In preparing for an online show called Stories We Tell, I started looking at some lesser known Wizard of Oz characters for inspiration. I had never heard of a Woozy, but as soon as I saw the illustration from The Patchwork Girl, I knew wanted to include this character in a piece for the show.
I started with two little wood blocks for my Woozy's head and body. Using two-part epoxy clay, I created the limbs for the body and added the facial features to the head. While I was at it, I created some unsanctioned Oz characers (i.e. I just made them up). I used the same clay for the heads, then used pieces from my collection of broken figurine/toy bits for the bodies and various other trappings:
I had an interesting frame with a circular top that made me think of a puppet show theater -- perfect for some Oz shenanigans. The frame had nothing behind it, so I needed to figure out how to make a box to fit. After noodling on it, I decided to use foam core for the back. I then used mat board with wood blocks as spacers for the sides. This seemed to work well enough.
Then it was all about getting the layout right. There was much placement, re-placement, fretting, attaching and unattaching, and various time outs. Not to mention spending way too much time painting the background and otherwise fussing with it. I was finally done!