|
And that's pronounced MARE-uh, not MARR-uh. It's hard to explain what
this is. Well, to start, this is a googly-eyed, plush caricature of Mara, the main character of my first novel.
She's a wife, a mother, and a very old vampire. A vampire housewife, then. I like to turn traditional genres on
their ears, as it were, and Mara was one of many results. Imagine if Mary Poppins were a vampire. I don't actually
picture her like this, but the design came about when I was surfing my own head, and started doodling pictures of Mara the
way one of her children might, such as for a "Show and Tell" assignment. "Okay, everybody go home and draw pictures
of your family members!" Then her kid would have to explain why "Mommy" has such big teeth and ears.
As mentioned, Mara was hand-sewn. The hair was made of the looped, nylon "doll hair" sold
in packages at places like Michael's and A.C. Moore. Normally I hate that stuff, but it fit the whimsical design.
I cut the loops into smaller sections and sewed them to the head, tediously, a little at a time. This was the second
of about 5 Mara dolls I've made for family and friends, and I think the best of them.
Personally, I think every child should have a Mara doll.
|
