Julie Rodgers from Gallup, New Mexico 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 Life [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.

Life

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 ....

Life.

Those colors, that movement, those entities in space, in the universe, are LIFE. It is constantly evolving, dancing, spinning, breathing, shooting, and playing. Within this seemingly non-ending movement is a delicate relationship between balance and chaos. That relationship nurtures life, including all life on earth. It is a beautiful and playful dance that constantly amazes me, us, and makes for dreams and wondrous visions.

Balance/Chaos

Most of us look up and out at the universe, envisioning it as something that is separate from us but there is no boundary between that universe of spinning, dancing patterns and our own existence. But when we stop and really look, we see that our essential make-up is nothing more than one small part of that vast universe of life. And because of this we are all dancing stars in the shirling entity of space. I am lucky enough to live where one can see the night sky in all its brilliance, without the interference of street lights. When I remember to look up it amazes me and makes me feel part of that powerfully intricate and wondrous Life. And Life is my rendition of all I know, and dream, is out there where I cannot see.

This doll, Life, is also symbolic of me, and us, as he/she/we stand(s) content and happy, seemingly still, but filled with incalculable movement. Life also has many layers and textures and colors and elements that constantly offer the viewer something new to see, like the universe. The universe, the stars, when we look up, seem still and content, but they are constantly in motion, as are we.

Personally, too often I find myself too bogged down in the seriousness of life and it seems the only time I actually PLAY is through art. Life reminds me that I must play more often, but at the same time be quietly content with the chaos that is part of life. All of the colors were play, all of the shapes and textures offered opportunities to play. I can't say that it was a smooth ride, for even in play we skin our knees, but Life offered a chance to dance and play while representing the universe and all we envision in that space that is part of us. For me this piece began to represent life in the act of playing; dancing and proud to be a star in a universe that is ever-changing, full of surprises, and playful. Life is a reminder and re-awakener.

In terms of the design details, I worked with, and evolved, a design that is somewhat chaotic, but at the same time intricately balanced. This was not necessarily my original intention, as the doll began with only the star foundation in mind. Most of all the work I do begins as an idea and becomes something on its own. So as the doll stumbled and flowed into existence it became clear that she needed to be balanced, as well as tumultuous and unpredictable. And when her balance was finally found she became her own entity.

Star Shape

My star shape served as the foundation of that balance, standing precariously on one foot. The shape was the beginning and from there I played and fell, flew and dropped, as Life directed me where to go. Life has a sense of organized design on her outer limbs, through peyote work which has tiny sterling silver beads within that emulate the stars in a dark sky, slowly becoming invisible as the sky lightens in the morning. As the design moves towards the center the chaos becomes more evident, but yet it is still contained and working in similar directions through wire I have beaded, connected, and twisted into various directions. This chaos in the center is kept contained, around ankles, wrists and the center yellow section, by freeform beading I envisioned as nebulas, meteors, pieces of space which is comprised of seed beads, Carnelian beads and freshwater pearls. Under the chaos of yellow and larger beads, around her torso, are imbedded pieces of mirrors that can be seen if one looks closely. The body underneath it all has been painted with a dark blue paint and genesis powders. I love to work with as many different shapes, sizes, colors, and textures as I possibly can and in Life I was able to do this.

Torso Detail

Face

The face represents a star, including the sun. I hand sculpted her from polymer and worked to create a sense of strength, play, and happiness in her expression. On the surface of the entire piece are scattered freeform clouds that represent the first thing we, as humans, see when looking into the skies. She has fringe work here and there. The fringe work offers up the colors and textures, as well as the movement when the figure is moved, and it also serves as the only real elements that address gravity as they hang straight down. They also remind me of falling stars. And lastly, there are of course the rings, like the rings of Saturn, that are found around her arms and her waist. While clearly representing the rings of Saturn, they also represent the constant spinning motion of the universe and the planets and stars. And, at the top of her head shoot out stars, comets, and again, movement. My 6 year old said they are fireworks!

Clouds

Fringe

Through all this I would like to hope that I have created something that, for others, is not static, something that seems to dance and is filled with life, movement, color, balance, chaos, and play. I would also like to hope that a viewer is constantly finding something new and fun every time they look within Life. Perhaps they will see a part of themselves.

Frontal Image


Side Image

Back Image

Detailed Image

Leap of Faith
(rotation)

List of Materials
and Techniques Employed

Dimensions:
Life measures approximately 12 inches, excluding her shooting stars from her head (15 inches including those shooting stars). With the base, to the top of the shooting stars, she measures approximately 18 inches. She is 5 1/2" deep, 11" wide.

Construction Techniques:
The foundation of the piece was sculpted from polymer clay, except the hands and feet which are epoxie. The piece was sculpted onto a very strong wire form that extends out her foot into the base. Her moon base has a heavy rock at the base, then is covered in epoxie and polymer clay, with texturing to represent the surface of the moon. She also has three poles, with beadwork, that help support her, something I felt necessary to ensure shipping safety if she were to be mailed anywhere.

Materials List:
There are many different beads in this work, and I could not likely list, or remember, all of them as I tend to just pick, grab, and bead:
seed beads sizes 10 and 11 (translucent and opaque)
delicas sized 10 and 11 (translucent and opaque)
sterling silver beads (not even sized! very tiny holes!)
miracle beads
bugle beads, silver and blue
glass vintage beads passed on to me
fresh water pearls
numerous sizes, colors, shapes, of glass beads
coral (spiny oyster)
charms
sterling sivler separater beads for rings
Czech beads
Glass faceted beads
Carnelian beads
wire and memory wire (memory wire used for shooting stars and rings)
jump rings

Techniques:
Stitches used were branchwoork, fringe, peyote, forms of couching, circular peyote, along with a lot of freeform stitching.

Julie Rodgers
from Gallup, New Mexico

Doll named
Life
[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.