"Sea Lioness" Revealed

I had to take a new close up photo. Blogspot was misbehaving and refused to put the original on horizontally! Now you won't have to crane your necks to see it! I am increasing my technical skills daily...


This is the only photo that gives a full view of her tail. It has cut-out beautiful fabric flowers sewn onto the trim.



She looks like she is swimming underwater in these photos...

"The lion's roar is to silence what the shooting star is to the dark of night." Laurens van der Post

Art Doll Soup has been quite a journey this week! I have spent the week recovering from a cyst that ruptured on my ovary. I feel like fireworks are taking place inside of the constellation of my feminine self. Surgery, a hysterectomy, has been scheduled for January. I have been struggling with multiple issues related to my uterus over the past year. I have missed many weeks of work. The emergence, finally, of this lovely doll has helped me to get through a very difficult and, at times, very dark week filled with emotion and grieving. I am beginning to emerge as well...

I am actually now grateful for parts of the challenging process that is taking place. I have only been able to drink liquids. Craving carrot juices and now intensely green drinks. I am both a mad scientist and an artist in the kitchen with my juicer in my determination to restore and supplement my health. (Frenchy, my tiny, wise dog, runs for cover each time I press the on button of the magical, roaring, cacophanous machine!) I am beginning to have clarity on issues that have been clouded by the foods that I used to stuff some deep emotions. Once again, the light is beginning to come out of the darkness.

So here she is! The "Sea Lioness." I used the cover off of one of my pillows for fabric. There are five different types of yarn incorporated into her wild mane of hair. I LOVED making her hair. It is delightful!

I cut the body design freehand based on my design for "My Swimming Self." She ended up with a wonderful curvy shape. I used shells once again for her fingers and toes. She has a beautiful piece of abalone over her heart for protection and radiance.

I used mung beans to stuff her legs and some small baggies of brown basmati rice inside her body to help with her balance. (I realized after doing this that those two ingredients help with my balance as well in one of my favorite Ayurvedic healing foods-Kitcheree.) I do hope that Frenchy doesn't try to eat her!

The word that kept coming to me as I was making her is "Courage." I thought of the lion in the Wizard of Oz. I may embroider some courageous words onto her body. Possibly a ROAR as well! I will also add a picot beaded edge...I'll wait and see what else she might ask for...