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!