Finding Emo

I looked around the studio and wondered if I should start something new. My better self said. "Don't waste those doll bodies you made when you were trying out the production line approach."  

So, I dragged them out and began to put them together. Lorelei (my Muse) must have been pleased because she rewarded me with this little guy.  He still needs some shoes and a name, but he is well on his way to the look I sought.

Wanna see how we got here? It was a circuitous route with me not even knowing if, after the labor pains, I was going to have a boy or a girl but finally last night he revealed himself to me when I was trying to decide on what hair to give him/her.

After stitching the body together, I painted on the face...my favorite part.

I wanted to try out eye lids this time. I glued some "eyelashes" to them first.

The mood of the character can be changed dramatically with a carefully planned eyelid placement. I won't bore you with it here. This is the final placement I decided on.

 

Next, I looked for hair. I have had this extra-long "fun fur" since 1989 when I was making dolls out of nylon stockings. And you wonder why I need to declutter every once in a while.

But as you can see, I got so caught up in what was emerging as I started making the wig that I ran ahead to the next step ...the eyes...before capturing all the steps digitally. To me, the hair said Emo.

For those of you who don't have teenagers in your life or didn't stay up late last night surfing the net in a quest for all things Emo, allow me to enlighten you. 

From my research I gather that the Emo look has morphed from Punk and Goth.  Emo kid alert ... Don't shoot the messenger here. I am just repeating what I read. Feel free to leave me a comment.

Emo is short for emotional and originated with a type of music. Emo devotees see themselves as tragic and bored. They dress in black, and dye their hair with the deepest black color with patches of blue, green or pink dyed in it. Sometimes they create an ingenious striped piece that looks like a raccoon tail. they dress in layers and wear lots of badges and icons such as skulls, crosses, and hearts. Oh yeah...and both boys and girls use a lot of black eyeliner and black smoky eye shadow. Both sexes sport short fingernails with dark polish.  Piercings and tattoos may be evident. Some revel in writing sad poetry, thinking suicidal thoughts and cutting themselves. That is the downside, but they have a great style that appeals to my shallow nature! 

Oh, stop clucking your tongue!  I bet you dressed like Perry Como, Joan Baez or Bob Dylan, whoever was popular in your day.

Now I was not liking the sharply exaggerated features that I had originally designed for a witch.  Yeah, I know I should never try to decide what they are going to be...they are in charge... scary. 

So, I poked and prodded the nose and chin and arrived at this look. Trust me it is the same doll.  I also added a long bang over the eye. Then a little patch of bright purple to make it really Emo.

Check out the next post for further details on clothing.