The Woman In The Doilies

I was out of sorts after burying Zelda.  After writing about her, I didn’t know what to do.

I went from one idea to the next in my studio, not being able to focus on any one thing.  I wished I had my quilt batting so I could back my new quilt, but it hadn’t come yet.

At one point I pulled the box of doilies out from under my work table and started laying doilies out on the red quilt piece I had cut as a backing for fabric painting.  My heart wasn’t in it, but as I laid down the doilies and lace, I saw a figure emerging.

My first thought was that I didn’t want to make a single figure, but then I reminded myself not to think. I was either going to let this happen or not.  And if I was, trying to think it through wasn’t going to help.

So I moved the doilies around, layering them on top of each other, arranging and rearranging them until there she was.

I still don’t know what to make of her.  There’s a butterfly doilie that is hardly visible on her pelvis. And her face is a spiral circled with roses.

I haven’t begun to stitch her down, and I’m wondering if she should be on a less complicated  background so she stands out more.  And if I tea stain the butterfly or even dye it a light color it will be more visible too.

But I won’t do any more work on her tonight.  And UPS just delivered my batting, so I may let her sit for a day or so.  I don’t want to rush into any decisions.

8 thoughts on “The Woman In The Doilies

  1. I love this piece. It is so powerful and beautiful. I think you are right. It might stand out more on a less complicated background. Your judgement is usually correct as I suspect it stems from your intuition. Trust your judgement and go for it.

  2. Your art resonates with me often. I got a huge smile when I saw what was appearing here. I can’t wait to see how she continues to emerge and develop for you (and all of us who get to benefit from your wonderful work).

  3. I saw the butterfly at once and believe it’s subtle simplicity and evocative indication of beauty and flight suffices unto itself.

    1. I love to hear that Amy Thank you. Sometimes those subtleties are hard to photograph but work well in person. But only a few people get to see my work in person (usually me and the person who buys it) that I feel I sometimes think of my work in terms of how it photographs. This is a good reminder.

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