I started making these torsos as wall-art. I give each one a personality, charm, and name of their own. This particular torso is unnamed because jewelry makers are catching on to how wonderful these are as jewelry/necklace displays. She is a pure white cotton with an addition of flower petals at her base. These are very light-weight and easy to hang. They are varnished to make them water-resistant. I actually have had one on my bathroom wall for quite some time holding all my long chains and necklaces that get knotted up if I lay them down.
One may think that because these lovely ladies are made of paper that they must be fragile. This is just not the case. The cotton fiber is molded thickly and is much stronger than commercially made, wood pulp. Keep in mind she has also been varnished for added strength and durability.
This torso, named appropriately "Autumn", is covered in authentic Ohio fall leaves. I love how some of the organic materials I put into the pulp bleed out as the piece dries. Sometimes it's hard to tell how a piece will look until it is completely dry. I love the unexpectedness that creating art can sometimes bring.
Reese is definitely a lady of passion and intensity. She locks her love away safely and owns the key. She won't take lightly to a broken heart. So if you can't love her, don't take her home. If you are pining for her affection, perhaps you can steal away with her key. I am sure if you let her into yours home she will let you into her heart.
Shiva is a great warrior, not to be trifled with. She is my version of the female form of the God Shiva the destroyer, she is responsible for change and transformation through death and destruction in a physical sense, but also of the ego. She envelops the positive and the negative.
This is an untitled piece done a few years ago before I started naming my torsos. I think she is awfully pretty. She was molded with multi-colored pulps and left to dry. Then she was spray painted and gold leafed. I think I should do another gold leafed piece and call her "Alchemy". I like it!
