A bit more...

When last I left you I'd added paint over some doodles I had drawn on the goddess doll...


Once all the paint is on you don't see the smearing of those permanent markers so much... or, maybe it's just because I took my own advice for a change and walked away from it for a few hours, and it just doesn't look quite so bad when I returned. I actually sorta like the smeared effect... like wrinkles, it adds character.

Now, I've worked with fabric most of my life. I grew up in a family with women who quilted, parents who made a living recovering furniture, I even started sewing my own clothes when I was a teenager... of course I designed and finished needlepoint for 20+ years too... so when I look at her I just "know" that she is going to need some shading or she's going to look pretty "flat" even after she is stuffed. Let's see what soft pastels can do...

They (to me) are such a beautiful tool... I used several colors of oranges and hot pinks to outline her shape, and then worked the pigment in using my finger tips. There are definitely cleaner ways to do that... cotton, another scrap of material... but there is just something wonderful and amazing about really putting yourself into your art. Seems to be the way I create it anyway, all the color left on my hands is somehow terribly rewarding to me.

Once blended, I took a few minutes to look at her. These colors always speak to me. That's probably why I use them far too much in the things I do... but they evoke the most unique visceral reaction within me. It's all at once both passionate and calming, opposite ends of the spectrum, but nurturing and soothing to me. And, as I said early on... this is all about creating something nurturing for me.

A very long time ago I learned to stop over-thinking things when it comes to what I create. When I do that it always ends up too fussy and far too contrived. But, I find that, if I "listen" to whatever I am making, I usually find the path I'm supposed to take. Of course after looking at her for a time my thought was that all of the fire and passion has to have balance, and thus comes the cooling lime green and teals, just touches of it for temperance. Some black and white for contrast... soft pinks for gentleness...

And before you know it, those doodles have been touched with color. Have to tell y'all... I'm lovin' them so far. Of course, you know there is more to come...