JULIE RODGERS
from Thoreau, New Mexico
Season of Autumn
Doll named Beatha
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Land of Odds, Be Dazzled Beads,
The Center for Beadwork & Jewelry Arts, and
The Open Window Gallery present…

2004 First Annual
ALL DOLLED UP:
BEADED ART DOLL COMPETITION
Theme: The Five Seasons

Go VOTE for your favorite Beaded Art Doll
Return to the web-page displaying all 6 semi-finalists

Frontal Image

Beatha

I explore my beadwork with my fingers and all my senses. I feel my doll's creative aura -- "One hundred years from now, " I say, "when someone picks you up and holds you, they, too, will be at one with the Season of Autumn, as personified by Beatha whose name is Gaelic for life. Autumn is a very powerful time of change as things reach their peek of growth and and the world moves towards the dark days of winter. It is a time of harvesting as well as time of freeze. It is also a time in a person's life when they begin to truly evaluate all that has taken place in their life thus far. We think of the people we have known, the choices we have made, and the harvests we have reaped. For all life it is a time when the most lush and wonderous of things begin to take on a more aged appearance, yet a richer appearance as well.

When I first imagined who Beatha would be, I believed it would be a piece about life. Her face stated the whole design. Half of her face is aged and wrinkled.

Her Young Face

Her Old Face

Beatha, a woman, has a youthful, full blossoming side, which is firm and smooth. Her other side has aged, and sags, but she has gained the rich depth of color and wisdom. At her center is her uterus represented by a sculpted triangular bead, primitive in design, yet subtle. It reminds me of a timeless, all inclusive, fetus that could be any creature, ancient or modern.

Her Uterus

All of the molded face beads are my originals. They present images of people in my life. The largest face, and fragmented face on the right leg, is another inspirational piece for this work. The face is made from a mold that I sculpted of my brother's face as he lay dying a year ago. It is the first time I have used this sculpt of his face, and felt he was truly part of my own journey as I explore my own understanding of autumn. For me it is rich with remembering loved ones who have helped me grow to a new level of harvest. Throughout the figure I have also placed my hand made polymer leaf beads.

Her Brother's Face and Another Face

Hand-Made Polymer Leaf Beads

Beatha possesses many colors that many people will not necessarily always associate with autumn. The rich gray of a cloudy sky and the white of a new frost. But autumn ranges from the beginning of the season with harvesting (represented by the bright red bead where her overy would be) to the frost and the freeze, symbolized the amount of gray in the doll and the crystal colored white beads in her hair. The composition of her body under the beads has also been constructed with the thought of growth and change and life, elements which are a part of autumn. Her body is made from silk, with the cocoons of worms indicating preparation for sleep like hibernation, and the body has been stuffed with different types of raw sheep's wool, another preparation for winter.

The actual process of beading was very much an ongoing process. I have learned that no matter how much I envision a finished product, they will always take on a life of their own and in the end will be separate from me and be nothing like I had originally planned. She grew and developed and changed everytime I picked her up. Most of her beading is freeform with couching. She also possesses a great deal of peyote work. Essentially, I let her grow and develop on her own and I tried to listen, much like listening to the leaves rustling in the trees. In the end she chose to hang from her stand much like a child playing in a tree when the autumn days are here, and also much like a leaf herself, swinging and flying with the changes.

She is a playful sculpt and it is my desire that she be placed with and held and draped in many ways, on or off her stand. I also think that she brings a sense of playfulness to those who interact with her. Hopefully they will understand that autumn is clearly a time of change but not a time to be feared, whether that fear comes from fearing the dark of winter as our primitive ancestors did, or from a fear of growing older in a society that seems to insist only the young are beautiful. Beatha does not fear such change. She embraces life: "herself."

Side Image

Back Image

Detailed Image

Beatha
(rotation)

List of Materials and Techniques Employed

The Form:
Raw sheep's wool
Silk gauze hand sewn into a doll form and then stuffed with the raw sheeps wool.

The Materials and Techniques
Various sizes and colors of glass seed beads
Various other glass and other beads of different shapes and sizes
Handmade polymer leaf beads (made by me using a cookie cutter device I made)
Various polymer face beads (made from molds of some of my original face sculpts)
Face and hands are one of a kind sculpted polymer beads
Face is a one of a kind polymer bead sculpture
Wooden beads
The techniques used were primarily free form and stringing, with couching throughout
There is also a great deal of peyote stitching as well
The stand is a metal stand that I have covered with hand dyed cheesecloth and then covered with grave vine wrapped wire. She can hang from the top or taken off and put in a variety of positions.

Measurements:
Beatha, the doll, measures 9 1/2 inches tall from her feet to the top of her head, approximately 3 inches wide, and approximately 2 inches deep. The stand measures approximately 12 inches high and the circular base is 6 inches in diameter. The whole piece (with doll hanging from the top) fits within the 6 inch diameter.