The Princess and the Pea

by

Hans Christian Andersen

(1835)

NCE upon a time there was a prince who wanted to marry a princess; but she would have to be a real princess. He travelled all over the world to find one, but nowhere could he get what he wanted. There were princesses enough, but it was difficult to find out whether they were real ones. There was always something about them that was not as it should be. So he came home again and was sad, for he would have liked very much to have a real princess.

One evening a terrible storm came on; there was thunder and lightning, and the rain poured down in torrents. Suddenly a knocking was heard at the city gate, and the old king went to open it.

It was a princess standing out there in front of the gate. But, good gracious! what a sight the rain and the wind had made her look. The water ran down from her hair and clothes; it ran down into the toes of her shoes and out again at the heels. And yet she said that she was a real princess.

“Well, we’ll soon find that out,” thought the old queen. But she said nothing, went into the bed-room, took all the bedding off the bedstead, and laid a pea on the bottom; then she took twenty mattresses and laid them on the pea, and then twenty eider-down beds on top of the mattresses.

On this the princess had to lie all night. In the morning she was asked how she had slept.

“Oh, very badly!” said she. “I have scarcely closed my eyes all night. Heaven only knows what was in the bed, but I was lying on something hard, so that I am black and blue all over my body. It’s horrible!”

Now they knew that she was a real princess because she had felt the pea right through the twenty mattresses and the twenty eider-down beds.

Nobody but a real princess could be as sensitive as that.

So the prince took her for his wife, for now he knew that he had a real princess; and the pea was put in the museum, where it may still be seen, if no one has stolen it.

There, that is a true story.

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The Princess and the Pea is my entry for the Story Book Characters Doll Challenge at Cloth and Clay Dolls.

The doll is made using paper mache and paper clay over a wire armature.  Her hips, knees and shoulders are movable with wire joints.  Her nightgown with removable robe and hair are made of paper.  She measures about 9" tall.

The bed is made using cardboard and painted with acrylic paints for a mahogany finish.  The headboard and foot board have flowery "carvings".  The 20 mattresses are made using cardboard and they are wrapped in 20 irremovable "quilts" that are simply decorative scrapbook papers.  Her top quilt and pillows are made using delicate paper laces stuffed with thick tissue.  The bed measures approximately 11 1/2"L x 7 3/4"W x 11 3/4"H.  The ladder is made of cardboard and the pea is made of paper clay.

Inspiration From a Shower Door

When was the last time you went cloud watching? How about shower door watching?

When I was taking a shower the other day, I drifted off into LaLa land while enjoying the hot water on my aching neck.  Then I realized there was the shape of a womans face in the shower door scum; (I also realized that, wow! it's been a while since I last cleaned.)  I took a picture of it before the steam evaporized.  Maybe she'll be the face of my next art doll?....

So the next time your husband/mom asks, "When are you going to get off that damned internet and finally clean the bathtub!" You can respond with an inarguable speech like I do and say, "I couldn't possibly!  My art projects depend on shower door scum inspiration!...."

Art Doll ~ Ilia

Every now and then I find myself apologizing, "Sorry, I don't speak spanish".   I am what they call a "third generation" puerto rican.  My grandmother, who speaks a little bit of English, moved from PR to New York before my mom was born.  My mom is bilingual but isn't sure of every spanish word.  When I was little my mom says I refused to learn spanish but that since no one else around us spoke spanish, she didn't force it.  Now, we both regret it.  This was especially an issue for me when I worked as a bank teller fifteen years ago.  The spanish speaking customers would stand in line to wait just for me only to turn away in anger.  Some even decided not to do business with the bank at all, leaving in disgust.  I felt terrible.  So again, 'Sorry, no habla espanol".


Even though I don't speak spanish, I am proud of my puerto rican heritage and culture.  The island of Puerto Rico is a great tourist destination because of it's year round warm weather, historical landmarks, white sand beaches, good food and friendly people.    If you ever get a chance to visit PR you must plan to see one of the bio-luminescent bays.   (PR has three of only five in the world!)  One of the well known locations is off of Vieques.   At night you can see the water magically light up and glow.  It's like the evening forest scene in the film Avatar.  This rare and remarkable phenomenon is caused by millions of super super tiny luminescent half plant/half animal organisms that light up when disturbed by movement.*   I always leave the waters amazed at the wonders of Creation.


This next doll I have created pays homage to the lovely Puerto Rico and it's fascinating waters.  She is named after my grandmother, Ilia.

Ilia stands 12" tall in a traditional Puerto Rican dress.  The bottom of her skirt is layered with white, red and blue papers accented with two yellow stripes.  Her waist is tied with a long yellow sash and the top of her blouse has several layers of lace.  Her hair is tied back in a bun with a red carnation tucked in.  She has an under-slip trimmed with lace trim which reaches to her black mary jane shoes.   She comes with her custom stand, a Puerto Rico magnet and a glass jar filled with bay water, seaweed and two seashells from Vieques.** 

Here are some details about the dolls...
The dolls are made using paper mache with a paper clay overlay.  They have a wire armature running throughout their bodies including their hands and feet.  The arms, legs and head are movable as they are connected to the body with nut/screw joints.  They are painted with professional quality acrylic paints and sealed with a matte sealer.  Their clothes, hair, accessories and accompanying "gifts" are made entirely of paper (ie; paper mache, paper clay, cardboard, mulberry paper, paper tape, etc.) (unless otherwise noted) or they are painted on.  The clothing is not removable.  Dolls are signed and dated on their bottoms which may be hidden by their clothes.  Each doll is about 12" tall and comes with her own coordinating cardboard stand.   

Care and use of dolls...

Since these are art dolls, they are not made for children.  Especially due to the fragile nature of paper, they are to be handled very carefully.  Imperfections in construction and execution may be visible and should be expected since they are handmade.  They should not be placed in direct sunlight or in humid environments.  They should not be held by the arms or legs but by the waist or the behind.  The dolls can sit and be posed with careful and delicate attention to their clothing and hair.  They should not be forced to sit or move if there is resistance as this could cause a crack in the paper clay or a tear in the paper.  Keep clean with a dry cloth, paint brush, duster or dust it off with a cool hair dryer every now and then.   Please note that the more they are played with, the less resilient they become.   (Excuse me if I sound overly cautious; the dolls are sturdily made so with proper care they should last over a lifetime.)

* Information on the waters of Vieques: http://www.biobay.com/

Puerto Rico Tourism: http://welcome.topuertorico.org/city/vieques.shtml

** The magnet is commercially made of resin.  The jar and its contents are not made of paper.  

Inspiration for outfit: http://www.life.com/image/50918874

Crepe Paper Surprise Balls

For my bridal shower, 11 years ago, I wanted to make sure the guests had a good time.  My family arranged the venue, food, music and decorations but I contributed the games.  (Yes, it felt a little uncouth to help plan my own party...)   We played 'Don't Say or Do',  'Tissue Paper Wedding Dress' and 'Shopping List'.  But my favorite game was 'Musical Surprise Balls'.  For that game I wrapped a wearable item around alot of newspaper and crepe paper.  The guests had to pass/toss the ball around to music and when the music stopped, the person holding the ball got to unwrap it until the music started again.  When the ball was finally unwrapped, that person had to wear the surprise item.  This was hilarious because while some of the gifts were very nice (silk scarfs, jewelery and hair pins) other gifts were a hoot; shower caps, fake noses, bras and thick glasses.  It was even funny when my aunt had to wear a hair pin prize.  The hair pin was beautiful but since she had just gotten a haircut (a very very short haircut), she looked ridiculous.  Thank goodness everyone had a sense of humor and kept their prizes on the rest of the night.  


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I was reminded of the experience above when I recently re-discovered two paper artists from California.  Their names are Anandamayi Arnold and Aimee Baldwin.  They make the most wonderful, realistic flowers, plants, birds, food and small animals from crepe paper.   And Anandamayi makes such perfect surprise balls it must be hard to decide to open them up. Oh well, you can't have your cake and eat it too.  

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You can also purchase already made surprise balls online at stores like topsmalibu.com and surpriseballs.com.

OWOH Event Winners!

Congrats! to numbers 27 -  Vintiquities Workshop and 191 - E Makes Art.

Thanks so much to everyone who stopped by my blog and left a message.  And what a nice surprise from A Whimsical Bohemian!  I hope to see you again at next year's new event!

Art Doll ~ Susan

I didn't plan on it working out this way but this doll's face ended up reminding me of a dear friend whom I've lost touch with a couple of years ago.  Even her outfit looks like something she would wear.  Here is Susan.

Susan stands 11 1/2" high in a dark orange and burgundy print dress with a soft "knit" short sleeve sweater.  She also has a pretty gold necklace and two gold bracelets.  She comes to you with a classic jester jack in the box.  

Art Doll ~ Kathleen

One of my favorite movies inspired this doll.  I named her Kathleen after the character played by Meg Ryan in "You've Got Mail".  Her outfit is based on the best scene in the movie.  It is in the ending when NY152 reveals himself to be Joe Fox (Tom Hanks); the very person she once hated but eventually came to fall in love with.

Kathleen stands 11 3/4" high in a caribbean blue pinch pleated dress and a summery shear sweater.   She comes to you with her laptop ready to send her next AOL email and a small bunch of daisies wrapped in a red bow.