Hi everyone. It's been a while. I mentioned earlier that I've taken a couple of commissions. I felt the need to get those underway before proceeding with my butterfly. I have finished the sculpting on this project and so it was a good place to take a break. Below are the final steps in the sculpting. Like I do with many of my paper mache projects, I wanted some horizontal breast plates. I started at the end of the bifurcated tail. I folded little pieces of cloth and laid them one over the other. I worked my way up the tail...
... up the stomach and over the entire torso. I ended under her chin.
So this is where I had a revelation. She is supposed to be somewhat older, and craggy. Yet when I looked at her I realized that while her skin was older and wrinkled, her breasts looked like those of a 20 year old. I inadvertently constructed her like a high school boy would. So she needed a breast reduction. I wrestled with whether I should show this or not. In the end I decided that I wanted to show the entire process. I want people to see my equivocation. I must say, cutting off her breasts was hard for me. I worked really hard on them. I think I spent two days making them.
So here is my breastless butterfly.
No paper mache here. I just used wadded paper and masking tape to reconstruct the breasts. These are much more in line with what I wanted. They are smaller and it looks like she has some muscle.
I added new plates. I know it doesn't look that different in this photo. But in person this change made a big difference.
Next time...Painting. Thank you for stopping by!