Jaci Dawn

This was Zith. She had a lot of design flaws, the most obvious being that she was not free-standing. When I built her, I didn’t think about how arms move when someone walks, so I put the right arm forward with the right leg. That’s very wrong and terribly unbalanced. The left arm is forward when the right leg is forward.

So I stripped her down, broke her arms and tore out her left hand. I remade a left hand, repositioned her arms, re-dressed her and found the right accessories. It’s taken me about two weeks to finish her up. In the process, she lost her “do-rag” (which you can barely see in the photo) and she became free-standing.

Her identity changes as I worked on the “new” Zith. She became something bolder.

She developed a bit of mysticism.

I realized she had a limp. Her “weak” leg is the left leg, where the staff came to be.

I realized I liked her better without a head covering.

She’s a huntress, not a warrior.

She’s a shaman as well. I found some very cool raven-shaped beads at the craft store, the rest are beads I had on hand.

The “cap” to her staff is an acorn cap. The yarn I had on hand (both kinds). And that cool suede-looking “leather” hand band? That’s an old wool sweater I picked up at a yard sale that was pocked with miller damage. Sure looks like some dead animal hide!

She may be a gimp, but she moves quickly. Her stride is all business.

Her pants are the sleeves of an old camo pattern boy’s long underwear top. The blouse is what it is: a sheer animal print ladies’ blouse, cut to length. I used Alene’s Fabric Stiffener, so everything is “glued” down. The fabric stiffener gave a different color and texture to the fabrics, which is why I like it so much.

I wanted to take a photo of her in her natural woodsy element, but the rains returned. One thing Zith is not and that is water proof.

She stands 21″ (53.3cm) tall.

She even has a little ear-bling going.

Tell me that’s a face you love.

I’m sure I’ll work up a story on her in the near future.