A Work in Progress
Hello..a bit late as usual but I'm back with progress pics. The Art Dolls Only Challenge has ended and my piece is not finished. Well I had to submit a "finished" piece but she has lots more work to be done on her. Being somewhat of a perfectionist I am cringing at having to show what she looks like now, but I agreed to show my work in progress shots so you can see how my work sort of comes along and the changes I often make to a doll before she's completed. Though I have to say it doesn't take this long to complete a doll~this one might be a record! My Frida doll has been shelved several times in the past few weeks due to problems with nerve damage in my hand and also for other issues regarding trademarking of Frida's name and image which I won't go into now but will in a future post when I know a bit more. Kind of killed the momentum I was feeling with making this doll. Needless to say, she will not be for sale..yet...we'll see.
Work in progress
Frida's corset is made of plaster (and still needs to be adorned), her dress made of ivory dupioni silk and I hand stitched silver stars on her midnight blue silk dress (representing the night/the feminine) and handmade the pom poms that line the edge of her linen shawl. Her necklace is made of lapis and the lace on the bottom of her skirt is very old family lace handed down from Mark's Aunt. Her hair is viscose which seems to be my preference these days over mohair. I have tried leaving her hair down before but couldn't quite achieve the look I was going for with her hair left long. I tried a new way of applying her hair and it worked out extremely well!
The papaya ( representing land, agriculture, fertility,etc.) and heart (representing her love for Diego and bloodshed spilled by others defending Mexico) symbolize her ties to her country. I have already cut off the vines and arteries as I did not like the way they looked in the images above at all. I will be attaching them to something else later.
Her banner reads in Spanish :"Do not forget your Mexico, which is the root of your life."
I will be placing her in a shadow box of sorts. You might remember when I showed you this clock cabinet about a year or two ago and mentioned wanting to save this for a special doll. We removed the glass door and gutted the inside, and sanded the whole piece and I'll be painting it next. She fits perfectly inside and I'm actually eager to see how it will all turn out.
Thank you for all of your birthday wishes :) I turned forty last Friday and Mark, Andres and I spent the weekend up in Hood River, Oregon along the Columbia River Gorge sightseeing and doing the "Fruit Loop" which consists of visiting local farms in the area and picking your own fruit and flowers. If you are ever in the Portland area during summer time you must come here. If we could choose to live in any other part of the state other than Bend, we both agree on Hood River as our first choice :)
Hood River, Oregon and the Columbia River Gorge (Washington side)
Picking berries at Nelson's Blueberry Farm
Mt. Hood in the background of Lavender Valley
Lavender Valley Farm was heaven. We had just returned from picking blueberries in the heat of midday and the hillside farm was nice and breezy. The aroma of lavender was unreal and when the wind died down you could hear the hum of bees everywhere. I didn't want to leave this place~it is absolutely beautiful! Lucky for us we will be heading back later this month to pick up some of those apples/pears that weren't quite ripe yet~
"Marjolaine", 2009
"Talitha", 2011
