However, I haven't been completely idle.
Seeing as I have quite a lot planned I decided to make the dealbh Bride (an icon of Bríd, made to represent her so that she can be invited in on the eve of celebrations, to bless the household) in advance - partly because of timing constraints (especially with the kids), and partly because I'm not the craftiest person, so if I mess the first attempt up, I can have another go...
I'm fairly happy with my first attempt, so I'm sticking with it (it took me bloody long enough, at any rate). Last year I made it out of raffia, which was the closest I could get to a sheaf of wheat or oats (what they were usually made of) - it was a natural substance at least - and I kept it fairly plain and simple as my first ever effort. This year I couldn't even find any raffia in a price range I could afford, let alone corn, so I had to opt for pipe cleaners. Hardly authentic, but thoroughly modern and in some ways more appropriate to my own circumstances. Tom was impressed, anyway, and he had fun with the leftovers. I was planning on burning the dealbh Bride from last year, but instead it seems more appropriate (and practical, given the wet weather) to bury it at the roots of the rowan I want to plant.
The pipecleaners were easier to work with than the raffia, so I got a bit more ambitious in terms of decoration. Unfortunately, all I could get at the time were glittery ones, which has resulted in my efforts looking more like an angel for the top of the Christmas tree, but ho hum. I'm just pleased that I've ended up with something that's vaguely doll-like. I've since found more local places to get plain ones from if I need to next year, so while I may not end up with an abundance of corn in the coming year, pipe cleaners shouldn't be a problem...
But without further ado, here's my somewhat humble effort:
Seeing as I have quite a lot planned I decided to make the dealbh Bride (an icon of Bríd, made to represent her so that she can be invited in on the eve of celebrations, to bless the household) in advance - partly because of timing constraints (especially with the kids), and partly because I'm not the craftiest person, so if I mess the first attempt up, I can have another go...
I'm fairly happy with my first attempt, so I'm sticking with it (it took me bloody long enough, at any rate). Last year I made it out of raffia, which was the closest I could get to a sheaf of wheat or oats (what they were usually made of) - it was a natural substance at least - and I kept it fairly plain and simple as my first ever effort. This year I couldn't even find any raffia in a price range I could afford, let alone corn, so I had to opt for pipe cleaners. Hardly authentic, but thoroughly modern and in some ways more appropriate to my own circumstances. Tom was impressed, anyway, and he had fun with the leftovers. I was planning on burning the dealbh Bride from last year, but instead it seems more appropriate (and practical, given the wet weather) to bury it at the roots of the rowan I want to plant.
The pipecleaners were easier to work with than the raffia, so I got a bit more ambitious in terms of decoration. Unfortunately, all I could get at the time were glittery ones, which has resulted in my efforts looking more like an angel for the top of the Christmas tree, but ho hum. I'm just pleased that I've ended up with something that's vaguely doll-like. I've since found more local places to get plain ones from if I need to next year, so while I may not end up with an abundance of corn in the coming year, pipe cleaners shouldn't be a problem...
But without further ado, here's my somewhat humble effort:
I just bunched the pipe cleaners together, using some to wrap around each other into a ball for the head, and one tied lengthways to make the arms, which I then twisted round to give a little bulk and substance to them. If I'd used corn, then I could have done the same, using the ears of the corn for the head instead of having to make a ball, I think.
For decoration, I took inspiration from Martin Martin's description of an icon he saw made on Colonsay: "The mistress and servants of each family take a sheaf of oats and dress it up in women’s apparel..." (Which can be found here, but no page numbers are given, sorry). I also added a good measure of Alexander Carmichael's description, using shell-shaped beads to dangle off her belt (most of them ended up round the back, so you can't see them in the picture). The shells seemed to be particularly appropriate for our new location, and I've thought about collecting a little seaweed to use for bedding when I make a bed for her. I think I'll probably also pick some dandelions to hang from her belt as well, now that they've come out.
I used red tissue paper for her dress, with a blue belt - both protective colours, which seemed appropriate. Her underskirts are white and orange, to add a little fieryness (and body). I glued the stars and moons on in spirals, which haven't come out too well, so I used glitter glue from Tom's art supplies to carry the spirals above her belt as well.
Hopefully I'll be celebrating sometime next week, so we'll so how well my efforts are received...
For decoration, I took inspiration from Martin Martin's description of an icon he saw made on Colonsay: "The mistress and servants of each family take a sheaf of oats and dress it up in women’s apparel..." (Which can be found here, but no page numbers are given, sorry). I also added a good measure of Alexander Carmichael's description, using shell-shaped beads to dangle off her belt (most of them ended up round the back, so you can't see them in the picture). The shells seemed to be particularly appropriate for our new location, and I've thought about collecting a little seaweed to use for bedding when I make a bed for her. I think I'll probably also pick some dandelions to hang from her belt as well, now that they've come out.
I used red tissue paper for her dress, with a blue belt - both protective colours, which seemed appropriate. Her underskirts are white and orange, to add a little fieryness (and body). I glued the stars and moons on in spirals, which haven't come out too well, so I used glitter glue from Tom's art supplies to carry the spirals above her belt as well.
Hopefully I'll be celebrating sometime next week, so we'll so how well my efforts are received...
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