Ok, a million butterflies might be an exaggeration, but I have made a lot!

I have found that the only way to get good with new ideas is to simply make heaps of them. I think it goes for all sorts of art, and not just art. The key with doing anything well is boringly simple, practice, practice and then practice some more!

It’s a great way to troubleshoot ideas and refine them. I had things to consider with the butterflies, did I want legs? did I need wire for long feelers? what sort of wings would they have? how big? Sometimes it’s the making that decides these questions so I might need to explore a few options. The first ones were a bit clumsy as I worked through a few ideas and solved a few technical problems.

The key to getting good is to just make heaps!

I liked the idea of a magnet built into the body under the clay, so the magnet had to be strong enough to work through the clay layer and hold the weight but not so strong it damaged the butterfly.

After playing around with magnets in the supporting artwork and having difficulties with getting the polarities wrong (led to some very fussy butterflies not liking certain spots), I tried metal, and that worked but looked a bit untidy.

Handy hubby and it turns out, creative genius suggested flathead screws. Whoop Whoop, worked perfectly, and the screw will help it grip the clay and reduce the chances of pulling out.

I got my cast off my broken wrist yesterday, and things are looking good but still a bit stiff and weak, so I’ll be working smaller scale for a couple of weeks yet. That’s ok though, I feel I’ve got a bit to explore in this little divert.

I’ve a few different color combos to play around with yet. I hadn’t realized how comfortable I was getting with my usual colors so it’s good to mix it up a bit and branch into unknown territory. I’m quite enjoying making sparkly pretty things for a change, though I have discovered the heads of the butterflies are veering off into dog-shapes with big ears which just feels right to me. Clearly they are some sort of hybrids!

I’m not sure how I feel about making pretty things, most of my art has a bit of a sinister, weird or creepy edge to it, but I’ve always felt my art leads the way, and my job is the backup, making sure my head is clear, mind open and the materials and my skills are fit for task.

That’s the magic with artmaking, if you can keep your head out of it and follow where the art goes you will find yourself in some unexpected places.

Maybe this focus on ‘pretty’ is some sort of instinctive reaction to all the ugliness there seems to be in the world at the moment. Or just because……

The ‘bat tree’ that I built for hanging my bats off, but was too slender for the job, that was then going to have a Taniwha curled around it is now a butterfly tree (sorry bats and unmade Taniwha!) I found it had the perfect elegance for hanging butterflies off, so added some wire circles so the magnets could stick. Looks like I’m going to need more trees.

I didn’t realize how much I would enjoy playing around with decorating these things, so it’ll be interesting when I get back into making figurines what will carry over from this interlude, I already have a vision of a white horse/deer/cat with an elaborate ornate saddle encrusted with beads and sparkles.

The possibilities are endless!

A million butterflies

Butterflies