MEET MY NEWEST MERMAID!

This little mermaid is my newest creation, and I just finished her today! I was so delighted with her, that I thought she deserved to have her photo out here.

She was just 6.5" tall before sculpting her into her current, permanent sitting position. These tiny little mermaids are very hard to work with, and to get them to sit, through the use of wire armatures in her tail and arms, takes a bit of doing! Sitting, she measures just about 4.5" tall from her "seat" to the top of her fluffy hairdo. Her fins span approximately 5" wide.

I used a shimmery dark teal fabric for her tail. When using a silky textured fabric such as this, it is necessary to use iron on interfacing on both sides of the fabric, to give it more strength. Her upper body and face are 100% silk tussah fabric. Tussah silk comes from wild moths whose's main diet is oak leaves. It is the amount of tannin in the leaves that determines the silk's natural color. Tussah silk can vary from a light beige (this is what I have used for this mermaid) to a darker tan color. Tussah silk is getting very hard to find, and keeps going up in price. The lowest price I've found so far is $15.00 per yard, and it can go as high as $40.00 per yard depending on the supplier. Her face, of course, has been individually hand-drawn, needle-sculpted, and hand-painted. I use a Micron .005 pen for the features, and acrylic paints for the eyes and lips. Her little face is approximately .75" long, and .50" wide. I can't get much smaller than that and get a good face.

Her wild hairdo was designed from a unique textured Italian yarn with wisps and poofs in it, accented with a metallic thread running through this yarn. I added another yarn call AURA, which makes her sparkle even more.

Her accents are all hand-sewn onto her, using a 4# test, clear fishing line. She has a Swarovski crystal belly button, necklace and her waist is also decorated with Swarovski crystals, and a real sea shell.

She is sculpted so that she can sit all by herself.

If you'd like to see more photos and learn more about her, click on the link below:

MERMAID

Mermaid on Real Sugar Starfish

Tiny Fiber Sculpted MERMAID on SUGAR STARFISH!

Lately, the mermaids have been calling to me!!! Here is my latest mermaid creation...! She is permanently attached to a real sugar starfish, and is offering her gifts from the sea! Designing and creating a tiny sitting mermaid like this takes many more hours than my tiny wall style mermaids.

Through the use of inner wire armatures, I finally manged to get her in just the right pose, so that she could be permanently cemented to the starfish. Since there wasn't any way to "clamp" her to the starfish, while the cement dryed...I had to sit and hold her to the starfish for about 25 minutes! I really must try and find a better of doing that!

She is full of fun and has a colorful, glistening Italian yarn hairdo, which I accented with a crown designed of Swarovski crystals and reall sea shells. She also has a waist accent of Swarovski crystals, and real sea shells, as well as a crystal necklace, belly button, and crystals in the upper portion of her tail. She is holding an offering of sea shells, glass fish bead, and Swarovski crystals.

If you'd like to learn more about her, be sure to visit her in my DZFANTASY Etsy shop by clicking on her link below.

MERMAID

FEATURED ETSY SHOP - FAIRY NANA a.k.a Eve Reddin Lennon

Now, doesn't this delightful, exquisite fairy outfit just make you wish you could be a fairy and flit around in it....! It did me!! I met FAIRY NANA when she sent me a convo, expressing how much she loved one of my fairies in my DZFANTASY shop. Well I just had to take a look at her shop, and was in awe when I saw her delightful creations!! Each one is more exquisite than the next one. Now if I were a fairy, I'd have to have at least several of these gorgeous creations.
I'm so happy FAIRY NANA agreed to take the time to tell us about herself, her creations, and what got her started. Please read below to hear, in FAIRY NANA's own words what she has to say.

What led you to start creating your art?

It was the “silver Lining” following a stroke. ( I have CNS Lupus) I’d lost the fine motor skills in my right hand, and a physical therapist gave me a stack of felt square ,a large needle and thread, telling me my homework was to sew lines across each piece. I told her I couldn’t sew, but she insisted, so eventually I managed. It soon became boring, so I moved on to felt flowers at which point my granddaughter requested a princess skirt for her birthday party. YIKES! Eventually I managed a rudimentary tulle princess skirt for her, but I kept working on princess and fairy skirts until I felt they were “good enough” to pass muster. I ended up donating them to the Make A Wish Foundation – something I continue doing every month.

How did you decide what medium you wanted to work with?

I didn’t really. I had already been a painter and lost the ability with a series of strokes. Sewing and the medium of fabric came after I had to “reinvent” myself.

What aspect of creating your art do you find the most enjoyable?

There are many – but perhaps the most precious is that I know that once someone puts my finished costume on – no matter what troubles she may have been dealing with, and no matter how she may have been feeling about herself, she will twirl around and feel beautiful , empowered, special, and absolutely as if she can make something magical happen in her life. It is almost as if I can impart a little bit of the feeling of “anything is possible” through a simple costume. I have no idea why – but when someone puts on one of these costumes they ALWAYS smile!!!!

What message, if any, do you want to convey with your art?

That every girl – no matter what her age and no matter what is going on in her life – she is wonderful, unique, and beautiful – and that there is tremendous power in that.

What advice do you have for other artists?

Be true to yourself….and respect others as well as yourself.

Thank you FAIRY NANA, for not only creating such beautiful costumes which bring joy into the lives of others, but for taking the time to share your wonderful thoughts out here!! Be sure to visit FAIRY NANA's Etsy shop, to see more of her exquisite creations. Either click on the photo to go directly to that item in her shop, or click on the FAIRY NANA link below the photos. You won't be disappointed!

Strawberry Faery - Princess

Costume Child 3 -6