First a little Peace.
Seems we could all use a little peace right now. My latest anthropomorphic figure sculpture is a “tie dyed” giraffe named Peace. I looked at numerous sources for the symbolism attributed to the giraffe, and grace, gentleness, and peace came up over and over. You may recall several other giraffe sculptures, like last years’ Change Up. They are an animal that I find I enjoy sculpting. Giraffes have such interesting forms and proportions. I think I find them simultaneously graceful and comical.
Peace stands about 15″ tall, and casts a glance at her viewer from under long magenta lashes. She is needle felted wool, over a wire and quilt batting armature. Her hooves are hand-stiched faux leather, and her eyes are iridecent glass beads.
I created Peace using a different approach. Needle felting is usually done with loose wool roving fibers, but this unique hide pattern required something different. I hand dyed wool prefelt using alcohol inks, and then cut the individual blocks of color and needle felted them to the sculpture.
Not Quite Tie Dye Procedure
There is a faux tie dye method you may be aware of that uses permanent Sharpie type markers, and alcohol. I modified that process using drops of alcohol inks in place of drawing dots with markers.
- prefelt fabric is stretched across plastic cup and secured with rubber band
- drops of alcohol ink
- alcohol is dropped over ink drops allowing colors to spread and mix
- mixing of colors
- complete panel
- dyed prefelt after rinsing and heat set in dryer
Peace will probably not make an appearance in the gallery until this summer for my feature show at the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts. She is the first of several sculptures for that show. These sculptures will feature animals that have distinctive “animal print” coat patterns that I have altered in some way.
