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  EL NINO  &  BARNACLE BELLE
These two pieces were part of the Pacific Shores series. The primary idea of both Barnacle Belle and El Nino was a combination of my love for the ocean, how much I enjoy watching for shapes and line and the whole idea of having an art piece with which you can "play" shifting the look of it in different settings. 
 

  
They sold for $1,500.00 and  $900.00.
  

 MATERIALS

  • Size: 15" tall El Nino; 13" tall Barnacle Belle

  • Face: needle sculpted Swiss pima cotton knit, hand painted 

  • Base: barnacles, blue coral

  • Accessories: aluminum rod,  sea shells, antique buttons, Mother-of-pearl beads

  • Hair: El Nino: Angora rabbit fur; Belle: hand dyed wool

  • Jointing:  waxen linen thread, buttons

  • Series: Pacific Shores  

 STORY

EL NINO:
One winter we were having all this rain in California and the weather man explained that it was due to an El Nino condition off our coastline. As I chose the colors for this piece of blue coral , it was a moody, stormy day. I realized I was responding to the weather and had created a figure that represented the downpours, the deluges, the fury of the storms. So I called him El Niņo. I had this angora fur shaved from a special rabbit who lives in a town near my studio. The day I finished him - in fact he was not even completely finished - a former customer of mine stopped by to see what was new and immediately purchased him. She calls him "Neptune."  

BARNACLE BELLE:
I took special embellishments lessons on my new Bernina sewing machine which inspired me to do some creative sewing. When I chose the fabrics for this piece, I decided to try out some of the new stitches I had learned. The result is Barnacle Belle.  Her body fabric is made from two pieces of fabric layered and embellished to resemble the texture and coloration of the barnacle on which she can be positioned. I studied fish eyes before I painted hers; I wanted her to be able to see both in and out of water as fish can.  She has a fin to provide her extra balance as she swims.