Voltaire, the Experimental Monkey

For a long time, I've been wanting to do some sock monkeys that were very different from the typical monkeys. I wanted to do something... special, unique, and different. I couldn't think of anything that hadn't been done before. Then, I saw a sock monkey by someone else that resembled a skeleton, and the gears started turning.

I looked to Google for inspiration, and then it hit me. A Dia de los Muertos monkey! Unfortunately, orders had kept me so busy I didn't have time to work on him. Instead, the idea stayed at the back of my mind for weeks. I had also been wanting to do a monkey that was black and blue, and named Voltaire. For some reason, these two ideas never crossed paths within my brain until someone (my one and only Ninja Muse) asked me to make her a skeleton monkey. She left the details up to me entirely.

With those ideas in mind, Voltaire was born:

This picture was taken at a graveyard one town over from Monkeyville. I'm not sure why the ground looks like that there, because that grave is about 200 years old. All I can think of is that the headstone fell, and had been righted recently. I hope that's what happened!

Voltaire is quite fond of graveyards. The rest of the photos were shot in a location not far from the Monkeyville headquarters. It was also at this point that I realized that the camera had a macro setting.

Everything except for the felt and the blue stripes on Voltaire's arms and legs is hand embroidered. Despite his appearance, Voltaire is actually child-friendly. There are no small pieces that could pose a choking hazard. Though there is a lot of fancy stitching which doesn't make him ideal for lots of playing.

A skeleton monkey is always smiling. I also got to try out an idea for broken-hearted sock monkey with Voltaire. I'm quite happy with how that turned out, and I think I'll be using that idea again for some more monkeys.

Voltaire is already adopted, and will be going to his new home later this week. However, I do have a few more of those socks, and I'll be happy to take orders for to do another one of these guys. The elements will be the same, but no two will every be exactly the same. I also have plans for a white version, though I can't get those socks in white. I have alternate plans to work around that.