I know what you may be thinking. Why would a princess need a make-over? Aren’t they already ideal? I do like to occasionally turn to fairytales and children’s literature for inspiration in my art doll sculptures. Though it is very fertile ground for ideas, it is also a well traversed bit of land. Many of the images we hold in our heads of these characters are the saccharine sweet animated versions. One or too may be so much so, that they can even cross the line to annoying for some of us. I have to admit that I personally have had that reaction to the animated Snow White, and have long thought she could use some updating.
My “Different Snow” art doll figure takes a cue from the writing of Gregory Maguire and perhaps a bit of flavor from the more current “Huntsman” movies. She is beautiful and strong, and can fend for herself, thank you very much.
My Snow did not get tricked by the poison treat she was offered. She has it in hand, and instead has every intention of returning the gift to the giver, with perhaps an additional statement from her sword. She is dressed a bit more appropriately for battle than serenading birds.
the “Different Snow” sculpture stands 15 inches high on a custom made stand. She has an armored “leather” tunic over her red velvet dress. Her battlefield crown sits on her helmet, and armored leggings are tucked into her heeled boots.
I chose to sculpt Snow’s face and hands from paperclay. The media allows for much more refined shaping of her features. The image used is Work-in-Progress, as I added a bit of lip coloring and some additional refinement of her fingers before applying a sealing coat to the paperclay.
Snow is available and on display at the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts.