If I were someone who follows numerology or plays lotto, I’d think there was some meaning to two dates—1/11/12 and 11/1/12. The first date is when I posted to my blog about the art paper dolls I made for the Roses on My Table group’s steampunk paper doll trade. The second date is when I opened my mailbox and found a complimentary copy of Just Steampunk, vol. 2, with my dolls on page 101 of the magazine.
Several months ago I sent an email to the magazine with some
jpegs of the dolls that I kept for myself. (I made five, traded two and kept three.) I
hadn’t heard one way or another about the dolls other than getting a polite
response thanking me for my submission. So, I was jumping up and down, twirling
and squealing when I opened to page 101 and found a full page with my three
steampunk dolls!
One of the dolls (top photo, doll on the left) is particularly symbolic. Back in 2007 I wrote an article in Cloth Paper Scissors called “Painting Out the Panic.” One of the pieces used to illustrate the article is a figure I call “Broken Chakra Girl.” BCG symbolized my struggle with panic disorder, particularly the fifth (throat) chakra. My anxiety would cause my throat to constrict and I wouldn’t be able to speak. I also got frequent sore throats at the time.
I used BCG’s face for
one of these dolls, cut her hair, gave her a top hat, changed the color of the
turquoise throat design to match her steampunk style, and made her neck a
normal length. Somehow the steampunk version represents healing, with her
strong, mechanical, shiny body and bold stance. Her green broken heart is no longer exposed, and is protected by her steampunk armor.
All of the dolls are made with original faces that I drew or painted.
The bodies are made of painted, recycled coffee filters, painted and stamped
recycled tea bags adhered to fabric, or paper. The metal textured legs and arms
are cut paper from Just Steampunk, volume 1. The body with the corset and the
clockworks are also cut paper from the first issue. The body parts are attached with tiny brads so they can be posed and played with.
I would like to extend a special thank you to Karen at The
Graphics Fairy http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/ for the use of her vintage images of butterfly wings and top
hats; to Zinnia at Roses on My Table for creating such a wonderful online art
community; and to JoAnn at Roses on My Table for running such a great group. http://rosesonmytable.ning.com/
3 comments:
very nice indeed!
Thanks Sonja :-) Too bad you are too far away to come over and have an art party and make dolls!
I'm also too far, your dolls have a lot of fun I think.
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