Skull Dolly Collages...

Skull Dolly collages by Andrew Thornton.

After I released the Spirit Doll Series, I thought about how they reminded me of corn dollies and worry dolls given to expecting mothers. Both are connected to ideas of fertility and life. And the more I thought about it, the more that I thought about how there is no light without shadow. There is no life without death. And so... tired as I was, I got up and set to work. I made another series of affordable small-scale pieces. I call this collection, "Skull Dollies".

Detail of Skull Dolly 15 collage by Andrew Thornton.

When I work, I generally make a few extra if I can.  It's not a lot of additional effort when everything is all set up and the process is in motion.  Once they're complete, I have my pick of the litter for what I think will best suit a particular project or just strikes my fancy that day.  I had the backgrounds ready to go from working on the Spirit Dolls and once I had the idea to create the skull paintings/collages, I fell into work easily.  There's something very satisfying about this format and size.  They have a similar weight and feel as tarot cards.

In making the Skull Dollies, I revisited some of the inspiration from the previous series and pulled new insight from Mexican sugar skulls, memento mori, and masks.    CLICK HERE to see them in the online store.

Update: They are all sold out!  Many thanks to everyone who has expressed interprets in them.

Detail of Skull Dolly 11 collage by Andrew Thornton.