The Pair - Butterfly

As I posted last week, I was asked to make a pair of my Story Dolls for a lovely couple to display in their home with their other beautiful artwork.

I chose to do a Goldfish and a Butterfly. 

If you missed the Goldfish posting click here . 

This week's posting is of the Butterfly doll...

The Butterfly is a symbol of happiness. It is known as the Chinese Cupid. In pairs it represents martial happiness. It is the emblem of joy and summer.

The wings connect at the Heart for the Butterfly to fly and live. Life, like the Butterfly is kept alive by the two opposing, mirroring twin-like wings. It is the balance of life.

 All Photography: Mark Mortensen

Last week I said that one of the exciting things about these pieces is the couple went to Europe and brought home fabulous fabrics for me to use...Yes! I love to make dolls specifically for people that hold a meaning personally for them also...as in the fabric I used within the Butterfly... specifically her hat and her wrap jacket.

When creating two pieces, my main goal is to have the colors and textures compliment each other but not match. With the Goldfish, the main pop of color is the orange and so I brought that into the Butterfly doll in a bit with a more subdued hue using the soft steel blue of the dress as my guide for the intensity of this palette.

 

 

 Close Up

This piece is part of the Charm Girl series, which is denoted because of her enameled charm she holds within the small gourd. I love the earthiness of the gourd against the shininess of the enameled butterfly. The outside of the gourd was finished with many layers of a gloss varnish which brings out the natural patina of the gourd. The interior with metallic gold paint and the butterfly nestled inside. The rim opening is lined with rows of  thin silk cording.

For the jacket, I used some of the fabric that the couple brought back from Europe. It is sheer and delicate. I stabilized it with a burnt orange silk dupioni liner. Notice how the fabric was cut out so the stripes line up- you can see it especially in the sleeves. Using the fabric pattern at its best!

I love the silk fabric from their stash that I used for this hat! It too was a subtle delicate silk. Careful layout of the fabric to make certain the stripes lined up. Each section was sewn with a liner and then hand-sewn together. I love hand-sewing, it brings you into the moment of each stitch. The pom poms were made from the same dupioni as the jacket liner.

 and closer...
The hand-sculpted face is covered with silk crepe, hand-painted eyes and shading done with pastels.

 

Close up of jacket and obi sash which is made from vintage kimono fabric lined with the burnt orange dupioni. You can see a bit of the dress peeping out from the center jacket closure.

Close up of the gourd.

Very close up of the knotted skirt...I found the fabric like that! BUT I would of created it if it wasn't available. Don't let the lack of supplies stop you vision! If you can find the right color fabric- dye it, if you can't find the right textured fabric-make it!

I hope you enjoyed this Pair....they are in a fabulous home with people that enjoy what I was able to create for them!

The Pair - Goldfish

I was asked to make a pair of my Story Dolls. I had to think about this one because they were to be showcased together as one piece.

I thought about their positioning and decided it would be balanced with one sitting and one standing...each holding their own space.

So now for the theme, I know the husband loves the water. I thought the fish would lovely. They are a very wonderful couple and so I choose butterfly as the other.

All Photography: Mark Mortensen

 

One of the exciting things about these pieces is the couple went to Europe and brought home fabulous fabrics for me to use! Yes! I love to make dolls specifically for people that hold a meaning personally for them also...as in the fabric I used within the Butterfly...

The Goldfish symbolizes a word for plenty, surplus, and enough to spare. It is an essential food. The fish is a homonym for jade. It is also a symbol for happiness, good luck, and abundance. Also the fish is able to beat all odds because it is able to swim against the current.

For the fabric selection of this piece, I choose a deep orange mingled with green as in seaweed green and ocean blue...the black is silk satin. The body fabric is silk crepe.

 

For the fan-tail of the back of the fish, I had this wonderful Japanese cotton. I love the way it mimic scales. The gold semi circle of the scale is in metallic.

The vest opens as a book to reveal the Chinese Legend of the Goldfish printed in English on one side and Chinese on the facing side. The under dress orange fabric is a sheer that has been stitched into squares, I lined it with batik cotton that has little bubbles pattern print.

Close Up

The Goldfish design is one of my own creations. This is design that came to me naturally...maybe from my love of water??

I like the vintage Asian green and deep aqua brocade that I had a wee scrap of to use for the hat border. The hat is lined with a brilliant blue dupioni.

These hats hail from southern China and in keeping with the traditional design style, I always use a cross stitch form of geometric embroidery. Little glass green bead with interior of red used for button.

Here again the embroidery done on the sleeve cuff is a geometrical in design. The hands are armatured with copper wire.

Close up of the cuff embroidery.

Close up of the black linen shoes lined with metallic aqua cotton and soles of blue duiponi. Tiny special glass beads are used for the shoe closures.

Closer Still

Close up of the goldfish- I love this photo! Embroidery to create body and tail scales on orange-magenta dupioni. Vintage sequins center front.

 

Close up of  hat band with hand-sewn vintage metallic trim and puffy cotton pom-pom. Fish tail just flopping over.

Close up of face with (love this) texture of silk crepe. Hand painted eye(s). Shading in pastels. Tiny pearl earring just peeping out!

The Hat

next week

The Butterfly!!

Little Sisters of the Grasslands

Inspiration 

It can come in many different forms...sometimes it is the fabric, sometimes it is from a chance discussion or words, sometimes nature...and sometimes music.

Unlike my husband, Mark, who can hear a song and then play it, I am not musically inclined. I find this whole phenomenon of the brain so interesting. I can see a doll in my head and *poof* out it comes into my hands...music is quite a  different story. I can hear a song in my head and it sure does not come out as the tune in my head!

I still find inspiration from music, it can touch my soul and speak to me. So, my form of interpretation comes out as a three dimensional piece...

The Chinese Opera, Little Sisters of the Grasslands is one such inspiration. First off, just the name itself, I found needed to be in doll form...then the story of the opera...how I found the opera is something that I cannot recall now, but I will listen to music that does move me while creating certain pieces.

Photography: Mark Mortensen

After I listened to the song, I set out to find more information...inspiration. It is with diligence that I came across this publication...

expert from the The China Journal No. 42, Jul., 1999

I am finding that hardships can lead to searching and finding beauty...this may be a rare case above but it does show determination to make it through the "storms" of life. You may come away with some "dings" but it does open your eyes to life's possibilities and your inner strength.

Materials

For the costuming, I took some liberties in color theme. I did choose the indigo of the Chinese workers which I chose as a very deep indigo silk paired in with the pattern design of the cross over jacket and loose trousers. But I did spice it up for the visual sake adding not quite khaki as tradition would hold, but more of a golden grain color for balance.

Each has a handmade straw hat that most of us recognize as a Chinese style.

Fabrics were of course, more luxurious than worker/sheep herders would wear...silk and linen but I believe it still carrying an earthiness.

At this time, I was using a Chinese dupioni silk for the bodies. I also, was using horsehair for the wigging. My purpose was to relate the horsehair to the Mongolian horsemen.

I have now switch to a silk crepe for the bodies mostly for esthetic reasons in that the crepe has a more matte finish with a texture that I really love and the wigging is now from silk and mohair.

I love working with bringing texture visually to the forefront. I find you can use texture as contrast or even color in your work.

Close ups

 

 

 

 Everything I was I carry with me,

everything I will be lies 

waiting on the road ahead.

Ma Jian

Mind and Heart

Hello dear Readers,

My dollmaking path has always been made clear to me. Not that I always leapt right away onto that foretold path, but I feel very fortunate that it has always been envisioned to me.

Journey of Growth...

I am so very fortunate that I get to spend most of my adult life creating beautiful things for others to experience in a class or as their very own piece of art. I am so grateful for all the years that I have had with my dear students not only in teaching them things that I created but in that time of being spurred onward to develop my own talents to be the best I could be as an artist.

Doll and Hat Photography: Mark Mortensen

goldfish story hat

goldfish story hat- back tails

 

Time to listen...

For a few years, my mind has been speaking very loudly to my heart that it is time to take some time off from teaching group classes* to create those things that are in my soul...it is about finding a known but personally untapped path and in having the courage to act on this vision. To find a deeper meaning in this work that I do with textiles.

 * I will still be teaching private lessons

close up of Goldfish Story Doll

 

Sharing...

I have been spending this past 6 months or so sharing with you my concepts and development within my dolls. I love this train of thought and wish to explore this within myself for the next year to see where it will take my art.

 

 

Self Discovery... 

It is with great peace and enthusiasm that this will be a time of self discovery.
And...I wish to share my continued dollmaking and new pieces with you as my mind, spirit, and heart will meet.
 

Goldfish Story Doll