Marie Antoinette's Head

Marie Antoinette's Head
Medium: Mixed media doll sculpture
Size: 29 x 13 x 12 cm

This piece is a half-body doll sculpture, inspired by the opulence and fantasy of the Rococo era. At the heart of this creation is Marie Antoinette—both historical figure and enduring muse. Her world of excess, elegance, and theatrical beauty has long fascinated me, and this work is my interpretation of that lavish spirit.

Her elaborate hairdo is not merely decorative; it becomes a sculptural composition in itself—a tower of imagined confections. Crafted from felt, the hairstyle is shaped like a madeleine, crowned with swirls of cream, evoking the indulgent desserts and ornate aesthetics associated with Marie Antoinette’s world. This blend of human form and dessert is meant to blur the boundaries between the edible and the symbolic, the historical and the fantastical.

Through this work, I wanted to celebrate not just beauty and luxury, but also the imaginative playfulness of exaggeration—how fashion, food, and identity can intertwine to create something that is both charming and slightly surreal.

Materials:

High-quality resin clay, liquid clay
Fabric and textiles (for clothing and soft body parts)
Acrylic paints, water color and pastels (for coloring and finishing touches)
Wire armature (to provide structure and poseability)
Mixed media elements (such as resin, beads, and found objects)
Sealants and varnishes (to protect and preserve surfaces)
Felt, white glue
Cardboard

Tools:

Precision sculpting tools (including fine knives, needles, and shaping tools)
Paintbrushes of various sizes (for detailed painting and shading)
Sewing needles and threads (for stitching fabric parts)
Sandpaper and polishing tools (for smoothing surfaces)
Cutting mats and scissors
Tweezers
Madeleine mold

I use watered-down white glue to soak the felt, then press it into a madeleine mold to capture the shape. Once it’s completely dry and hardened, I gently remove it and apply color using water color and soft pastels to bring out texture and detail.

I’ve found that using yellow felt as a base works better than white—it already has the warm, natural tone of baked pastry. Unlike white felt, which requires more coloring, the yellow only needs a light touch of brown watercolor and a bit of brown pastel to achieve a realistic, appetizing finish.