Moth Story

It's interesting how some elements of this project have fallen into place relatively easily, while others falter and stall. I've stopped stressing about it ... and arrived at a mindset of  "it will either come or it won't, or it might at some later time". Possibly because I have relaxed, my attempts to construct the ghosts of moths produced a happy accident, due in large part to a perceptive and supportive person I met recently sending me exactly what I needed.

The first moth... 20cm long, and I was pleased with it for a day or two; mostly for the fact of having made it. When the perceptive person said she thought it was too 'solid' to be ghostly it confirmed my own feelings. Much mulling followed.... A week later a generous amount of teabag paper arrived in the post and after mentally searching the house for a suitable former, I came up with this...

Wrapping fine wire around the kaleidoscope produced a thin, fragile and unstable 'skeleton'...

...which I covered with pasted teabag paper, first of all - with great difficulty -  placing narrow strips on the inside. The paper stuck to my fingers more than it did to itself and the whole time the flimsy construction was in imminent danger of falling apart.

Looks a bit slimy and disgusting ... but when it had dried I loved the haphazard quality of it as well as the translucence. The wings that had taken quite some time to stitch were attacked with scissors, vigorously crumpled...

..... and this time I am truly happy with the result. This moth ghost made itself; although the initial mental vision of it was misty and undefined there was an "oh, yes!" moment of recognition when it was finished.

The shape reminds me of an empty pupa case, but the wings suggest an additional layer of emergence and leaving.

The plan is to make a number of these and I have a misty, undefined mental image of the completed piece, but am totally open to what form emerges.Posted by krystyna at 14:14 Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest