Doll #3 Lotus

Lotus

 

Grown in the mud and the muck, the Lotus must rise to the surface to bloom to its remarkable beauty. At night the flower closes and sinks underwater; at dawn it rises and opens again. Untouched by any impurities, the lotus symbolizes purity of the heart and mind and represents long life, humility, honor and tranquility.

photography: Mark Mortensen

The Lotus is always one of my most favored. I think in part because of the Lotus Flower and how it must go through darkness in the mud to find its way to the sunlight to blossom...not unlike ourselves and our lives.

This year, this doll has its own story with her hat but also her own life story...

I must preface this with my joy of making this piece. I loved the idea of a large glorious flower on top of one of my hats. With that there is also 12 hour days, weekends, and weeks and weeks with focused concentration to make them as wonderful as my hands and heart can create.

 

Her Story:

During the NIADA Gallery Night, Lotus was standing on top of her pedestal. It was very hot and crowded. I was standing with my back to Lotus, talking with friends, Neva and her husband. You know when everything all of sudden goes in slow motion...their faces went from happy smiles to wide eyes and NOOoo! coming from their lips...in my peripheral, I saw another dear friend, Heather, come running in from outside towards my piece. As I turned, I saw Lotus face down on a tile floor...someone had bumped my pedestal and knocked over Lotus...crack! I picked her up and looked at her. Her cheek was damaged. 

 

With my friends around me, I placed her back on top of the pedestal to inspect the damage...breathe. Do you cry, do you scream? 

 

This is the point in life, where all your grace you have needs to come into your spirit. I stood back and as things started to carrying on again, everything in my own personal space was quiet...still...there was no sound, no others...just me looking at my doll and she looking back at me.

 

It came to me, I can always fix my student's dolls, I surely can fix my own doll! Breathing again. At that point, in my mind, I returned to the going ons at the event.

 

Several people had witnessed this event and yes, saw who did it. The old adage "you break it you buy it" could very well apply. I personally, am just not comfortable with that. I make my dolls with all my soul and would not want someone to be forced to buy one of my pieces. That is not what my dolls are about. I want the person who purchases my doll to have a positive connection and receive the joy in which they are created.

Side note: Thank you to all who expressed such dear sentiments to me that evening. You are cherished.

So I made it through the evening, without crying or screaming. As I was walking back to the hotel with my friend, Pam, and we where talking about what had happened...I realized...who she was- LOTUS! She had blossomed and had gone back into the mud...only to (be repaired) and to blossom again! She really is strong and pure in her own beauty!

Lessons:

1. I can fix my own doll!
2. I want my dolls to go to people who connect with the joy in them.
3. There are always people there to support you.
4. Things may not look good- but nothing is permanent, you can blossom again!

  Overall View:

Doll:Jointed -posable Head from hand-sculpted clay overlaid with silk crepe.
Body armatured, silk crepe lined with cotton batiste.
Costume: For the individual costume, I choose the fabrics of 
varied silks  to bring forth the best for each piece. 

 

Details:

The Lotus flower close up. For this flower, I hand-dyed the fabric for the interior using an obre effect of light yellow to orange to tips of magenta. The exterior was sewn with yellow dupioni silk also used for the lining if the garment.

Close up of hand painted eyes and (my love) of the textured silk fabric which overlays her face.

Close up of jacket with brocade fabric collar line and glass closure. Under garment is of silk brought back from Germany by friends of mine!

I thought this Chines yellow brocade with the medallions worked beautifully to mimic the hat! Here is a close-up of the embroidery of the pants.

 

The Lotus

Surrounded by various myths and legends, the lotus is considered divine and one of nature's mystical creations, that represents the purity of the mind and soul. 

In the Asian religions and cultures, especially, in Buddhism and Hinduism, lotus is the embodiment of perfection. It defines the capacity of the soul to expand and embrace the beauty of life with a clear conscience.

The lotus flower sheds its seeds and blooms at the same time. In Buddhism, it is said to represent the principle of cause and effect, wherein every action or thought is believed to cause an effect or reaction, that can be experienced either in this life or in the future lives.

This magnificent flower emerges from the dirty and unclean bottom of a pond, but still remains untouched and unstained by the dirt and mud surrounding it in the pond. This unique quality of the flower is believed to represent pure spirit, rebirth, beauty, fertility, transcendence, and resurrection.

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