Teresa Hon and Connie Davis from Platte City, Missouri Third Bi-Annual 2007 ALL DOLLED UP: BEADED ART DOLL COMPETITION Theme: Celestial Reflections Return to the web-page displaying all 6 semi-finalists and overall results

Doll named Sivad [Please be patient - These pages are graphics intensive and will load slowly] After reviewing the Beaded Art Doll Images on this page, and reading the artist's stories, materials list, and summary of techniques, VOTE & EVALUATE See the overall Results When voting closes 1/15/08, voting logs will be reviewed for any duplicate or otherwise illegitimate votes (for example, those from the same IP or email address), and these will be deleted. The on-line votes will be tallied and used to adjust the original votes of the Panel of Judges at CBJA, in the selection of a winner. The public's votes will weigh towards 25% of the final tally in selecting the Winner and Runner-Up.

Sivad

Blues, whites, fiery reds and yellows --
overtaking the sky from dusk 'til dawn --
fascinate me, whether in my dreams,
or longings for that something more,
whirling nebulas, mysterious planets and stars I barely see
... my Beaded Art Doll, my celestial reflection, I name you ....

Sivad.

Sivad - the sir name of two sisters - spelled backwards. Sivad - two dolls - starting as individuals but becoming one. Two stars, reflected in the sky, but living on earth find that though they were born of the same blood, their lives are taking different paths - whirling like a planet, going their separate ways. One pursues her career, opens a business with her husband then finds the artist inside her is stifled. She leaves corporate America and finds satisfaction in her art. The other sister marries, embarks on a career, has children and indulges her artistic aspirations when she can. Life finds them drifting apart. Family illness brings them back together for a short while but grief expands the freshly healed bond yet again.

Two sisters - one the doll artist, the other the jewelry maker and designer - unknowingly search to renew a relationship which had been floating apart. One sister sees a reference to the contest while reading Beading Daily e-newsletter. She calls her artist sister and suggests this as the opportunity to collaborate on a project. An idea they'd discussed in the past but never followed through with. Already feeding off the strength of each other they decide that the two months left in the contest is more than enough time to accomplish their goal.

The Twist

This doll started as a collaborative effort between two sisters. It represents two distinct individual lives -- having grown so intertwined in youth that the bond continues through the years in spite of the space that's grown between them. The sisters meet to discuss the form and find they've each been dreaming of the stars and the universe. What a small world that Celestial Reflections is the theme of the contest. Almost simultaneously they choose to work with two dolls which become intertwined, separate but also one - reflecting each other, seeing in each other the bond that's always been there. Of course the body would be in realistic proportions except for the elongated arms -- arms which are longer because there is too much love to hold between the two for average arms to contain. The self-taught artist uses a common formula and chooses a size for the head, multiplying it 7.5 times for the body.

Elongated Arms

The sisters begin sharing memories of their childhood as they discuss the colors chosen for the project. Color choices based on the sky -- viewed through their father's telescope as it was when they once sat on the roof of their house -- later represented on television as viewed on the History Channel's Universe series. Night and day, sun and moon -- opposites -- yet both are crucial to the other. One sister is drawn to the oranges and reds, reminding her of lava flowing from volcanoes which creates new land with each eruption.

One Face

The other sister is drawn to the colors of the night sky and aurora borealis. It is almost unspoken who will work with which colors. The sisters go to their home studios with anticipation and excitement for the journey they are about to begin.

The Other Face

After a week the sisters reunite to share their tactile interpretations of the theme. Ironically, each sister had started on the torso -- where the heart resides. Two sisters who have so much history yet chose different techniques to illustrate the theme. They chose specific patterns to represent their interpretation of the universe -- peaks and valley, streams and deserts as well as the managed chaos of the solar system. They each found that the stitches, unique beads and free-form peyote evoked the textures and pallets of the planets. With much enthusiam they decide to switch dolls. How interesting that what began as comforting colors for each sister now serves as an inspiration to the other. The styles were so different it made each artist step out of the neat little box of their comfort zone.

Rings On The Fingers

Time passes and the sisters meet regularly to renew the fire the project had ignited. These two souls feed off the other's creativity, unintentionally building each other's self-esteem while sharing techniques used since their previous meetings. As the dolls neared completion the expressions seemed to mirror the thoughts of the sisters creating them. One had eyes wide open with renewed awareness of what had been missing and wonderment in being able to strengthen the bond that had weakened over the years. The other with head tilted back and eyes closed, basking in the euphoria that came with rediscovering the love that had been such a foundation in their childhood. The dolls held each other in embrace as if never to allow the other to slip away again.

Top-Down View

The two sisters revel in their history of incredible closeness and sharing. There were occasional collisions and bumps through asteroid fields but they were always there in one universe. Now they are reunited as they experience companionship and feelings of being able to tackle anything together.

Sivad, you are one with your sister again.

Frontal Image



Side 1 Image

Side 2 Image

Back Image

Detailed Image

Leap of Faith
(rotation)

List of Materials
and Techniques Employed

Dimensions:
15"x7"

Construction Techniques:
2 separate soft sculptured doll bodies with wire armature skeleton, muslin skin and fiberfill stuff.
Paper clay head and soft head features

Materials List:
Acrylic paint
various glass and crystal beads
- swarovski crystals
- charlotte seed
- seed beads sized 15 to 8
- Czech and pressed glass
- delicas
- metallic beads and charms

Techniques:
Beadweaving
- right angle
- peyote
stringing
couching
braiding
russian spiral
corkscrew

Teresa Hon and Connie Davis
from Platte City, Missouri

Doll named
Sivad
[Please be patient - These pages are graphics intensive and will load slowly]

After reviewing the Beaded Art Doll Images on this page, and reading the artist's stories, materials list, and summary of techniques,

VOTE & EVALUATE

See the overall Results


When voting closes 1/15/08, voting logs will be reviewed for any duplicate or otherwise illegitimate votes (for example, those from the same IP or email address), and these will be deleted. The on-line votes will be tallied and used to adjust the original votes of the Panel of Judges at CBJA, in the selection of a winner. The public's votes will weigh towards 25% of the final tally in selecting the Winner and Runner-Up.