Chica bonita
As the deadline approaches for Re-Covering, work has begun on creating a cloth envelope to contain the rectangle of wood provided by the Untitled Gallery, itself cut from the furniture of a defunct library. I'm assuming that most other contributors will be working directly upon this, but we wanted to fetishise and play with the notion of an object-icon imbued with power and mystery. With this in mind, the calico sleeve is similar in look and texture to grave wrappings, a viewing and touch point exposed to reveal the wood beneath. This came about because when we received the block it had been previously damaged or knocked, but which had the adverse effect of making the area in question more fascinating and tactile than if blandly uniform and squared-off.
Here you can see the area in question, which will form the side of the Un-Orthodox icon of our unholy nun, functioning like a window upon a casket of bone or scrap of withered flesh. The intention is that anyone handling the piece will want to rub the exposed and uneven wood; perhaps for luck, desire or to channel forbidden powers. The fabrics alongside are coloured suede - the purple will form part of Dona Rosalida's crest upon the rear, that of a split pomegranate decorated with hand-beaded seeds, while the blue will become a swirling backdrop of Musc de Madelaine, a vapourous aphrodisiac and source of her power. Mandy and I also intend to add a care instructions label, 'All bedding is property of The Well of Light Brotherhood', as if the elderly residents of the nursing home in the novel had cannibalised a bed sheet in making the piece.
Here you can see Mandy's Ferrari of a computerized sewing machine with multiple needles, working on creating the spine title stitched direct to leather, later trimmed to form part of the wider patchwork entirety. As for the cover portrait itself, although nesting dolls and religious art remain an influence, we've decided to lean more heavily toward souvenir Spanish flamenco dolls as they possess that same, dark-browed passion and exaggerated features (the swan neck and missing ribs) we want to incorporate. Still toying with the facial features, one idea right now is to incorporate fake eyelashes, albeit snipped to fit, particularly for the one winking, leering eye. We wouldn't want anyone to think this was a genuine Saint, oh no, that would never do.
Electrostitch
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4