wigging out as usual
For folks who make polymer clay dolls or who have wigged a kiln fired
doll head, check out how Cowboy Kai gets hair extensions buried into
a clay scalp. Hair extensions from the beauty supply departments are
cheap, wildly long and in colors that doll hair doesn't touch, human
hair colors.
Ok, Egyptian Theme followers. See those braids that are buried into
the raw clay scalp? Those are "s" braids and curl like crazy. Now
there's braids that are straight... that's what we need for Egyptian
wigs. Ok? Now dig... what if we had a head form, small head like our
ball on a stick to start, what if we used that as a platform to make
our Egyptian wigs. Line the ball on a stick with foil, lay raw clay
down on it, embed the straight black braids, remove from ball on
stick and put it on a foil ball in the oven... we'd have a whole
collection of wig possibilities for our Egyptian dolls.
A bit of history trivia: Wigs were worn by just about everyone. The
more rich you were the more you could have done to it. Men and women
wore make up with a lot of moisturizers, ladled on the perfume, wore
eye make up. One bunch of tomb builders went on strike, a sit in at
the temple of Karnack, over the lack of food and make up. They were
offered one month's supply, they held out until they got two month's
of bread, vegetables, fish and make up. There's scenes of a "Make Up"
man applying eye make up to a tomb builder, on site, while the stone
mason was working. "Here ya go mate..." It was painted on the tomb
wall of Senedjem, an artist of tomb walls himself. But about the
wigs. They were considered necessary for the weather is hot and dry,
perfect for head lice. So folks either cropped their hair short or
shaved their heads and wore wigs. There's a comical tale of some guy
flirting with some gal "You can come to my bed and leave your wig
on." Wigs were considered very attractive but that offer was the
height of impropriety.
Oh the things we can do to those braids for our Egyptian dolls/action
figures. There's this band that often goes around the wig, like a
gold hippy head band with inlay jewels. Often there would be gold
streamers coming down off of that. Sometimes a weave of gold would
cap the top of the wig. Now they could have been wearing that for
decoration but I think that worked as a way to cinch that wig onto
the shaved head. I think that the fret work going over the head was
to hold the waxed cone of perfume that melted and dripped nice
smelling stuff over your wig at long hot parties.
I'd love a bald headed Egyptian doll, articulated so we can pose her
like an Egyptian wall painting...LOL, I'm thinking of doing the hands
in those stylized positions. The clothing for these articulated dolls
is easily solved, cheese cloth, from the supermarket, fold like a
paper fan, spray with starch, iron those pleats in, wrap around the
doll and hold with belts and big collared necklaces. Easy enough. But
those wigs, that's the topper, to coin a phrase. That will make or
break the spell we wish to weave.
with our hair weaves...
Just a couple of thoughts
wigging out as usual
xoxo
NJ