The Art of the Dress, Part One

Tags

BJD, bunny, clothes, doll, doll clothes, dollmaking, fashion, historical, Italy, poppies, serti, sewing, silk, silk painting, vintage

I had a very hard time deciding on Aria’s outfit, mostly because there are so many historical periods and themes to choose from.  Finding the right fabric was a challenging (but fun) scavenger hunt, and the nice thing about dressing a tiny doll is that you don’t have to spend a lot for nice material.  I also got to use the trims and lace I’d been given from my friends in the miniatures clubs.  (Bonus points if you know the origin of the post’s title.)

Since I knew Aria was going to be wearing pearls, her attire had to have some elegance.  At the same time I wanted a shorter dress and cute sandals, which pushed her fashion clock forward into the 20 century, likely after 1950.

Regardless of the time period, I was happy to finally be making the child some underwear, because as Aria got hair and details and grew closer to being finished, in my mind she was transitioning from nude to naked (or nekkid, if you’re from the South).  After trying to make “normal” underwear and realizing it was going to be a big pain in the you-know-what, I made some bloomers, which were still popular into the 1960’s.  They were simpler and allowed for freer movement of the hip joints.  My second try was way to big, but the third time was the charm and I had her in a pair of (rather tight) silk undies.

Underwear Mark II (aka yoga pants, with Aria practicing her balance)

Underwear Mark III (aka silk Spanx)

Aria is an Italian name, and I wanted her to look like she just stepped off a Vespa in 1960’s Florence.  Since I have been dabbling in serti silk painting, I came up with a cheerful design for the skirt that would be the base for the rest of the outfit.

Here’s a montage of the painting process, where the silk was stretched on a 5×7 picture frame I had lying around.  The resist is allowed to dry and then the magic happens.  A wash and a press and you’re ready for the runway.  Tuscany is famous for its fields of poppies, and including the colors of the Italian flag was an unintentional coincidence.  Bunnies just look good anywhere, and I have always loved Japanese indigo fabric, particularly the ones with rabbits (the Rabbit in the Moon, the White rabbit of Inaba who jumps over the waves, etc.).

Next time, the “completed” outfit!

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Gemstone of the Week: Star Diopside

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asterism, black, cabochon, diopside, gemstone, healing, India, light, star, star diopside, tears, volcano

Star diopside cabochons.  Imaged used with permission by Blue Turtles: http://www.blueturtles.com.au/fact-files/black-star/

I had planned to do aventurine today because it resembles amazonite and it seems I can’t get enough of the green stones (I checked and they are 25% of my Gemstone of the Week posts).  Yet I woke up this morning and was in a star diopside kind of mood.

Diopside gets its name from the Greek word di meaning two, and opsis, meaning vision, thought to be from how the crystals tend to form in pairs or the appearance of prisms inside the stones.  My first thought about star diopside was whether she was kin to chrome diopside (a green stone, of course) and indeed she is a relation.  Diopsides are the children of volcanoes, and as lava cools, crystals of diopside (CaMG(Si2O6)) take shape.  In special cases, magnetite is also present, and forms microscopic needles inside the diopside crystals.  These needles align themselves in parallel, and we see them as a four-pointed star reflected in strong light.  The circumstances needed to produce star diopside are unique, and India is home to the vast majority of the material.

On the metaphysical side of things, star diopside is supposed to be very calming.  It is called the “crying stone” because it is said to bring out the tears a person needs to heal.  Think of her as a grandmother giving you a hug and an attentive ear over a cup of tea when you’ve had a bad day.  And just as you would treat your grandmother gently, star diopside can lose its shine quickly when worn frequently.  Star diopside is also the gem of academics, particularly those in the mathematics and sciences.  Perhaps that was why I thought of this stone after going to bed and waking up worrying about all of the public health homework I had to do today.

Gemstone of the Week: Amazonite

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Amazon, amazonite, ancient, Assyria, bead, Belus, blue green, Brazil, carving, Egypt, gemstone, India, pastel, prehistory, Russia, teal

Colorado amazonite with smoky quartz.  Photo by Thomas Spann at  http://www.mineralmasterpiece.com/OldCC/Amazonite_6_5_09.htm

Amazonite is a stone I have wanted to try in a jewelry piece for some time because despite its economical price, it can look very beautiful when given its due.  (Plus, the name gets more fun to say the more you say it.)

It is a blue-green variety of feldspar, with the chemical formula KAlSi3O8.  The source of amazonite’s pastel color has puzzled geologists for many years, and now they believe it to be from trace amounts of lead (or iron, depending on who you talk to).  The best amazonites have a fine grain and a little translucency, and at 6 Mohs, they can stand up to some wear.  Most amazonite used to be mined in Russia, India, and Brazil, but with the discovery of high quality stones in Colorado, the US is now a major player in the market.

2,000 year old amazonite beads from Mali.  Item for sale at http://beadparadise.com/item/Ancient-Amazonite-Beads-Tiny/1706

Amazonite is named for the Amazon River, though the green stones historically found there may have been something altogether different.  The material was used frequently for ornamentation across the ancient world, and even traded across civilizations.  Parts of the Egyptian Book of the Dead have been found carved into slabs of amazonite.  It was also a favorite stone of the ancient Assyrian king/god Belus, founder of Babylon.

Amazonite is said to promote courage and level-headed decisions.  When worn around the neck it is intended to prompt truthful, compassionate speech, and hiding an amazonite in a child’s bedroom is said to impel tidiness.