‘The clown may be the source of mirth, but – who shall make the clown laugh‘ – Angela Carter, Nights at the Circus

This is an update on a project I started in All Fools, of a rather strange and slightly transgressive clown figure, who may have alternative inclinations but will always have a home among the toys in this family.

He is a little bit more complete, and now has arms which were from these long strings of foam packaging from some delivery or other, which I have painted in a flesh colour and will soon add tattoos. The final stage will be to figure out a way of making some hands and feet.

I have been reading a book called The Book of Doll Making by Alicia Merrett, which remarkably my three year old pulled off the library shelf for me. This clown is inspired by one of the designs in the book, although heavily modified to suit my interests.

You may be able to see from the appalling stitching that I have a long way to go in my development of sewing skills (I did try to promise myself I would improve at the start of the new year).