Flying Monkey

Inspiration

loved to go to my grandmother’s farm. Every time we visited the farm, we would take a trip to the nearby sulfurous thermal springs. After being submerged in the stinky waters for what it felt like an eternity, we would get dressed and explore the grounds. I loved that, because on the grounds there was a miniature zoo. There was a pond with crocodiles, and a cage filled with little flying monkeys! The cage was huge. It was tall enough to have a whole tropical forest inside it. Can you imagine?

I remember being mesmerized as the flying monkeys would leap from tree to tree in a matter of seconds. There were all sorts of species of monkeys. Their fur was of many colors. Gray, olive, orange, brown and dark brown. Some of them had a dark wedge-shaped cap, and others had an almost black wedge spot on their forehead. Some of their bellies were cream colors, and others light brown. Grandmother Laura Elena would point at the different flying monkeys and would recite their names: Brown Spider, Venezuelan Brown Capuchin and Squirrel monkey.

Grandma would laugh whenever I called them flying monkeys. But for me, the way they moved through the canopy of that enclosed forest was incredible. They would jump from branch to branch so swiftly as if they were flying. So, I named them flying monkeys, just like the ones in the Wonderful Wizard of Oz book. Unfortunately, I could not control the Winged Monkeys like the Wicked Witch of the West did when wearing her charmed golden cap. On the contrary, they controlled my eyes as my pupils would move right to left and left to right as I would try to follow them, while they created a fantastic gymnastic display.

About the Flying Monkeys of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The Wicked Witch of the West possessed a charmed golden cap. It was said that the owner of the cap could “call three times upon the Winged Monkeys” and a “crowd of monkeys” would rush to their command when summoned. One of the flying monkeys was larger than the others. This one was the leader of the winged monkeys. So, I chose to embody the leader of the flying monkeys in this unique figurine.

Flying Monkey Figurine and Ornament Design Process

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz book’s illustrations show the Leader of the Winged Monkeys wearing a cap just like a circus monkey. So, I gave the flying monkey a cap made from different colors of felt. I embroidered the cap with sequins and beads. I added color ribbons to trim the cap, and a gold strap to keep it in place.

The wings are the primary feature of this character. Remembering the flying monkeys of my childhood, I chose cotton fabric in dark brown tones. So, each monkey has “a pair of immense and powerful wings” coming off their backs at the center.

L. Frank Baum describes the leader of the Winged Monkeys as having an “ugly face” with a terrible grin. So, I gave him a slightly mischievous grin, big wild eyes, and unruly eyebrows, that gave him a crazed expression. To complete his face, I gave him two large ears.

The final touch that completes this character, is his long tail made from pipe-cleaners, that curls up like a spring. The tail resembles the tails of my flying monkeys as they would hang from the limbs off the tall trees of the encapsulated forest. Unlike Dorothy, Cowardly Lion, Tin Woodman, Scarecrow and Toto, who are standing on a yellow base representing the yellow-brick-road, the Flying Monkey base is brown. I wanted to make the distinction between the characters who had journeyed to Oz from the rest of the characters.