Talk less, Say more

Funnily enough, I made mention of viking raids in my last post about 'Good Witches Bad Witches' (here), so perhaps it's fitting that my newest character I present to you is..... the Swedish witch! AKA den Svenska häxan.

What do I know of Sweden? Aside from pickled fish and raids of the British Isles courtesy of Norse seafarers beginning in the 8th century... I know that today Sweden is a brilliantly modern and progressive country. Only a small amount of Googling will fill you in on why that is, and you may also learn that they're responsible for more than Ikea, Abba and Volvo. Add Skype and Spotify to that list. Didn't know that, did you?!

Okay, last words about Sweden... my best friend, who I met when I was only 19 hails from Eskilstuna, Sweden. The first Swede I ever met, she impressed me with her perfect English, incredible brain and waist length pale gold, lifeless, silky hair. She gave me some advice when creating this character so if anything comes off as offensive as opposed to funny, then do take it up with Ms Jonsson's lawyers. ;)

My Swedish witch!
She has the lightest skin tone of all my witches thus far, icy blue eyes and pale blonde hair. (That part was inspired by my Swedish best friend). She has a typically Scandinavian cleft in her chin and mackerel protruding from her mouth.
She's big-boned because I wanted to create a great strong lass, capable of pulling down trees and building a longboat. Her hair is plaited (US English - braided) in keeping with the crazy hairstyles of all my witches. She wears a leather apron, blue woolen dress (colour of the Swedish flag), furs, carries a bronze cauldron with Norse embellishments, filled with mackerel. Her familiar (witch's pet) is the Swedish wild boar pup.


Scroll past the note for my Swedish friends below to see photos from behind the scenes! Don't forget to follow on Facebook and Instagram!


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Till mina svenska vänner, det här är en kommentar till er…

Om ni kan läsa engelska så vet ni att min bästa kompis är svensk och att jag genom henne blivit utsatt för en massa fina svenska fenomen (mestadels mat och traditioner) och att jag älskar skandinavisk kultur. Jag hoppas att jag har skapat en karaktär som ni ska gilla och ta med en nypa salt. Det här är min svenska häxa!

Jag skapar karaktärer ifrån hela världen för ett projekt med namnet ‘Goda Häxor, Onda Häxor’ och jag har gjort engelska, skottska, franska, italienska häxor etc. och den här gången har jag skapat en svensk häxa. Hon är min egen design till den film jag håller på att producera åt Tall Tales Productions (websida här). Jag skapade henne för hand med hjälp av Fimo lera och ståltråd. Tack för ert intesse för mitt arbete. Om ni vill se mera så besök min Facebook sida (här), mitt Instagram (här) och Twitter (här). En video av när jag gör häxan kan ni snart hitta på min YouTube kanal (här). Med vänliga hälsningar - Caroline
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In personal news, taking advantage of these warm summer nights in southern California, I just went to one of Cinespia's famous outdoor screenings and watched Hitchcock's 'The Birds' with 4000 other people! Fitting since 'Tippi' Hedren is of Swedish descent.

*Final thought*
Post title is from a Swedish proverb - "Fear less, hope more; eat less, chew more; whine less, breathe more; talk less, say more; hate less, love more; and all good things are yours."

Where Sunsets are Longer

Only my second witch of the year! Appalling, isn't it, but soon I'll share the client projects I've had this year and then you'll understand. ;)

This witch is the latest character for 'Good Witches Bad Witches', brought to you by Tall Tales Productions. She's a Russian witch.






Warning - I'm about to gush about a passionate love of Russian culture. Skip past the next paragraph if you're diabetic.

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This Russian witch is second in importance only to my English witch. Most of you know I am an English girl currently residing in Los Angeles, but you didn't know I am also part Russian. I have always had an affinity for the culture. I studied Russian at school (and still believe it's the most attractive language), grew up listening to Red Army Choir, Borodin (The Polovtsian Dances is my favourite piece of music of all time),Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev. I've eaten blini with caviar, paskha and many other Russian dishes through life and celebrate St Nicholas' Day. Dr Zhivago is one of my 'desert island' films and I've always found Александр Годунов jaw-droppingly wonderful. (To digress further, my teenage crush was Андрей Подошьян). In short - I adore Russia and anything Russian. The poetry, the music, the ballet, the architecture, the balalaika.... everything.
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I put a lot of thought and planning into this witch because even though I love Russian folklore and fairy tales, like all my other characters I want to carve out something of my own and not do an homage to Baba Yaga for example.
She wears a quilted shawl (with Kandinsky inspired design), a red silk scarf with bat motif, ushanka hat, bear skins (yeah, pretty sick), and pushes a pram (American English - 'baby cart' / 'stroller') full of Russian blue cats, which are her 'familiars' (witch's pets).

She's designed and sculpted in 1:12 scale by myself using clay over wire and other mixed media. Soon you'll be able to watch a video of me making her at the Tall Tales Productions YouTube Channel, but until then, here are some photos! PS The next witch will be Greek...


A little note to my Russian friends and fans...
Мои русские друзья, это послание для вас...

Если вы умеете читать на английском, то могли знать что я частично русская и абсолютно обожаю русскую культуру. Я настолько люблю все русское, что возможно даже я буду жить в России и заведу там семью вместо Англии! Я создаю персонажы в виде ведьм со всего мира для проекта "Хорошие ведьмы Плохие ведьмы" и я уже создала английскую ведьму, шотландскую, французскую, итальянскую и так далее, и сейчас я создала русскую. Это не Баба Яга, это мой собственный дизайн персонажа к моему собственному фильму который в процессе развития с Tall Tales Productions. Я сделала её руками, используя застывающийся клей и проволоку. Она может показаться немного пугающей, но я надеюсь вы воспримите её с хорошем чувством юмора. Спасибо огромное что проявляете интерес к моей работе, и если вы хотите видеть больше, то пожалуйста загляните на мою страничку в Facebook, Instagram и Twitter и VK, и так же я размещу видео как я делаю эту ведьмочку на моем YouTube канале очень скоро!
Спасибо вам!
Каролин МакФарлейн-Уотс. x

Blog post title quote - “But Sasha was from Russia, where the sunsets are longer, the dawns less sudden and sentences are often left unfinished from doubt as how to best end them.” 
― Virginia Woolf, Orlando