Julia Mira
  • Home
  • Forest
  • Derelict Vehicles
  • People
  • Chickens, Fish, Etc.
  • Outliers
  • Drums
  • Artifacts
  • About & CV
  • Contact
  • Blog

Baba Yaga's Moths

3/7/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
I trimmed and glued the feed-sack forest painting into the lid of Baba Yaga's suitcase. What to do for the box itself? I thought of forest debris, but the Grandmother carries that with her as a matter of course and does not need to deliberately glue it into her luggage. I rummaged around amongst the canvases that I don't think will sell, and found this nude, of a mother and dancer. I don't remember why I painted moths on her but seeing them now, it became clear that Baba Yaga, with her skulls and iron teeth and now the wool robe I knit her would obviously have moths. Obviously.

Picture
Yesterday I poked around online looking for origami moths to fold. I ended up with a design by Michael Fosse, and kept folding and folding all evening. The paper was from a rather distasteful book that I got from the free shelf at the Post Office.  It will do better remade into moths than read.

This morning I used Damar varnish, which is a tree-based resin that yellows with age, to metamorphose the moths into a more permanent part of Baba Yaga's entourage. After painting the wings I sprinkled fish-scale pigment onto them. I am not sure what the next step is, but I do know that I have to keep moving the moths as they dry so they don't stick to the paper underneath. 

Picture
Taxes loom. My friend and accountant Jill visited in the middle of this and I persuaded her to model Baba Yaga's robe. 

In the next few weeks before the show, I think I need to stop having new ideas about this project and simply consolidate and polish what exists. 

If I happen to have an idea from now on it, it will have to go into one of the other moldy rescue suitcases. Mother Holle, the German weather witch, might  get her own luggage, or Daskiya, the Northwest Indian basket ogre. 

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

      

      

    Archives

    September 2022
    July 2021
    July 2020
    April 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    December 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    February 2016
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    August 2011
    April 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010

    Categories

    All
    Apple
    Biocities
    Buoys
    Calligraphy
    Curating
    Cyanotype
    Driftwood
    Drum
    Edinburgh
    Florence
    Forest
    Framing
    Hanko
    Illuminated Manuscript
    Japan
    Kimono
    Kos
    Kyoto
    Leeds
    Madrona
    Manhole
    Mind
    Mixed Media
    Museum
    Nature
    Oil Painting
    Painting
    Plants
    Pottery
    Reflections
    School
    Sea Life
    Sendai
    Shoyu
    St Andrew
    St Andrews
    Studio Shot
    Taiko
    Tea Ceremony
    Technology
    Temple
    Tokyo
    Vancouver
    Venice
    Watercolor

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly