Life
Blues,
whites, fiery reds and yellows --
overtaking the sky from dusk 'til dawn --
fascinate me, whether in my dreams,
or longings for that something more,
whirling nebulas, mysterious planets and stars I barely see
... my Beaded Art Doll, my celestial reflection, I name you ....
Life.
Those colors, that movement, those entities in space, in
the universe, are LIFE. It is constantly evolving, dancing, spinning, breathing,
shooting, and playing. Within this seemingly non-ending movement is a delicate
relationship between balance and chaos. That relationship nurtures life,
including all life on earth. It is a beautiful and playful dance that constantly
amazes me, us, and makes for dreams and wondrous visions.
Balance/Chaos
Most of
us look up and out at the universe, envisioning it as something that
is separate from us but there is no boundary between that universe of
spinning, dancing patterns and our own existence. But when we stop and
really look, we see that our essential make-up is nothing more than one
small part of that vast universe of life. And because of this we are
all dancing stars in the shirling entity of space. I am lucky enough
to live where one can see the night sky in all its brilliance, without
the interference of street lights. When I remember to look up it amazes
me and makes me feel part of that powerfully intricate and wondrous Life.
And Life is my rendition of all I know, and dream, is out there where
I cannot see.
This doll, Life, is also symbolic of me, and us, as he/she/we
stand(s) content and happy, seemingly still, but filled with incalculable
movement. Life also has many layers and textures and colors and elements
that constantly offer the viewer something new to see, like the universe.
The universe, the stars, when we look up, seem still and content, but they
are constantly in motion, as are we.
Personally,
too often I find myself too bogged down in the seriousness of life and
it seems the only time I actually PLAY is through
art. Life reminds me that I must play more often, but at the same time
be quietly content with the chaos that is part of life. All of the colors
were play, all of the shapes and textures offered opportunities to play.
I can't say that it was a smooth ride, for even in play we skin our knees,
but Life offered a chance to dance and play while representing the universe
and all we envision in that space that is part of us. For me this piece
began to represent life in the act of playing; dancing and proud to be
a star in a universe that is ever-changing, full of surprises, and playful.
Life is a reminder and re-awakener.
In terms
of the design details, I worked with, and evolved, a design that is somewhat
chaotic, but at the same time intricately balanced.
This was not necessarily my original intention, as the doll began with
only the star foundation in mind. Most of all the work I do begins as an
idea and becomes something on its own. So as the doll stumbled and flowed
into existence it became clear that she needed to be balanced, as well
as tumultuous and unpredictable. And when her balance was finally found
she became her own entity.
Star Shape
My star
shape served as the foundation of that balance, standing precariously
on one foot. The shape was the beginning and from there I
played and fell, flew and dropped, as Life directed me where to go. Life
has a sense of organized design on her outer limbs, through peyote work
which has tiny sterling silver beads within that emulate the stars in
a dark sky, slowly becoming invisible as the sky lightens in the morning.
As the design moves towards the center the chaos becomes more evident,
but yet it is still contained and working in similar directions through
wire I have beaded, connected, and twisted into various directions. This
chaos in the center is kept contained, around ankles, wrists and the center
yellow section, by freeform beading I envisioned as nebulas, meteors, pieces
of space which is comprised of seed beads, Carnelian beads and freshwater
pearls. Under the chaos of yellow and larger beads, around her torso, are
imbedded pieces of mirrors that can be seen if one looks closely. The
body underneath it all has been painted with a dark blue paint and genesis
powders.
I love to work with as many different shapes, sizes, colors, and textures
as I possibly can and in Life I was able to do this.
Torso Detail
Face
The face
represents a star, including the sun. I hand sculpted her from polymer
and worked to create a sense of strength, play, and happiness
in her expression. On the surface of the entire piece are scattered freeform
clouds that represent the first thing we, as humans, see when looking into
the skies. She has fringe work here and there. The fringe work offers up
the colors and textures, as well as the movement when the figure is moved,
and it also serves as the only real elements that address gravity as they
hang straight down. They also remind me of falling stars. And lastly,
there are of course the rings, like the rings of Saturn, that are found
around her arms and her waist. While clearly representing the rings of
Saturn, they also represent the constant spinning motion of the universe
and the planets and stars. And, at the top of her head shoot out stars,
comets, and again, movement. My 6 year old said they are fireworks!
Clouds
Fringe
Through all this I would like to hope that I have created
something that, for others, is not static, something that seems to dance
and is filled with life, movement, color, balance, chaos, and play. I would
also like to hope that a viewer is constantly finding something new and
fun every time they look within Life. Perhaps they will see a part of themselves.
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Frontal Image
Side Image
Back Image
Detailed Image
Leap of
Faith
(rotation)
List of Materials
and Techniques Employed
Dimensions:
Life measures approximately 12 inches, excluding her shooting stars from
her head (15 inches including those shooting stars). With the base,
to the top of the shooting stars, she measures approximately 18 inches.
She is 5 1/2" deep, 11" wide.
Construction
Techniques:
The foundation of the piece was sculpted from polymer clay, except the
hands and feet which are epoxie. The piece was sculpted onto a very strong
wire form that extends out her foot into the base. Her moon base has
a heavy
rock at the base, then is covered in epoxie and polymer clay, with texturing
to represent the surface of the moon. She also has three
poles, with beadwork, that help support her, something I felt necessary
to ensure shipping safety if she were to be mailed anywhere.
Materials
List:
There are many different beads in this work, and I could not likely list,
or remember, all of them as I tend to just pick, grab, and bead:
seed beads sizes 10 and 11 (translucent and opaque)
delicas sized 10 and 11 (translucent and opaque)
sterling silver beads (not even sized! very tiny holes!)
miracle beads
bugle beads, silver and blue
glass vintage beads passed on to me
fresh water pearls
numerous sizes, colors, shapes, of glass beads
coral (spiny oyster)
charms
sterling sivler separater beads for rings
Czech beads
Glass faceted beads
Carnelian beads
wire and memory wire (memory wire used for shooting stars and rings)
jump rings
Techniques:
Stitches
used were branchwoork, fringe, peyote, forms of couching, circular peyote,
along with a lot of freeform stitching.
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