Expression is everything for me when it comes to making plush (my child-friendly doll line is somewhat of an exception). Eyes are the windows to the soul, as they say. While I mostly focus on making cute and endearing plush faces, I also love drawing anguished and perturbed faces in my sketchbook. I even like making horrible faces in the mirror and have done for most of my life, just because it makes me laugh (my mother doesn’t find it that funny when I text my scary faces to her).

Anyway, I wanted to find a way to merge my love of the full spectrum of emotions into my plush. I also wanted to try something different in terms of making a simple construction but detailed applique face.

I also thought the simple construction would be a fun opportunity to make a plush that could be heavily weighted and have a different sensory appeal than my usual dolls.
I loved how these came out. I didn’t intend for them to have overt mental health benefits, but the more they evolved, the more I was reminded that it’s important to normalize feeling the way this bat and owl feel—forlorn, tired, forsaken, anguished—however you wish to interpret their weary grimaces.

Their construction enabled me to fill them heavily with pellets, making them squishy and giving them a pleasing “shaky” sound when moved. This, combined with their luxurious fur, makes them irresistible to hold and squeeze. It feels nice to have one resting in your lap while you work on the computer, and they look nice on a shelf as well.

Bat and Owl will be available in my Etsy shop soon–be sure to sign up for my mailing list to be notified when!