Monday, March 12, 2012

St Blaize's Brigit Doll


St Blaize is an inspired craftswoman and photographer with a lovely Flickr series featuring her Brigit Doll. Her comments under each photo are worth reading, as well. Here is a sample, but do go have a look at the whole set:
St. Brigid in her Spring Cloak

The greens represent the dark evergreen colors at the top, contrasted with the new bright growth of spring.

Materials include: Willow branch, manzanita branches, pearly everlasting flowers, and dry chaparral grasses and flowers. Her head is stuffed with the lichen usnea.

Techniques include: stuffing, tying, machine applique, and machine piecing.

This is an interpretation of a traditional "corn dolly", using materials from the local chapparal ecosystem of the Central Coast of California. The willow branch is from a riverbed, part of the watershed of the Monterey Bay.

St. Brigid's Day is celebrated on the first or second of February in Ireland, and coincides with Imbolc, one of the four seasonal celebrations of the Gaelic calendar.




4 comments:

Blaize said...

It was my friend Sylvia's inspiration, and we made the corn dolly together.

Bridgit's Bell said...

I love it!

Mael Brigde said...

Wow--Karen Traversy has some wonderful dolls on her own site. Check out Bridgit's Bell:

"Needle Arts and Mixed Media
I am putting my toe in the waters of creative expression, so to speak. After teaching full time for many years I want to experience freedom of time, space and place. This blog is a place to share what I am doing. Check Etsy, Facebook, and Tumblr under Bridgit's Bell for more."

http://bridgitsbell.blogspot.com/2012/03/favorite-artcraft-books-and-magazines.html

Mael Brigde said...

I was surprised a few days ago to receive a huge box at the post office, which contained St Blaize and Sylvia’s brideóg, to help deal with my illness. I am deeply grateful to you for this gift.