Sleeping Beauty Part 2

Translating what you find to be beautiful into an expression of your mind means using  precise choices of material, tried and true techniques, and with use, a notion of perseverance to the finish.

This translation or  image  is the reward. 

Being a little open-ended, and by that I mean, leaving yourself open to surprises or discovery, as you work, this is where tiny moments of joy add to the creative sparkle.The translation is what you have, after all.

We all have reasons why we choose what we choose.

I am fortunate, in that I work with children. I watch them in their creative and beginners mind solve the problems they set for themselves with a little nudge in the beginning from their teacher. You must be interested in creative endeavors if you are reading this blog.

In the past few postings, I have been leading you along by sharing how my own mind works, a bit. I had a theme in mind, but no idea of where to go with Sleeping Beauty. Throughout the years of working and learning I have tried many things. If I saw something interesting I would either take a class or read a book to learn a technique which might work. Some of what I did stuck and some things did not. It was the process of learning new things that became joy, for me. So, I have  many tricks up my sleeves. It is a good thing to be curious. It is a good thing to find a way to learn what you want to know.

Sleeping beauty is a product of that exploration.

Noro Yarn is a work of art in itself. I love working with it because it is like working with a paintbrush that someone already loaded with paint. You decide where to put what. So I knitted some fabric which I added another strand of other types of thread or yarn in a few places, just to see what would happen. I felled this in the washing machine. Out comes a fabric which can be cut or sewed or whatever. So I chose this for the cloak.

Soft white wool already carded into bats I buy and then alter by mixing fibers and/or dyeing and then felting.

I made these balls quite a few years ago and then I dye them to use in many ways. This is what I used for the head, which is a very obvious choice to make. I make cords adding in other fibers to be dyed at a later time.

I chose some of these and chose the dye color. I cut them into the shapes and sizes I thought would work

In Making the headdress, I used some pieces of dye felted wool and a different kind of fiber to wrap them. Then I had to figure out how to combine these elements in an interesting and efficient way, so with that in mind I used some Sculpey clay and fashioned a piece with some colored wire to hold it all together. For the element of hair?? I dyed silk in many colors and tore that into strips and added that to the headdress, as well. I knitted a small triangular shawl of kid silk haze for her. I added jewelry by beading pieces for the neck piece. I had to think of arms. I found plastic tubing at the hardware store and thought, wow, that could work. I stuffed the tubes with silk fiber then attached them to the body which is a rectangle of Michael James fabric which I use in a lot of work. For the feet I covered some cording with silk fabric and formed it into two puffy feet.

I know that this is not in minute detail. I leave some things to your imagination. I am doing this to inspire you to do your own work and to give you some ideas for thinking about what is available in the world to use in a new and interesting way. I find wonderful things when I take a look at blog land. It adds something sometimes that may not have occurred to me. This is my way of thanking all of you.

Oh yes, one more thing. . .Now that I have ?? finished this piece. . .
I am considering doing another one but I already learned
what I will do the next time to make one better.
It is the process!