Wicked Witch Of The West

Inspiration

here is nothing scarier than a bunch of high school Wicked Witches of the West, but my parents were not scared at all. My parents loved to entertain, so they were not at all mad when, on a school night, we would come home and state, “Let’s have a party tonight!” My mom, nonchalantly, would smile and say, “Well, hotdogs and popcorn would have to do.” And she would head to the kitchen to get things organized and ready for the party. I remember one special afternoon, when my sister Claudia and I, announced to our mom, “We are going to have a Wicked Witch of the West party tonight!”

Yes, it was Halloween. Shortly after announcing our plans to our mom, our friends started arriving. Some have had time to go home and sort through their clothing for suitable witch garments. Others had been dropped straight from school and they didn’t have costumes. But we, the Celis twins, had plenty of costumes to share. My mom used to keep several suitcases with old clothes and costumes. So, there they were, all our friends, sorting through costumes spread all over the yellow-brick-road tiled floor. The bathroom was jammed packed with Wicked Witches of the West trying to make themselves up as ugly and scary as they could be.

That night, we were joined by my neighborhood Wicked Witch of the West friends. And we trick-or-treated until late night when we crashed at the house of my neighbor, Iliana, and we danced to the rhythm of salsa and merengue. Until, one by one, my friends were picked up, and the night of the Wicked Witches of the West was over. All that remained as evidence of this frightful night were the black and purple eyeshadow smudges, and black eyeliner smears, that covered the bathroom’s vanity. And an unforgettable memory that even today brings a smile to my face.

Wicked Witch of the West Figurine and Ornament Design Process

Curiously, there is not a single illustration of the Wicked Witch of The West in L. Frank Baum’s book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Although, his text is very descriptive, so I had plenty of adjectives to draw from, to forge a good idea of how she might have looked.

Baum’s writing states that the Wicked Witch of the West “had but one eye, yet that was as powerful as a telescope.” So, I painted my Wicked Witch of the West with her left eye missing. To complete her facial features, I added a traditional hook nose with a wart that I molded out of baked clay.

There are no references to the Wicked Witch of the West’s hair in the book. So, I wondered what color I should make her hair. And then I remembered one special Halloween when Alana, my neighbor and good friend Diane’s daughter, dressed up as a witch wearing a bright lime-green wig. And I remembered the poster of Wicked, the musical, being black and lime-green. So, that settled it. Without giving it more thought, I gave my Wicked Witch of the West a lime-green unruly hair.

When designing my figurines, I pay a lot of attention to details. I try to incorporate as many elements as possible that make a character unique. So, I also gave the Wicked Witch of the West “a silver whistle that hung around her neck.” With this magic whistle, the Wicked Witch of the West could control a pack of wolves that she had enslaved. I made the magical whistle from silver glass beads.

Based on the rich descriptions of the Wicked Witch of the West, we know that she has an “old umbrella she always carried in her hand.” How to make an umbrella, I wondered? And then, it hit me. Those umbrellas that bartenders use to decorate their fancy Piña Colada and Margarita cocktails were perfect! These umbrellas usually come in different colors and patterns. So, I painted their thin tissue paper with black, purple, and orange acrylic paint.

The Wicked Witch of the West character was not complete until I gave her a traditional witch’s hat made from black felt with a curved tip. For her dress, I went a less traditional way. I made her dress with different layers of color tulle. Some of the tulle had a pattern. I trimmed the edge with a black antique notion I had bought at a tag sale a while back. Finally, I made her a large double-sided cape. I chose a black pattern cotton fabric for the outside. For the inside, I chose different materials in purple, orange and green tones. The cape has a long bow on the back that is intended to hold the cape in place. Unlike Dorothy, Cowardly Lion, Tin Woodman, Scarecrow and Toto, who are standing on a yellow base representing the yellow-brick-road, the Wicked Witch of the West base is brown. I wanted to make the distinction between the characters who had journeyed to Oz from the rest of the characters.