These are the babies, now deemed moth creatures, since the fuzziness resembles moths more than butterflies but also aren't moths.
A lot went into making these seemingly little creatures, including literal blood and back pain from hours of bending over stabbing needles into their bodies. I first started with brown wool and built the body of a more realistic looking butterfly. It looked like a fuzzy turd and honestly, wasn't very creative. Good thing I lost it! I was stressed at first but quickly realized that losing it was for the best. I took out my white wool and started again. Wire was an issue here, and still is in a way, because of how thin it is and its tendency to slip around in the felt bodies. I cut all the wire that I used to make legs out of the bodies and coiled it, per my teacher's advice, so that the wool fibers would interlock and hopefully prevent slipping. The legs are sturdier now but, now with the wings, they have difficulty holding up the weight of the butterfly. I may reinforce the legs some, but really these creatures are intended to become pins, so they don't really need to stand (though I'd like them to anyways). I'd like to hand make and stylize the actual pin portion myself with colored wire, it'll be more cohesive this way. I'll also be more proud of myself.
I am pretty proud of myself though, considering all that was happening during the creation process. I really pushed myself, stabbing my creatures thousands of times, sometimes stabbing myself as well. They followed me from class to class, and my teachers all made sure to ask why I had "insects" on my desk. Yes, they all referred to them as insects, which means that my project is understandable on the surface level even without the wings. What started as something intended to be more clean structurally, with wire framing the wings and butterflies based on realism, I let loose and created something unique to me. I intended to reflect different aspects of myself and how I'm perceived through my insect friends, and I believe the fluffy, colorful end result does this in a much better way than a weird brown turd with wings. Now that I have a glittery fiber that resembles the wings of the albino moth-creature, I can add accents and push the craziness further.
I took more and more inspiration from other artists as the project went on, abandoning realism and becoming more expressive color wise and texture wise. I fluffed up the wings with cotton stuffing and added colorful accents resembling the colors used in work by Julia Benz. Her work is abstract and super bright, but the compositions are always sound. Nothing feels too heavy on any side and it's clear that her work is expressive with a purpose. They are also highly emotionally charged without being direct. I included accents of certain colors on my critters to resemble my personality but also emotions. One butterfly represents perceptions of me, with a dark underside resembling darker emotions and insecurities, while the other represents a blank slate in which I can be myself.
I also recently found an artists that once again inspired me to go back into my painting from previously in my series and add some serious detail into it. I started to felt and embroider into the painting to connect the 2D and 3D aspects of this series, but now I'd like to go back into the painting itself and add more to it. This artist, Titsay, makes heartwarming paintings of little creatures giving life advice or simply living in fields of grass. Sound familiar? Look how adorable.
I hate to admit it, but I'm very jealous, honestly! This resembles what I tried to do so closely but...better. I now want to go back and define the grass more, maybe embroider some flowers in there as well. It's a good push to do more than what I have, but it does hurt my heart a bit to look at the work of other artists. It shouldn't though, so I'll just keep doing what I do and force myself to do my best until I like it.
I love how you adapted as your project progressed . You looked at a negative as a way to improve and move forward. In the end you wound up with some very cute and creative creatures.
I love how you slowly incorporated new materials and textures into your felting. I really love the holographic strands you added on to the wings. i think it gives the moth more depth and more of an interesting look. I also like how you included the deeper meanings in each moth that relate to you personally and i think they're really well portrayed. How long did each moth take individually?
I love these so much! I can only imagine the time spent forming these, and you did a fantastic job making super recognizable moth guys! Although they are at first adorable you were still able to add that double meaning with that dark underbelly. I also enjoy the choice of making them into pins, and also wonder if you would ever consider maybe displaying them in air?
These turned out amazingly! I was in so much anticipation waiting to see how your wings would end up looking, and the craftsmanship that went into them are astonishing. Also, I agree that the color choices you've made in the end are very appealing. I can pick up the depth of your identity through the distinct designs of each set of wings. These moth creatures are perfect reflections of yourself, and you've communicated your theme very well. On another note, I can understand the discouragement you're feeling from looking at other pieces, but you should still be very proud of yourself for what you have done! Each effort you make to go out of your comfort zone artistically just gives…
Aww they turned out so cute and adorable. I bet they took forever; your hard work really shows. I love those artists you're inspired by, their art reminds me of you. Don't feel down when looking at others' art; comparison is really damaging, but instead you should focus on what you can learn from them. I'm excited to see how your butterflies look when pinned on. I do think if you go back and add some embroidering to your painting that it could make it quite exceptional!