The Plaque Doctors

The Plaque Doctors

The first cases of bubonic plaque or the Black Death were discovered in the 14th century. There were doctors known as the plaque doctors, who at great risk to themselves, and without the type of protective measures available today, went through their communities, at the request of the villagers, to attend to the sick and dying during what could only be described as a horrific time in history.

This doll is my original creation, the design is based on what references I was able to find online regarding the plaque doctors. This doll is dedicated to those courageous doctors, then and now. Included are the many doctors and other health care professionals and in the real scientific community, during the last three years, who stood up on behalf of humanity. They stood up against the pressure of those who would try to silence them.  Their jobs, family relationships, and their daily lives were regularly threatened, but they continued on to do what was right.

Most have lost their medical licenses and pretty much everything in their lives, but even with that, they still continue to stand without faltering. They showed, by collecting data and by extensive research, how dangerous the so called vaccines are, and not really vaccines at all, just poisons created to test on humans, as guinea pigs. At the same time they were exposing the truth of the last three years, these brave health care professionals and scientists of all stripes, have also exposed those who have been involved in this vast deception.

Many doctors that complied and took the shots, for fear of losing everything if they refused, have passed away. In Canada, there has been, the last I heard, over 100 doctors that passed soon after receiving the shots. While all of those who passed, may not have been as a result of the vax, it is still hard to accept so many deaths of young and middle aged doctors dying so close together. Media outlets will of course deny all of this, they are paid to say those things, but use your own ability to discern the truth from fiction. Follow the money and you will understand. Now on with the doll and how it came together.

Something I’ve never tried before, was to map out on the doll’s body, all of the steps to complete the doll. This is just the top, I repeated this on the bottom half. None of this will be seen in the finished doll.

Using the reference pictures and articles I found, I made a number of embellishments to complete his look. But wait, he also needs hands, feet and of course a head. I also made a companion for him with a little touch of artistic license. His clothing, including his hat, is almost all leather (from a bag of jacket leather pieces donated to my doll making adventures). The only part that isn’t leather is his shirt.

His head, hands (made to look like he’s wearing gloves), and his boots, are made with polymer clay. His companion is also clay. All the embellishments that include oranges, garlic, the top of his staff are clay, the staff itself is a wooden dowel. I made a leather book and included a history of the Plaque Doctor, and explanations of what is included with his clothing and why. The last part of the embellishments, are his belts (one is inside), the other around the waist outside where I have added a pouch that contains his notebook.

The first part of his costume are his leather pants, his shirt made with tiny wale corduroy and cube beads for buttons Around the waist over the shirt is a leather belt. Again, like the map in the first step, this won’t be seen but as a doll maker, I believe in doing all the steps to complete the doll, even those that will not be seen without exploring much closer.

I then added his boots. The plaque doctors were very concerned with making sure that every bit of their skin was well covered to avoid any unwanted contact with the disease and as the plaque is thought to be spread by flea bites, they wanted to be sure fleas would not get through the clothing. I attached his boots and secured them further with leather bands on the lower legs. His faux gloved hands are attached in the same way as the lower legs. He will be holding his staff in one.

His coat is finished with brown buttons. He has a cape across his shoulders. The second belt I made is wrapped around his waist. The notebook is inside the pouch which is fed onto the belt.

The head of the doll is sculpted in the shape of a bird. There is debate regarding the origin of the bird like mask. In practical terms, the beak was used as a kind of respirator, packed with herbs and oils, like mint and lavender to block the Masma  (bad smell), and to protect the doctors from becoming infected by the bad air. The head is covered with a helmet, and around the neck is a cowl. The finish of the head are the goggles. The pictures I found show a white cloth mask, but I chose just to sculpt the simple birds head without the cloth mask.

The last part is always the most fun, putting it all together. There is a bundle of garlic attached to the belt. Apparently the doctors would chew on the cloves, maybe another attempt to diffuse the bad smells around them. There is a string of oranges for the same purpose of trying to cover the masma, I’ve given him a faux lantern held in his right hand. The staff in the left. The final touches are his hat, securing him, the book and his companion to the mirror base and he’s done. I hope you enjoyed my process for creating the Plaque Doctor… it was a worthy project for sure. Enjoy ;o)

If you want to see more of the Plaque Doctors, I have a full board inspirations on Pinterest.

https://www.pinterest.ca/romonak/plague-doctors/

Valentine - A Piggy Pilot

I saw the link to make this cutie, on a Russian blog. That was in 2019, and finally now in 2023 she is ready to fly.

She is a relatively simple ornament to make. You can go in many different directions to recreate her. Since it’s not far from February 14th, I thought she would be a perfect fit for Valentines day and a suitable name too.

I dressed her very simply in a boucle type of body fabric, a red/white stretch for her lower limbs and of course, some lace to make her just a little more girlie. Her little headpiece is a flower shaped spacer and inside there is a little red heart. She has her goggles to protect her eyes during her flight and lastly, an oversized cupcake carefully balancing on her back. Mine doesn’t have wings, but you can certainly add some. She measures about 3 1/2” long.

This is where you can find the instructions to make your own piggy pilot……….

https://www.livemaster.com/topic/2994489-handmade-piggy-pilot-christmas-toy-symbol-of-2019

A couple of suggestions………  Instead of making a body and head separately, then putting them together, if I make this again, I would make an aluminum foil complete piggy shape, then apply the clay over that.

Attach the wire around the body before applying clay. Then after the clay is applied and you’ve done the facial features (snout, eye position and ears), then I would insert the wire for the arms and legs. Easier to position when the basic shape is done. And here is my version….

Kerry–last of 2022

This is the last doll for 2022. She is a commission for a friends daughter in law. The customer made certain requests and while I did try to include everything she asked for there were a couple of things that are adapted from what she talked about. It all came together regardless. The customer is happy and that’s all that matters.

So here is Kerry. She is approx. 12” standing, the chair makes the overall size approx. 14”. Her heads, hands and feet are clay. I experimented with giving her a clay breast plate, the arms are clay and the lower legs as well.

Her jacket is a faux leather, pants are a knit fabric as is her t-shirt. The actual person is blonde, but I had to go with what my senses told me and as it turns out, she recipient actually dyed her hair this colour…. synchronicity..??

There are little bits of bling here and there from her flip flops to her messy bun. I made a selection of mini books and magazines and tote bags to carry them in, along with a little stack of her mini business cards. So here she is…

Autumn - 2022

This is Autumn. She is a pumpkin girl created in an online class with Karen Baker. I always enjoy Karen’s classes, you can always be sure of learning new techniques. This doll has a clay pumpkin head. Her hands are the vines coming from the pumpkin. Her feet were going to be the same, but it just changed along the way to be come leather shoes.

She is wearing a pair of pantaloons, striped socks, a cotton skirt. Her blouse is silk and tied at the wrists are strips of the skirt fabric. Her vest is a boucle type of fabric and the look is finished with cowl for her neck. She can free stand, but I’ve chosen to have her sitting.

The whole look is completed with a basket of felt oak leaves, a pumpkin, cotton and felt acorns, and a sprinkle of real acorns donated by a friend. Enjoy

Carl.. an original - 2022

Carl really is an original. He’s a bit cranky and doesn’t care who knows it. Carl has his reasons, but he’s going to be a gentleman and keep it to himself. But those who know Carl, know why he can be a bit snarky. He’s a senior who doesn’t know what it means to slow down. He is packed up with some supplies and  is ready to take bike tour of the island. In his pouch he carries maps and other needs for his trip.

Carl is my original design. He stands approx. 10” tall. He is made with polymer clay, head and hands. I’ve used various fabrics to create him. His boots, satchel and goggles are leather. Pants are fleece jogging fabric. His sweater is made with a cord I made using the Diva Cord Maker. I created his hat/helmet with FOSS, which is a heat set material that is used by costumers. You can create shapes with this, by using a heat gun and molding it the required shape. It was then painted with acrylic paints.

To finish Carl, I made this bike for him from a kit.

Ohren Hare - 2022

Here is Ohren Hare, from a class I took with Maria Saracino. The name of the class is Retro Cane Jack Rabbit. A fun class creating mosaic tiles with polymer clay and a bottle.

We made tiny mosaic tiles with the number of colours you choose. The tiles are then fashioned onto a bottle, along with tiny green leaves to create the illusion of them growing out from behind the tiles.

My favourite part of Ohren is his ears. Inside the ears, we also added the mosaic tiles. I gave him big lashes, it gives such character. Whenever my cat drops his whiskers, I scoop them up and that’s what I used for Ohren’s whiskers.

I added light smudges of green paint on the ears and face for interest. He’s finished off with a lime green ribbon around his neck. It picks up the subtle touches of green paint.  Enjoy…

Baroque Ornament - 2022

This is a recent design by Michelle Munzone. It’s a larger size ornament that might be better suited to hang from a hook, where it could be seen on all sides. It’s approx. 6” tall and has many sides to it. 

The face is made with a press mold, or you could sculpt a face with a flat back. She is trimmed with a number of different embellishments such as beads, ribbon, lace.  The fabric I’ve used is an Italian silk lining, used in making men’s suits.