Experimenting

A large specimen!

I have long admired the free-style embroidery people are doing with their sewing machines and I've been wanting to try it.  Then the MiMBY Husband came home with some lovely scraps of MacKenzie-Childs fabrics and I thought "butterfly."  Of course, THAT was several months ago. 

Then I was wondering around that Place of Lost Hours and found people making really cool fabric bugs.  That was a few months later. 

Irohandbags  

How stunning is that??  From Iro Fiber Art.   Then, there is this Mr. Finch dude from the UK.

Mr. Finch

He likes moths.  And fungus.  I like moths and fungus, but I never thought about actually making some.  

Now that I've reexamined these influential creators, I'm feeling like my butterfly is a little ho-hum.  I tried not to look too closely at what they were doing, and isn't that in evidence.  I wanted my butterfly to be my own creation, and that it is in it's very flat two dimensional state.  I did enjoy needle felting the body and I can see all kinds of fun to be had in that regard.

But study those influences closely - there is painting going on!  Drawing with thread!  Sculpting!  I am in awe.  I am going to try to copy.  I am going to hang my butterfly in the MiMBY Girl's room because she loves it, and I am going to do what art students have done for generations and copy the masters.  And then I'll make some more bags because I'm actually good at that.