Wizard of Oz

Inspiration

s I think about the character of the Wizard of Oz, I immediately think of the famous illusionist, David Copperfield. Unfortunately, I have never attended one of his shows live. Although I’ve seen many of his performances on television, I guess it is not the same as being there, immersed in his magical illusions. Now, as I was rereading L. Frank Baum’s book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, one passage about the encounter of Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz caught my attention. As Dorothy enters the Throne Room, she sees “an enormous Head, without a body to support it or any arms or legs whatsoever.” She was seeing a well-orchestrated illusion by the Wizard of Oz. So, what is an illusion? I pondered, and that is when a special memory from my childhood was triggered.

When I was a little girl, the best birthday parties were those that included a movie as part of the entertainment. So, my mom would frequently rent a movie to be shown at dusk, marking the end of the party. The movie technician would set the reels of film onto the movie projector, turn it on, and the show would start. The movie would then be projected onto a big portable screen, or sometimes onto a big white sheet, or a white wall.

Now, as much fun as it was watching the movie, it was making our own entertainment once the movie had ended. With the projector on, we would make shadow creatures with our hands. We would make dogs, birds, bunnies, ducks and snakes. We would make our own stories while we waited for our friends to be picked up. So, at that moment, we became great illusionists, just like the Wizard of Oz. Making the spectators believe that there was a bunny eating a carrot, or a snake trying to eat a bird that luckily had flown away right on time. So, what is an illusion? It is what your senses perceive when your mind travels to a world of make-believe, the Land of Oz, or just simply your imagination.

Who is the Wizard of Oz

Throughout the Wonderful Wizard of Oz book, there are many descriptions of the wizard. The good Witch of the North describes him as “more powerful than all the rest of us together.” Likewise, the Guardian of the Gates describes him as “powerful and terrible.” Oz introduces himself, from behind the screen, as “the Great and Terrible.” Most of the world sees the Wizard of Oz as no wizard, but a small old man who had conned the Oz inhabitants for quite some time. A humbug, as Dorothy and friends name-called him. Myself, I see him as a greatest illusionist, one of the predecessors of David Copperfield!

Wizard of Oz Ornament Design Process

When the curtain fell by accident, and the Wizard of Oz’ identity was revealed, all that Dorothy and friends saw was “a little old man, with a bald head and a wrinkled face.” So, I gave the Wizard of Oz figurine, no hair, gray eyebrows, and lots of wrinkles.

There are several illustrations in the Wonderful Wizard of Oz book that show Oz wearing a long jacket, double-breasted vest, crisp white shirt, bowtie and a top hat. And so, I made the Wizard of Oz outfit just like that. I chose a thin gray wool fabric from an old man’s suit to make his long coat and trousers. I selected a white cotton material for his shirt. Being that the Wizard of Oz was wizard of the Emerald City, it felt appropriate to give him a green double-breasted vest made from cotton fabric. I also gave him a green bowtie and an emerald brooch. To complete the outfit, I added a green flower to adorn the lapel of his jacket and a tall gray top-hat made from felt.

Unlike Dorothy, Cowardly Lion, Tin Woodman, Scarecrow and Toto, who are standing on a yellow base representing the yellow-brick-road, the Wizard of Oz’s base is brown. I wanted to make the distinction between the characters who had journeyed to Oz from the rest of the characters.