture under the acetone). Thus, the box in the background. Thus, gone are the "Gone with the Wind" flouncy dresses and ribbons. Inspired by Katherine Hepburn's trousers LOL -- of course pinned at the back.

Have a Happy Easter everyone! Live, live again!

Scarlett wears:
Tuxedo shirt from Tonner Rhett Butler 2008
Dark pants from Tonner Rhett Butler 2008
Brown trousers from Tonner Lord Asriel 2008
Multi-layered tulle gown from Alana Benett ooak "Jezebel" white gown
Corset by Tonner from its GWTW line
Lace-up boots from Tonner Scarlett 2008 line