"All Falled Up" >>> Self Portrait Process

I made a lot of progress on my mannequin. This portion of the project moves a bit smother than when I was gluing sticks to the frame. I haven't burnt my hands as often anymore! And it is beginning to look a lot more like a dress made out of sticks, leaves, and of course womanly flowers, pearls, and ribbons.

The front of the mannequin. I really like how she looks with the girly items on her. Even though nature is beautiful to begin with, the girly items have made nature even more gorgeous to look at. The pearls on the right form a pocket as if it were a dress. And the sticks on the left form a pattern that a dress might have. And the top of it is covered with those same sticks. I loved the way they had the small flowers on them, so I wanted to use them somewhere again. The top looks similar to a corset now. Which originally, I was planning on a pure dress.

The back of the mannequin id not completely done. I still want to string ribbons throughout the leaves. But I love the middle of her. The lace and flowers added the perfect girly touch. Every day she becomes more adventurous but glamorous at the same time. These two personalties clash in myself. They combine to form the girl I am today. I love to be dressed up from head to toe, but once I am given the opportunity to get dirty or take a hike, I will, no matter what I am wearing. The mannequin is becoming more and more like myself. I am very glad I went through my thousands of ideas, to get to this one mannequin. And I still keep changing and evolving my plans as I make her. One thing I have also learned, is to NOT PLAN! I did not realize this short quote before, but my preplanning looks completely different than the real mannequin does this very second.

"Sticks and Bones Break Your Bones" >>> Self Portrait Process

I continued with my nature-girly mannequin. After gluing and tying things on without planing where they would originally end up, she looks amazing to me. I am trying to make the leaves and the girly decorations resemble a dress. There is kind of a pattern going on in the dress and on the mannequins body. The two sides on the bottom are similar but different at the same time.I have covered half of her body with just nature objects. Next, I will decorate the top of it with girly things. But I also came to a few issues along the way again. First off, I started getting horrible allergies while putting her together. There was pollen, sticks, and flowers all over my living room. And my leaves were all different sizes and shapes, but it adds to the woman, and the personality traits that are held within her. I also do not like this metal stand at all anymore. I made the frame of the mannequin slightly too small, and it is very difficult to remove her from the frame. So, I decided to make her a new stand, that she will be supported with all the time.

"Leave the Leafs" >>> Self Portrait Process

After changing my idea completely about the mannequin, I finally began with leaves. I tied two large leafs onto the front side of the mannequin with pink string. I have no idea what she is going to look like in the end. I am just kind of putting things on her as I go along. But I do still have in mind, the fact about the mannequin being transparent at the end of it. The transparency resembles myself as well. I am easy to see through to my real personality. And the mannequin will also be extremely fragile when it is completed. This also matches my personality, because I am very emotional and I get hurt by words, and even objects very easily and I break down all at once. As I make my mannequin, she becomes more and more related to my personality and to myself in general.