One of the characters I need for my story is a grandmother, so here was a great opportunity to create an old lady in wool. I looked at a few online videos and got some inspiration - and here she is! I had fun trying to create a lined and saggy face. She turned out prettier and less witchlike than I anticipated and has way more hair than most of us - well me anyway!!
My tale begins in a cold land and so my character names are all to do with snow and ice. The grandmother’s name is Zuri, which in most languages means white, beautiful, or light. (I’m sure Zuri was beautiful in her youth, now she has a lot of inner beauty)
Zuri does some housekeeping
I had some fun making some clothes for Zuri - sewing and decorating a warm coat, and then felting and sewing a dress and apron so that she is decent under her coat. I toyed with the idea of just giving her underwear, but she wanted more, and who am I to argue… And really you don’t want to be living in cold climes with just your underwear under your coat! I probably should have given her long sleeves…
The very beginning…
Here is Grandmother Zuri in the making. She is 10 inches high and fully posable. I first make the wire armature, then add white core wool to get the overall body shapes. Then I add skin color wool, sculpt the face, and add hair. I totally want that head of hair! I can do without the wrinkles and sourpuss look tho’! As you can see she stands on her own - or at least did until I added clothes. That was when I realized she would need a walking stick as an extra prop!
A handy little twig (from my huge stash of twigs!) makes a great walking stick. My husband swears there is more of the garden in my studio than there is outside! That’s surely an exaggeration…. I hope!
I used some beads and wire to pin up her hair, she looked a little wild otherwise.
Spoiler alert……..!!
Sadly, my story has the grandmother’s passing as a catalyst for the beginning of a journey, but now, having created her, I realize that the life force is strong with her and she has no intention of passing away any time soon! So, she will be acting a small part in my story, and then subsequently having other adventures of her own. So the lesson imparted is that our creations (just like our children) determine their own path in life, no matter what your intentions for them may have been!