Artist: Kathryn Belzer
Size: 30cm X 60cm X 22.5cm
Medium: Cloth over Wire Armature
Photo: Dan Abriel
The main character in L. Frank Baum’s little-known book, The Patchwork Girl of Oz, inspired my creation of Scraps. In that book, Margolotte, the wizard’s wife, wanted a serving girl and made one of an old crazy quilt. Before the busy wizard brought her to life, a well-meaning guest shook extra wits-powder into her head. When she came to life, she had no intention to lead the dull life of a domestic servant. Her curiosity and cleverness took her down The Yellow Brick Road. The remainder of the book tells the story of Scraps’ adventures in Oz. Her romance with the Scarecrow is not to be missed.
“It seems to me that nothing could be more gorgeous,” declared Ozma. “Whoever made that patchwork quilt from which Scraps was formed, must have selected the gayest and brightest bits of cloth that ever were woven.” - L. Frank Baum, The Patchwork Girl of Oz
Baum’s detailed description of her plump, stuffed body and multicoloured face were perfect guides for collecting silk bits and for my subsequent needlework. He reported, “There were almost too many patches on the face of the girl for her to be considered strictly beautiful, for one cheek was yellow, and the other red, her chin blue, her forehead purple, and the center, where her nose had been formed and padded, a bright yellow.”
For her eyes, Baum gave his patchwork girl silver buttons from the wizard’s suspenders. So I had to find suitable buttons for my Scraps. Her gold-plate ears and fingernails and pearl teeth are as the text led me to imagine. Unless Baum’s spirit can see it, I’m the only one who ever saw the tiny plush tongue that I sewed into Scrap’s mouth to remain faithful to his description. Baum clearly prescribed her red leather shoes and apron. Fortunately, I found a source of Nova Scotian grown, spun, and dyed mohair that allowed Scraps to be adorned with brown yarn hair that the text required. Her gesture expresses the thoughtful, self-assured creature one might expect from such bold material.
In the spring of 1995, Scraps was shown in Kansas City, Missouri, as part of the Great Oz Challenge at the Quilters’ Unlimited Showcase.
