Done! If I were a Better Person, I would keep on trying, but OMG, my eyes are swimming.
There are some problems (the sword blade is at the wrong angle!), but I chose the photo recreation with the emotion in Judith's stance that I like best.
She's unnamed in the original story, but by tradition, Abra is the name of Judith's maidservant and helper. "Abra" is Latin for maid.
Judith and Her Maidservant with the Head of Holofornes
BELOW: On the left, Oil painting by Artemisia Gentileschi, Italy, c. 1623-35, view it at the DIA.
On the right, another girlette version, where you can see the sword. Abra is better too-–her colors!
But in my first version (above), I see Judith start with alarm––"What's that?"–– rather than cocking her head to listen––"Do I hear something?"–– in my second (below), and that's the most important thing.
Also, the draperies and Judith's hair ornament show up better in the first.
I didn't use the Edith Mode (Edith Head) doll for Holofernes's head after all. She introduced an element of humor that, in the end, I didn't want. I think any toy would have added some unwelcome cuteness or discomfort.
Instead, I used a black and red glass rock (I'd photographed the glass in my windows a while ago). It doesn't show much, but I figure you can fill it in, right?
The girlettes say they chopped off the head all by themselves, and won't hear otherwise. "We are heroines!"
Well, so they are. But there are some things girlettes just cannot do, not being fully articulated.
This recreation took longer than any others, but it was worth it. I like it very much.
Actually, I love it.
But the mess. The mess! I wouldn't mind, but I'm having three people over for dinner tomorrow...
