Doll Experiment - Part 3

Molded limbs removed from the doll

I have been working on an experiment to see if I can make a mold of a doll from an existing doll using papier mache'.  I had seen this idea in an article in Art Doll magazine.  Today you can tell that something has actually happened in this experiment.  An old, damaged doll was covered with masking tape, plastic wrap, then given four layers of strip papier mache'.  With those layers all dried, I was ready to remove the mold from the doll.

I used a craft knife and heavy scissors to cut the mold from the doll.   I won't say it was hard work, but my hands were tired by the time I had completed the job.  Just removing the arms and legs took more than an hour.  This doll had porcelain head, arms, and legs that were sewn onto a soft body.  The arms and legs were not removable on this doll, so the mold of the doll was cast as one piece.  Much of the cutting took place in tight areas that were difficult to reach.   Cutting through the layers also created a lot of small paper scrap and dust.  If I try this again, I think I will try cutting using a rotary tool with a cutting blade.  The work should go a lot faster and I think it will make a cleaner cut.  However, it will not reach all the areas, so some blade or scissors cutting will still need to take place.  My main reason for not using the rotary tool this time is that I wanted to try to save the doll for another mold if possible. 

Theoretically, after making as many molds as I want, then still reuse the doll's porcelain head, arms, and legs to make another doll.  This doll's soft, stuffed body is a little worse for wear from where I punched in too deeply with the craft knife or scissors.  I guess I will have to make a new body for the doll.  I covered the glass eyes with some fiberfill before I put tape on the doll in hopes of keeping them free from the sticky tape. I have never made a porcelain doll before, so that will be a learning experience for another day.

In other circumstances, I might have cut the doll open in a different manner.  I had originally thought to take the doll off in just two pieces:  front and back.  The reason that I chose to separate it at the limbs was because I hope that I will be able to make cuts at other joints and change the shape of the pose of the doll.  Having everything separate will allow for a greater ability to move the limbs around.

Once I cut the arms at the shoulders I was able to remove the arm and hand after slicing down one side of the arm.  The thumb was the sticking point on this.  By spreading the sides of the arm widely, and wiggling it a bit I was able to free the thumb.  I had thought that I would have to slice down both sides and separate the halves of the arm to get the thumb and fingers free.  The legs and feet were a different story.  My first cut was at the hips so that the each leg was removed from the torso.  I had to cut down both sides of the leg completely in order to free the foot.  The legs came apart fairly easily.

The torso and head were removed all at once.  I considered making the head separate and was uncertain whether I wanted to do that or leave it as it was.  I decided for this experiment that I would leave the head and neck alone.  This head is gazing slightly outward and downward.  I thought it would be usable as is.  Sometimes it is better to work on one or two things at a time rather than try to do too many things with one doll.  For this experiment my main focus is on changing the position of the arms. Beyond that, I want to see if I can make this doll stand without using a doll stand.  That is plenty to work on for my first attempt.

So now the doll has been completely removed from its papier mache' casing.  That is about as far as I have gone on the project.  I will have some new information on the project on Sunday's blog post.  Check back then.