Hi Y'all,
Wow it is the reveal date for the special February She Made/ She Made challenge. The four months since I stumbled upon these interesting clay faces has gone by so fast. So let me tell y'all where I stumbled onto these clay faces. Back in October of 2013 I went to the Kentuck Arts Festival in North Port, AL. I was walking around looking at all the wonderful booths of beautifully crafted items after visiting Bobbie's booth, when I saw these interesting clay sculptures done by Susan C Clayton. I was captivated by her sculptures and as I was looking at her work I saw a basket full of the little clay faces, pictured above, so I picked out two of the faces, paid for them, then ran back to Bobbie's booth and gave her one of the faces. She had a bewildered look on her face and I told her to hold onto the face I have an idea for a challenge. I then thought it would be more fun to invite more people to join in so I went back to Susan's booth and picked out several more faces. When I got home I took the above picture and emailed Christine and some more of my talented beady friends and asked if they would like to participate in a special February She Made/She Made. They all said that they would so I sent them each a face.
Now the task of making something with my face. I mulled over the possibilities for a few months and then the light bulb went off in January of an idea of doing a Jazz theme. A lot of things happened in my life in January and this month so I did not get the work on my project the way I would have liked. I started my project several times and each time I did not like the way it was going, or should I say my muse did not like the way it was going. I was wanting to go with muter shades and not so flashy colors, but my muse was not having it she is a Bling lover my muse is.
Before I show you what my muse allowed me to make with my face, let me tell you a little bit about my favorite form of musical entertainment Jazz.
Did you know that Jazz was born in the United States? It sprang from the roots of the Blues which was also born in the United States back in the 1800's by Southern Blacks to sing about the pain of lost love and injustice. Some famous Jazz performers are Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillispie, Wynton Marsails, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Miles Davis (my favorite), just to name a few. There is a wonderful film done for PBS by Ken Burns all about the history of Jazz you can see this through Hulu Plus.
Ok I am done stalling so here is what my muse allowed me to make with my clay face. I call her my Jazz/ Blues Torch singer Lulu Belle.
I apologize for the bad picture it was late last night when I finished her and I do not have my photo tent at my new house yet.
Thank you for stopping by and now please go and visit the other participants in this challenge.
Therese (you are here)
Happy beading Y'all,
Therese
Well, I made a start on my girl, but she's no where near finished. I love what I've seen so far, and I'll be sure to post when I get her done. Such a huge challenge she was! I adore your Bluesy girl, such a great idea!
ReplyDeleteOh, she is beautiful! I love the sparkle (me and your muse must adore the sparkles). She almost looks like a queen with the blue beads forming a crown.
ReplyDeleteNew house? I didn't know you were moving. . .how did I miss that? Are you still in Montgomery?
ReplyDeleteAnyway. . I love her! The bling is very cool and reminds me of Jazz in the 20s for some reason. We are lovers of Jazz here in my house too, my husband more than me (as he is a musician). The sparkle and crown you've given her makes her feel like a queen and gives her smile a twinkle of something like she has a secret. So cool! How do these faces made of mud carry so much emotion!? Susan is a fab artist for sure!
Oh, it seems this has been a challenge not only for me :) Love it! both as a challenge and what you created with your face (the clay face, of course :) ). I love Jazz too - and seldom find people who do (or even understand it), so glad you chose that theme (and yes, both William and I knew where jazz was born, our piano teacher loves jazz and she likes to teach the history of music too). I can't wait to see your pieces complete, I bet you'll have lots of fun wearing it!
ReplyDeleteThank you for inviting me along ~ I wasn't able to even start it (sorry, real life was crazy), but I will this weekend.
Therese~I laughed right out loud when I read your muse is a Bling lover :-) I am so glad she is!!! You really drew from your love of Jazz beautifully in designing this Lady Jazz, LuLu Belle. She really does look like someone in a Jazz Club just bringing the house down with her vocal range, and she only gets better with age. Gorgeous Lady~both You and Lulu.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the face and the opportunity to work with her.
I can hear her strong lovely voice from here. Adorable!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely lady, Therese! From her expression, I would guess she is more amused than troubled by life's many challenges: she can put on her headress and solve the world's problems with a song. Divine!
ReplyDeleteThose are cool sculptures by Susan Clayton - wow! Anything to do with Jazz and/or Blues in any form or fashion has definitely got my attention (Thanks for the heads up on the PBS Jazz show) and your Lulu Belle is the epitome of a Jazz singer if I ever saw one! How gorgeous is she?!! And, I love that you have a bling-lovin' muse! Made me smile!
ReplyDeleteI love Miss LuLu -- she looks like she's dolled up for Mardi Gras! I can just imagine her scatting along Bourbon Street (or Government Street in Mobile) during a parade. She is spectacular.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for letting me channel my inner Alabamian for a while!
Lulu sure looks like a jazz singer. Great job Therese.
ReplyDeleteThis is fantastic, Therese! She is a perfect jazz singer! I like the brighter colors especially since they seem to go with jazz! When I think jazz I think New Orleans, which is a bright and sparkly city!! Beautiful job!
ReplyDeleteTherese - so sorry I'm late to the party! Hopping around this morning. I adore what you've done to your face focal .... she does look like a jazz club singer who is just pausing before she belts out some gorgeous jazz ..... hmmmmm I do love jazz. Especially a little Ella or Louis. Your Lulu Belle is just beautiful - love her. Thank you so much for inviting me to play along this month! what fun to see how everyone brought their face to life!
ReplyDeleteLulu Belle looks like she's all set for Mardi Gras! Love this little pin. Really love the story of discovery that goes with her.
ReplyDeleteThese faces kind of give me the heebie-jeebies, but really - I love what you've done with this little guy. Those blue crystals are fantastic! You'll turn me yet!
ReplyDeleteThis also reminds me of the sun in the classic picture of the sun, moon and stars...but I can definately see where you were going with jazz. Nice work Therese ;)
ReplyDeleteAs soon as I saw your piece I thought Mardi Gras, even before I read that it was inspired by Jazz. Lulu Belle is such a lady! And what an amazing challenge - great idea Therese.
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