Santos Sensations

Tory Brokenshire

Often dressed in the most beautiful gowns and wearing golden crowns, the Santos image has been made for centuries. There are numerous types of Santos—some with intricate details, others carved in a rustic, more primitive style. But they all have one thing in common—they hold a place of respect and love in the home.

In this workshop, we will strip away the religious aspects of the Santos and put a personal and modern twist on this ancient art form. You will have the opportunity to make two very different Santos—the first one is the more traditional doll, created on a 30" wooden base, with a sculpted clay head, then dressed and draped in fabric remnants and embellishments.

The second is the assemblage Santos, which we’ll create out of a variety of found objects to imitate the human form. This is your opportunity to use old wooden objects that you may have collected, or had in the family, and didn’t quite know what to do with. Perhaps your doll will have a story to tell—it is only limited by your imagination!

We’ll begin with basic sculpting techniques in clay, creating the heads for our pieces, developing both emotion and character for our creations. Painting and staining will give our Santos an antique, folk-art quality. Draping, dressing and costuming is an intricate part of our first sculpture, as well as one of the most rewarding and fun parts of the creation.

You’ll receive lots of personal attention, and I will work with you before class, referencing online websites and photos to help you collect pieces you might want to incorporate into your assemblage sculpture. I’ll be bringing an assortment of tools for drilling, sawing, and attaching the pieces. You will have instruction with the different tools to join the body parts, so don’t worry if you lack experience with tools!

Supply List

Click here for a printable supply list.

2 or 3 porcelain dolls, 15" tall with hands. I often find mine at the Good Will or Salvation Army for around $4-$7 each
10 oz. white Sculpey Original Clay
Golden fluid acrylics (1 oz each) in the following colors: Titan Buff, Quinacridone/Nickel, Azo Gold, Burnt Umber, and Titanium White (you may bring another brand, but be sure it’s high quality)
8 oz. of an inexpensive white acrylic paint (any household paint) for your wood stand
Assortment of paint brushes including: detail brush for the eyes and mouth; 1/2" flat brush for the face; and a 1" utility brush to paint the wood base
Old towels or clean-up rags
2 yards of old fabric, plus some remnants to dress your Santos. I use muted fabrics such as muslin, canvas, linens, cotton, and old silk in creams and off-whites. Torn and worn linens work great. I recommend bringing one or two pieces that are at least 1 yard each, and then additional remnants to rip and layer with. (Antique table doilies make great collars!)
Thread and needles of different sizes; old lace; buttons; pearl beads; string, and any trinkets that you may want to incorporate. Milagros, rosary beads or an old cross will add authenticity to your Santos if you want to go in that direction.

For the Assemblage Santos**:

The base: I will provide a piece of 4"x6"x10" wood to mount your finished assemblage piece on, but If you would like to use something else, that’s great. I’ve mounted some of my Santos on old phone boxes, for example, and even on top of a round, oak piano stool. The taller and heavier your Santos, the bigger and more stable of a base you will need. If you wish to leave your base at home and mount it later, we can prepare it for that as well.

The body: any wood object in a rectangular shape, approximately 8" to 12" long. Remember we will need to attach head, arms and legs to it. For example, you might use an old wooden shoe form, wood clamp, a narrow wood box, or an interesting piece of turned wood (at least as big around as a coffee mug).

The arms: approx. 8" to 10" made from long wooden spoons, chair rungs, old paint brushes, well-worn garden tools, etc. You may wish to substitute wings for the arms, or use both arms and wings (wonderful old 4" paint brushes would make nice wings!)

The legs: 15" to 18" from stair rails, handles from a croquet mallet, old turned table legs, etc. Or you may forgo legs and use a part of a well-worn newel post, attaching head, arms or wings to the post. When choosing your legs, try not to have them come to a point on the foot end of the piece as we’ll need to use a large screw to mount them to the base.

**Keep in mind that all of the measurements are in relationship to each other, so if you want to have a very long-legged Santos, for example, you may want to alter the size of the other body parts. Also, if you’re flying, you’ll need to consider how you’ll transport these home—Cindy and I can assist in figuring out the shipping costs, but you’ll want to factor in the size and weight as you plan your doll components.

Optional tools: Flat head and Philips screw drivers, small tape measure, wire cutters, flat and round nose pliers.

Supply fee of $20 (payable directly to instructor on day of class) includes:
--30" wood base for the traditional Santos; doweling and tie wire for the arms; two-part epoxy to join the head, foil, and assorted bits; wood base for assemblage Santos, doweling, wire, screws, nails, use of tools, sewing machines and iron.

A detailed hand-out will also be provided, with instructions to build your own base and future Santos.

I’ll also have a large bin of assorted assemblage body parts available for sale if you’d like to purchase a part, or in the event something you bring does not work out. If you would like to work on more than one traditional Santos, I’ll have a few extra wood bases for purchase as well. Please contact me directly for more information.

Any questions, I can be reached at coppercrowstudio@msn.com. I look forward to working with you!