I removed her hair and face and started over with a blank slate.
Madam Marah used to be an ordinary young woman with an ordinary life. She used to be Mary Smith, the PA to GeneTech's dashing young director and she was very good at her job. She was always mindful of her appearance and always dressed smart. She prided herself on her looks.
One fateful night, she decided to stay back late to finish off the day's work and was caught in an explosion at the lab. Although it threw her from the building, it did not spare her broken body, her skin melted away and her hair went up in flames leaving not even a single follicle behind. Parts of her brain were dying and she would have been declared dead if not for an experimental surgery that ultimately saved her life.
Her organic parts were fused with machine, her wrecked body covered with synthetic skin. However, her hair would never grow back for the damage to those cells were beyond repair. She spent two years calling the GeneTech lab her home, undergoing intense rehabilitation. When she was finally released back into mainstream society, she spent her next two years trying to return to the life of Mary Smith. She collected a closet full of wigs to hide her lack of hair. On the outside, she looked the part but on the inside, she was anything but.
Three years after leaving GeneTech, she began to experience glitches in her brain, glitches that gave way to an ability to see and perceive the future, seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years in advance. She discarded her wigs, discarded Mary Smith, moved to District 17, home to the shunned, the rebels and the freaks of society and embraced her difference. She took on the name, Madam Marah and became the Oracle of District 17.
I had a lot of fun making this character. I really wasn't sure who she was when I started her but as she came together, her back story came to me and she was born, fully formed and waiting to become a reality.
I am particularly happy with her dress as it was my own design and pattern (I've tried to make my own patterns before but this is the first one that succeeded!).
I'm not sure which character will be next. Whoever decides to call to me I suppose.
I must say that I love the doll and the story - they both have such... eerie vibe. The results of your customization are fantastic, and the dress is simply beautiful. Crystals and pearls on the head of Madam Marah looks both organic and inorganic, creating the look not easy to forget. Absolutely magnificent work!
ReplyDeleteThank you for such kind words. I had a lot of fun making this one because she was a little bit unusual. Plus I had so many of those pearls and crystals that I really wanted to do something with them (and I really didn't want to re-root another doll after only finishing re-rooting the one before her!) But it all worked out in the end. I'd really love to try a button head doll. I used to have a cloth doll that had buttons for hair and she was the cutest little thing. I just wish I knew what happened to her. I suspect I gave her away to a friend and meant to make another one for myself but never got around to it!
DeleteWhat a super job you've done on her Alasse, I just love the whole story line you have put together for her . . . it all makes complete sense. Love the use of the beads, it's a very unique look and works perfectly. The dress is gorgeous too, well done ol' girl!!
ReplyDeleteBig hugs,
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Thank you for the encouraging words Xanadu! I'm hoping my foray into making my own patterns will transfer to bjd outfits as I am finding it hard to afford new clothes for that line of dolls! The clothes I like tend to be pricey! I am having a lot of fun trying my hand at customizing these dolls. It's nice to be able to just create something and not worry too much if it doesn't work out. It's refreshing.
DeleteWhat a great storyteller you are, it works so perfectly for her too. When I was young I had such an imagination and was always making up stories for characters, I wasn't into dolls but I had little figures in my dolls house and they all had such stories going on around them, but now I'm hopeless at doing that, so I really enjoyed reading your story about Madam Marah, and you've done a great job of putting this girl together, really great!! Well done! :)
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Thank you for the kind words Sharon. I have to admit that I started with creative writing first and did that for years before I even started collecting dolls so you could say my desire to bring my characters to life in a more tangible format was what ultimately drove me to start collecting dolls as a hobby.
DeleteShe's a very intriguing character. Somehow she reminds me of Poison Ivy or Cat Woman although her story is different. Using the beads instead of hair was a great idea.
ReplyDeleteI had bought all the beads for a project but never ended up using them so it was a great way to use them up too and they do look good on her. I've always been a Poison Ivy fan even though to be honest I'm not a massive DC fan. I'm more of a Marvel girl. Wonder Woman is probably the only superhero I actually like from the DC universe.
DeleteHurray for success in pattern making. Her dress is lovely and her story is a scary one, but I'm glad she found a place to be her new you, as an oracle!
ReplyDeleteI really want to try and make some ancient greek dresses at some stage, the kind the Greek Gods would get around in. I had played with the idea of doing my own rendition of Aphrodite but that depends if I have a doll on hand for a project like that. I do have a Cleopatra planned.
DeleteThis is one of the most intresting projects I hav seen. And the background story makes it even better. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for the kind words. When you don't feel like re-rooting, search around for other supplies that could work as hair! I did have a lot of fun creating this girl. I like the result a lot.
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