Fireflies in the marsh rise...

Inspired by a beautiful Japanese Poem from the 11th Century by Lady Izumi Shikibu, and a recent trip to the States where I got to see fireflies for the first time.

The muse was, once again, one of Marina Bychkova’s dolls.

When I think of you, fireflies in the marsh rise like the souls jewels, lost to eternal longing abandoning my body.
--Izumi Shikibu

I have this poem engraved on a rose-gold bangle (by Victoria Buckley) that I wear every day, and have been wanting to illustrate the emotions it evokes in me for a while. I dreaded starting the background for this one, but I’m so pleased with how it turned out.

If you haven’t noticed yet, I have a strong melancholic streak. The sort of melancholy that intermingles with romance, nostalgia and heartbreaking memories.
Not having fireflies in Australia (at least not anywhere I’ve been, and not in the quantity I saw in Illinois) I have some really delightful memories of camping by a river and looking up into the trees on the opposite shore - and watching this haunting light show of flickering, ebbing and blinking. I couldn’t believe my eyes.
I imagined how I would have felt if no one had told me they were fireflies – I would surely have thought I was seeing ghosts, aliens, or hallucinating.

 
For those lovelies following my unfinished-work challenge: this is number 11. Only 10 more to go!

Enchanted Prints

Finally I have put all the available prints left from my "Enchanted Doll Series" in my etsy shop!

~A3 Enchanted Doll Prints~

I created the series earlier this year as part of the 2010 Enchanted Doll Birthday Competition hosted by artist Marina Bychkova, and the entire project took me 3 months to complete! So it is a good closure, to get them up in etsy, ready for new homes.

During the Deluge

Following on from a previous post where I showed the final 9 illustrations I completed as my entry for the 2010 "Enchanted Doll" competition, I had some progress shots and "working" snapshots of the illustrations and my drawing table during the three month long ordeal!

I pasted my 'inspiration wall' full of the different dolls and costumes I wanted to capture in my set of drawings... it turned into a bit of an "enchanted wall" :-)

I started with a "base" sketch and pose for the nine figures, to help unify the entire set. The costuming and colours were where the 'doll' became different characters.

Each drawing was worked up in many many layers of transparent watercolour. To get the deep, rich colours of some of the backgrounds, I had to spend many days applying layers of colours, and letting them dry in between. At one stage I was working on several drawings at the one time - I would apply a layer of colour to one, then put it aside to dry, and go to the next drawing, and so on and so forth. 

And the final product (this here is just the first five that I finished, three were still in progress, and one had not yet been started on) 

I mentioned I made sure that each drawing fit perfectly inside the official Enchanted Doll boxes, so that they wouldn't just have a blank cardboard backing.

Enchanted Doll 2010 Competition

Marina announced her Enchanted Doll 2010 Birthday competition on November 16th, 2009. I began work immediately. I had an idea in my mind and I knew it was ambitious, but I wanted to bring it to fruition. I spent three solid months on my entry, and learnt an incredible amount about watercolours and myself along the way. 

It was both joyous and painful to create, I drew through many hours of hand cramps, and my body was running of adrenaline by the end of it. When I did finally finish the set, my immune system gave up and I fell sick for a good 5 weeks. I learnt a lot about what I can expect from myself in the future, and where to stop. 

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For my entry I created a set of nine original watercolour drawings. A print set consisting of two copies of each drawing were also included - for use as Enchanted Doll box inserts, if Marina wanted to use them as such.

Each drawing was created to echo the process that goes into creating Marina's dolls. A base "sculpt" was used - in this case the serene face of Banshee. Then that sculpt was turned into a unique and individual character through colouring, painting and costuming. The adornments the dolls are wearing were all inspired by the intricate tiny silver accessories marina creates for her Enchanted Dolls. 

 

 

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This morning I found out I came second place. Amongst all the hundreds of incredible entries that were submitted... I am so amazed and beyond words... and a little emotional! 

The Beauty of an Original # 12

This year I finally was able to commision an Enchanted Doll - beautifull, fully articulated porcelain dolls hand made by an incredible young woman and fantastic artist, Marina Bychkova.

This was a big thing for me, after all, Enchanted Dolls are a serious purchase, with a waiting list and price tag to match. But she was worth it all, everything. Whenever I haven't posted art in a while, it's probably because I'm sewing outfits for this girl... who could blame me?

Marina was gracious enough to meet my meticulous customization demands, and created Fern for me.

I asked for a girl that embodied my aesthetics and what I strive to capture with the girls that I draw - wild girls of the woods, mischevious coquettes, mysterious ladies made of air and mist and ferns.

Fern - Enchanted Doll by Marina Bychkova

I've mentioned before that I like to think of the art-dolls that I purchase as muses. Inspired by Fern, (my Enchanted Doll) and my admiration for Marina, this was the perfect project to suit such a complicated process and technique.For myself and as a gift to the original artist.

 I really wanted to capture the intricacy and exquisite nature of Marina's dolls in an artwork. An etching seemed very fitting. A lengthy, time consuming process of drawing an image into a sheet of copper, letting acid eat into those lines, then printing it by hand with an etching press. The corset and collar were inspired by the intricate filigree silver costumes Marina creates for her dolls. The brambles and antlers were my own aesthetic creeping into the piece.

Enchanted Etching

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For interest, here's the initial and final revised sketch I made. Progress shots of the etching can be seen ~here~

All dolled up and ready for....work

It's beginning to look a little bit like a doll museum at work. And I like it :-D

Bramble, the doll made for me by Crystal A Suh has come to the boutique. I now get to gaze at her lounging in the engagement ring cabinet all day long. And she adores it, her chin turned up ever so proud!

Odette, who used to be in the front window for years, has had to go back stage,  as there can only be one Leading Lady....

Victoria, Rachel and I spent an entire day stripping the front displays bare, cleaning the glass, and putting up the new posters. Most excitingly, Ophelia has made her debut. A beautiful Enchanted Doll made by artist Marina Bychkova (I know I am still yet to introduce my own!) Here she is, the new leading lady of Victoria Buckley Jewellery!

Victoria mentions her too, on her blog