SWINGING FAIRY....!

SWINGING FAIRY...my newest design!

For some time now I've been wanting to design and create a little fairy swinging on a vine swing.  Little did I realize that creating the vine swing would take me almost as long to create as the fairy!

I had to sew two long stems wide enough to be able to turn them inside out and have a wire armature in the middle of the stem while stuffing them with fiberfill.  It was a lot harder than I anticipated!  After I finally got a pair sewn and stuffed, I then handpainted them using silk fabric paints.  Once the stems were totally dry, I could them twist them together.  The really hard part was holding them together so that I could sewn them securely and shape them into a swing.

The other trick was trying to hold the fairy in place while positioning her on the swing and sewing her to it at the same time.

I'm thinking it might be a while before I attempt another one of these "swinging fairies".

To learn more about her, click on the link below:

SWINGING FAIRY

ART DOLL SCULPTURE by H.C. O'NEILL

Several weeks ago I did on a post on "ART DOLLS" and the artists who create them. I had already done the post when I received this artist's information, so I am now putting her contribution out here at this time. Below you will read about this particular piece shown above. If you'd like to learn more about this artist's creations be sure to visit the links below.

A Mayan royal sacrifices her own blood to the gods. She draws a thorn studded cord through a hole made in her lip. The outfit design is based on a carving of Lady Xoc from around 725 AD. You can see the image here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Xoc Lady Xoc was the royal consort of the Mayan ruler Shield Jaguar. She is one of the few women depicted in ancient Mayan carvings.The headdress is different than the one shown in the carving, but typical of wall paintings from the same era which involved lots of quetzel feathers. The colors are based on several different partial wall paintings from that period. The Mayans were flashy, flashy dressers!The glyphs on the paper on the altar are for Bird Jaguar (top) and Shield Jaguar underneath. (Bird Jaguar is Shield Jaguar's father. Shield Jaguar is much better known: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shield_Jaguar )

I like doing art dolls and sculptures that showcase historical periods or cultures people aren't all the familiar with. I have a degree in anthropology, so these are often FAR off the beaten path. Why animal people? I like to select an animal that has some sort of important significance to the culture depicted, or a specific meaning associated it. The Jaguar was especially important to Mayan culture, with many depictions of it on temples. Many rulers included Jaguar in their names to harness some of its power.

Shown below is another sculpture and a description of it.

In African folklore, hyenas are the the familiars of witches, much like the black cat is for European witches. They are supposedly marked with a magical brand by their witch and are sometimes called "night cattle" because of this marking. African witches may ride them through the night as a devil's stead, setting them upon their enemies. Here a witch has transformed herself into a deadly leopard-woman after dismounting her steed and uses an elephant tail switch to point our their next victim. She has a feather headdress, crocodile wristbands, and a belt studded with cowrie shells.

MY LATEST CREATION - Striking ZEBRA FAIRY

ZEBRA FAIRY - Fiber sculpted art doll

I just finished this delightful ZEBRA fairy yesterday, and thought I 'd bring her out here on my blog, since I am so happy to finally have had time to create her!

I love her fun black and white zebra patterned fabric, which has zebra all over the pattern. I manged to get one of the zebra's head and neck on the front of the fairy, and there are several more peeking out from her wings, and her back.

She is one of my medium size sitting fairies, which was 10" long before being sculpted into her current, permanent sitting position. She has sparkly black hair, which is accented with bone beads and Swarovski crystals. She even has a black jet Swarovski crystal for a belly button.

She comes sitting on her own hand-painted black box, which can be used as a "keepsake" box for your favorite jewelry, or whatever else you might like to keep safe there. The fairy will be sure to protect your treasures. It even has a tiny little cushion which I created out of the same fabric as the fairy, and is lightly stuffed with fiberfill, with a white bead sewn into the center.

If you'd like to learn more about my newest creation, just click on any of her photos. I hope you enjoy seeing her as much as I enjoyed designing and creating her.

JUNE'S FREE GIVE-A-WAY! SHE IS NOW FINISHED!

JUNE'S "FREE GIFT" DRAWING

Here is what you need to do to enter the drawing:

1. Leave a COMMENT in this post.

2. Either leave your email in your COMMENT or you may email me your contact info by sending it to me at dzfairies@msn.com

NOTE: All names will be entered into the drawing by taking the name's from the posted comments...SO BE SURE TO FOLLOW STEPS 1. and 2. above.

WINNER'S name will be randomly drawn on July 1st. A new giveaway creation will be posted out here JULY 1st, so be sure to stop back!

Here's was a sneak preview of the beginnings of the FREE GIVE-A-WAY gift for JUNE out here on my DZFANTASY blog! She is going to be one of my original designed 6.5" tall wall style fairies. Her body/wing fabric is one of Laurel Burch's whimsical designs. I'm thinking that this yarn will make her a beautiful, fluffy hairdo. Since I LOVE the sparkle of Swarovski crystals, I'm sure she will have some of those in her accents!! Be sure to stop back and see her when she is finished, and leave a comment in her post. A winner's name will be randomly drawn at the end of June.

Above you will see how this little fairy started out....NOW HERE SHE IS ALL FINISHED FOR JUNE'S FREE GIVEAWAY DRAWING!

This colorful little fairy is the smallest of my wall style creations. She measures 6.5" tall from the tip of her toes to the tip of her wings. Her face is 100% silk, which I hand-drew, needle-sculpted, and hand-painted. Her arms and wings have inner wire armatures so that you may bend them a bit.. She is designed to hang on the wall, or to dangle from a bit of ribbon or clear fishing line. There is a loop on the back of her neck for this purpose. Her body wing fabric is one of Laurel Burch's whimsical designs. She is accented with Swarovski crystals, and colorful glass seed beads. Her hairdo was designed from a wonderful Italian designer yarn, with a texture of wisps and colorful loops.

This tiny fairy is NOT suitable for children to play with....it is great however, to decorate their rooms. There are too many tiny accents on the fairy to be safe for children under age 8.

WISCONSIN BREAST CANCER SHOWHOUSE 2008

3580 N. Lake DriveShorewood, Wisconsin

Open to the PublicSaturday, May 31, through Sunday, June 15
HoursMonday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.Thursday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.Sunday Noon to 4 p.m.Last admission begins 30 minutes before closing.

To find out more about this 2008 Breast Cancer Showhouse, the organization and all their fundraising events be sure to visit their web site by clicking on the link below. If you or anyone you love has been touched by this disease, you know how important it is to help support the cause of raising money for research!!

BREAST CANCER SHOWHOUSE 2008