Inspiration
While in the middle of sculpting her head, the word *wish* floated into my presence of mind and I claimed it so it would not scamper off to find another artist. They do that you know- those creative sparks, they search for an open place to land and may leave in a flash if you don't show an interest or catch them!
Since ancients times humans have looked to the night sky in wonder and in hope...to make a wish. Wishes usually come from deep within the heart and usually for the betterment of self or others.
wish /wiSH/
Wish can be used as a noun but I prefer to think of it as more of a verb- an action word! When we desire something we need to take action...to express our heart's desire into the cosmos and to create movement within our own being.
verb: invoke upon, to make or express
Creating
I pulled out my dyes to give her face some color. I knew she was of the Moon of the sky. Night.
And that is when the magic of creating can happen, when you are in that sacred space held deeply in the hands of the dream, the magic.
Materials used: Silk for the Body with clay head covered in the same silk.
Procion dyes with alcohol inks and metallic watercolors. Acrylic paint for eyes.
moon /mo͞on/
noun: the natural satellite of the earth, visible at night by reflected light from the sun.
Moon Wish. How could two words express so much? I feel if we throw our wishes randomly into the wind, we may never see them appear. Why not give them a better chance to come forth than to fix them solidly onto a star or even better the Moon itself in all its boldness and beauty of changing from New to Full and everything in between?? I feel it gives our wishes the flexibility to find that right moment to *reflect back* into our or other's lives.
And while I was at it, I thought why not bring ALL the Moon and its full glory of color into this piece? I felt this our wishes a greater chance of coming into our own realm.
photo credit Marcella Guilia Pace
The Process
It always starts with the palette of fabrics. I went to my vintage kimono stash to pull out my initial pieces. These ALWAYS change as I work along...and I find it is more with the accent piece than the main body pieces.
I wanted to spotlight this fabric below...
This became the border but what is so interesting about this piece is the weaving of the design. First off that it is all hand done not printed.
Secondly. it is the fiber that was used for the weaving. It has an almost shiny "plastic" feel to it. So perhaps a treated polish silk or cotton since plastic was not used or found when this piece was created.
Left: the underside Right: Outer side with beautiful sharp clear design.
The Kimono Jacket and Skirt
I wanted to use the striped silk and adjusted it to be lightly distressed.
Same with the upper part of the skirt. There was already a beautiful cross hatch design and so I distressed the lower part to be the backdrop of the Moons.
The Moons
Next up is the dyeing process. This was a three-step process to get the exact right colors as well as a vintage feel to them.
Materials Used: Japanese mulberry paper with rag. Procion dyes for natural products.
Step One:
Cutting out paper shapes and tea and coffee dyeing to give the effect of the peaks and valleys of the moon.
Step Two: Choosing the colors and hand mixing the dyes to the colors than suited this pieces.
Step Three: "Antiquing" the colors to blend in with the distressed fabrics.
Adding the Moons
I wanted to Moons to roll around the skirts edge. Before dyeing, I gingerly removed the outer most rag fiber circle to give the negative space of the new moon. Each place and sewn into place using off white for the new moons and a variegated thread for the full moons.
So we leave this posting with knowing what a wondrous life it is to be an artist and to share with you my story of creating this piece.
Next week the Full Reveal...with a bit more insight.
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