Circus Sideshow Nesting Dolls

These are a set of sideshow nesting dolls that I just finished painting. I used acrylic paint and then coated them with crystal clear. They were really fun to paint and now I want to paint more! It's so much easier to buy and paint the wooden ones than to sculpt my own!

I've always been fascinated with circus sideshows, but not necessarily circus related things in general. The fact that humans were on display like they were monsters horrifies me. It's definitely appalling but what fascinates me is all the reasons that those people did that. Sure, some were sold to the circus against their will, but so many loved that they found a place where they were not only accepted but exalted for what made them different. There were even people willingly doing things to themselves to become "freaks".

Not that I could possibly understand what some of these lifestyles would and can be like but a small part of me can relate. As a child I had very light blonde eyebrows, eyelashes and hair (which has not darkened as much as I'd hoped it would) so a lot of  kids in school often asked me if I was an albino, or they would tell me that I was. And I wasn't so sure that I wasn't:

I've never been the epitome of grace. Why did they let me pose my hands like that?!!

If I was around in the late 1800s and had any musical talent then maybe I could have been in this albino sideshow act band:

A girl can dream.
Cammi

Easily Amused

When we're not making these weird creatures we're playing with them! The hoofed guy is the new one that Max made and as soon as I posted him on our etsy page I regretted it. He should stay here :(

Ok, back to playing!
Cammi

Some Things

How did this guy get so weird? I added shoes and ears to him and then he felt complete but gosh darnit, he's a strange beast.

This is where I'm at with the sasquatches that I'm making. Now I have to sew 32 arms and legs and finish painting 32 hands and feet. These guys are a lot of work!

This is the start of the next comedian doll that I'm going to be making, but that might be happening after the big foots and also after another set of matroshkas that I started painting. I carved this head shape in blue foam with razors and sandpapers.

Oh and Max made a really great-looking new guy that will be photographed shortly. All we need is a place for it to graze?

I feel like I'm always writing a lot but never really saying anything. Writing about creating visuals is funny. I wonder what it would have been like if famous artists from the past had blogs. "Worked on the Sistine Chapel again today. My back hurts but at least I finished painting God."

I don't know,

Cammi

What the heck are you wearing?

I love how much a face can change with the way that it's painted. We like to reuse a lot of the faces we sculpt, and try to really get that mileage out of them? For this guy I loved the idea of giving him really red youthful lips and a blank expression, like he has no idea what to do with that big body. Better pictures coming soon!

Okay now.
Cammi