Barbie Dream Horse: Typo Cryptids

I thought “What if a child asked Santa for a Barbie Dream House but, due to a typo, created a horrific creature: The Barbie Dream Horse?”

I couldn’t unthink it so I had to make it

This is how much of my creative process works.

It went quickly from there. I had a plastic horse from a doll lot I bought last year and Barbies are everywhere

Finally, a use for the Barbies I have without body articulation. Head SACRIFICES!

I worked on fixing the hair but even when untangled it had that frazzled look of doll hair that’s been brushed beyond its elasticity. Not a problem, I had a stash of fake hair.

I used a hand held router and a cutting disc to remove the horse’s face.

It was time to get cracking, literally.

I used a chisel and rubber mallet to open up the body at the seams

I did this while waiting for the start of a twice monthly zoom I do with two coastal friends. They never know what visual horrors may greet them as I respond from my work nook.

The body joins together with a series posts that lock together at various points. I failed to photograph them. I do have this picture of the mane in which three holes for the posts can be seen.

The original mane

I had a pack of doll wig wefts I’d bought off WISH ages ago and never used. I think I ordered them to see the quality but never had a project for them.

I cut away the damaged hair and hot-glued the wefts to the plastic mane-holder.

I also wrapped and stitched more wefts into a tail.

Now with ombre wefts!

Fake hair often needs a bath of hot water to really relax. My bathroom, like my zoom appearances, also often houses horrors

After rejoining the body I filled the seams using Tamiya Putty as it >exists< to fill in seams on plastic model kits. It also takes less time that Apoxie Sculpt to harden.

I used Apoxie Sculpt and some silicone flower molds I had to make the BDH a flower for the odd medallion the horse wore

It took me a few tries to decide how to go about the face. First I tried to make a quick and dirty mold of a Barbie face using a quick setting putty This was a failure. I’ve gotten better at making molds since then and I may make a silicone mold of a Barbie face in the future.

I ended up cutting a face in half and filled it with Apoxie Sculpt to keep it from distorting.

It took a lot of Apoxie Sculpt and sanding until I got the whole face-to-body transition smooth. To help with joining the face I added a sculptural version of the top most tuft of horse hair

I sanded a LOT more after this

I started to prime the body and face.

It’s far trickier to mask off a horse mane and tail than I anticipated.

Priming inevitably showed me areas I need to better smooth the transition from face to apoxie sculpt to plastic…so I often sanded as soon as the primer set and tried again.

After priming I used some panpastels to add to the “fleshy” transition from head to horse

Then I busted out the airbrush.

I soon realized that my adorable “Mr Hobby Mr. Linear Compressor L7 / Regulator Set” compressor from Japan would need a step-down converter because it was build for Japan. It’s the only electronic plug-in I moved from Japan. I just wasn’t thinking. I decided to pony up and just buy a more powerful used compressor.

A week and a half later I came to have a second used compressor. One of my old art school friends is moving and offered me his. In fact he was one of two students I mentally associated with Airbrushes and WHY I DON’T when I finally bought my first set up in Japan. He gave me the compressor but not without a story of airbrush employment hell

I’m living in a house I lived in from ages 5-18, 23-25 and now 47-. I’m using the same compressor my friend used when I met him and I was 19. Time Means Nothing.

My workspace in my kitchen my sophomore year at art school…my friend wasn’t exactly surprised to find that mutilated Barbies are still showing up in my work

A more powerful compressor has made airbrushing soooo much better. It now allows me to use my cheap craft acrylics.

I also finally understand the consistency I need to thin my paints to. Everything always says “thin to the consistency of milk” but I don’t drink milk. I find it nasty. But watching enough online videos showed me the viscosity it needs to be when you tip your mixing container and see how it clings to the side of the vessel.

I also decided to use flicked paint and small painted hearts and such to ease some of the transitions that still looked rough

And then I showed my friends….

”I showed some friends your unhinged genius, and the top comments were ‘WHY IS IT FLESH COLORED?’, ‘thanks. I was just about to go to sleep.’ and ‘Your friend hates horses, people, and my frail grasp on sanity’.

I followed up with "this isn't even the most disturbing thing she's made."
-Steph

“my most beautiful nightmare” -Miles

“That's no dream horse, it's a night mare!”- Lisa

“Well I'm not sleeping tonight” -Nicolas

In fact response to this creature, and friends wanting to share my portfolio with others led me to update my galleries here.

And I have properly photographed it in my light box and posted it on my Etsy.

And if you think this is the last Dream Horse I’ll saddle you with….think again.

A Goodwill had this and it LIGHTS UP and PLAYS MUSIC

P.S. Mattel has released many products called “Barbie Dream Horse” They are simply horses and not horrible human-horse hybrid. I don’t care. The idea STUCK.