Dolls and Puppets/Miniatures/Prop Fabrication
(Left) Pomela's Playhouse, the physical set and modular dollhouse bedroom where Pomela the Pomegranate lives and spends her days (usually chatting on the phone with her best friend Cherrie).
(Right) Pomela the Pomegranate, a 1:6 scale doll/puppet.
This short stop-motion animation explores Pomela's process of finding an outfit for Fruitopia's event of the year, the annual Fruitcoming Dance.
April 2023
Pomela the Pomegranate - The Details
Her head is made of felted wool and her skin is soft fleece stuffed with polyfil. This skin hides her inner skeleton, which is made of flexible wire and epoxy sculpt. She wears cotton and lace, and her clothes use velcro, snap closures, elastic, and decorative buttons. She stands at a height of about 12 inches, similar to most playline fashion dolls.
She works as a puppet for stop-motion films and static photography as well as a fine art doll for display or gentle play.
Pomela belongs to the land of Fruitopia, where fruit people of all varieties come together to live happily, creating a cornucopia of culture in the nation's namesake city.
The land of Fruitopia will continue to be explored through other dolls, rooms, and a comic adaptation, featuring characters like Azuly the Blueberry, Anna the Banana, Orla the Orange, Cherrie the Cherry, and Pearri the Pear. This concept is the basis for my Senior BXA Capstone project at Carnegie Mellon University, Spring 2025.
I continue to keep in touch with my inner child by tailoring custom garments for dolls and puppets, mostly using scrap fabrics, minimizing my textile waste and indulging in my love for play. I love to combine vintage fabrics with modern silhouettes and trends (and vice versa) for a timeless, charming, and fun look.
Katie
December 2022
A hand-held puppet made completely by hand, from scratch. I used foam, hot glue, felt, fabric, polyfill, yarn, and flexible wire in the fingers and wrists for maximum poseability.
Katie can be puppeteered through the torso with hand control of the mouth and neck and through wire rods in the arms.
Her face has light blush and lip details and her four fingernails sport purple polish--to match her outfit, of course.
Animation and Storyboard
Illustration and Print
Character Design
