Saturday, August 15, 2009

"What's a Desk Head ?"


You must be wondering what the "Desk Head" is? OK, let me tell you how they came to be........ I have been an artist since the late 70's. I know, that is a lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnng time! But I have only been a doll maker for the last 12 years. I have made over 600 dolls in these past many years and I have held onto the left over pieces from the materials I used for the dolls. Not being one to waste resources and loving to always have my hands busy in some creative project, I took the left overs and made a bag of heads...............just because the parts were there. I think at first it was a way to "fine tune" my face sculpting ability to make the best faces, the most expressive faces I could make. As I looked into my bag of heads I had an idea! Using the stands from the puppets I had made for play therapists while I had been actively making dolls for therapists, I took the sections of wood that were formerly the stands for what I then called "stick heads" [my version of a hand puppet] and glued the head right onto the stand. It was quite funny to me and as I laughed I grabbed my basket of left over yarns and my huge box of recycled buttons and began creating a face. It seemed that I couldn't stop that weekend and ended up with a huge collection of "Heads".

I brought a few of them into work with me and set them on my desk. Later that day I had a meeting with my supervisor and returned to my office somewhat disgruntled........I found that it was easy to share my point of view with the head on my desk instead of seeking out a comrade to 'debrief' this meeting. That is how they lovingly came to be called "Desk Heads". It occurred to me that there might be others who wanted a confidant and that this might just be one solution! Later that day, as I worked on my computer, the phone rang.........I took my glasses off and without even missing a beat............I placed them on the nose of one of my new office mate! It was great because I often spend loads of time searching for "my eyes"........those who know me have heard that expression frequently.........."I can't seem to find my eyes!" But when I am at my desk.........there they sit, on the nose of my "Desk Head".

So, there you have it! The beginning, the creation of what I have come to call "Desk Heads". Hope you find one you like or one you can give to someone you love!

Enjoy,
EC Hanson

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