The Egg Man

My third shelf-sitter is a Humpty Dumpty type character. I've taken to referring to him as "The Egg Man" because every time I worked on him I got the Beatles song "I Am the Walrus" stuck in my head. You know the line where they sing, "I am the eggman, they are the eggmen, I am the walrus... goo goo ga-joob..."

The Egg Man is made from paper mache with a plastic Easter egg as an armature for the upper body. His arms and legs are stuffed fabric. The arms are button jointed, and the legs are a little different. I glued wooden beads into the tops to make knees, and threaded wire through the holes in the beads and into the body. His little feet can swing back and forth.

His collar, hat band and bow tie are paper that has been coated with several layers of acrylic sealer. He wanted to wear black and orange, so I obliged him. His eyes are really shiny, and I couldn't get a really good pic. But just believe me, he's much cuter in person.

He is seen below with my other two shelf-sitters:

See, I told you he wouldn't be anything like the other two. He actually is my favorite of the three!

The Psaltery Player

Never heard of a Psaltery? Well, I hadn't either, until I started researching 15th Century and earlier musical instruments. The Psaltery was a stringed instrument that was plucked with the fingers. They were made in various shapes. The very first psalteries were just a flat board with strings of gut stretched tight.

Her instrument is made from paper mache, paint, dressmaker's pins that were cut to length, and gold thread. She wears a costume sewn from batik fabric.

Her facial features are not as defined as the previous doll, because I used paper mache for her head, which is not as easy to work with as paper clay. Her body is stuffed fabric like her friend, the percussionist. Her hair is ribbon that I unraveled.

Shown above with her instrument moved around to her back.

 Her unusual hat is stuffed with fiberfil and topped with a gold-toned button.

I'm debating repainting her eyes so that they will be open, what do you think?

Tomorrow I will be posting a third shelf sitter. He is nothing like the first two. I hope you come back to see him.

Later,
Maggie