Thursday, April 28, 2016

Enibodi Women Warriors WisCon40

Enibodi is out of order. It isn't my inability to alphabetize. No. There must be a story connection concerning who she wants to be because Enibodi is a character I know little about. Her name is a combination of Enhanced Neural Instrument and Bodi. Not quite cyborg, nor AI nor robot. She will probably appear in the Stellar Repo universe.

She was a sleek blonde Janay when she came here. Her legs were damaged (one still is, but now the poking armature is part of her artificial skeletal array.) I left her face untouched because she is beautiful.

I made her turtleneck from a shirt of mine. The hoodie is from a fleece remnant that I still enjoy using. She's carrying a backpack and wearing tights and black boots. I know she and I will become better acquainted as the Stellar Repo storyline continues.

Enibodi will be appearing with her 12 sister scifi warriors at the WisCon 40 Art Show in Madison, WI during Memorial Day weekend.

For those who will not be attending WisCon, a 4x6 art print of Enibodi is available in my etsy shop.

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Lore Women Warriors WisCon40

Lore is the history of Last Standing tribe in the Monomyth storyline. She is tattooed from face to feet with the archive of their origin story. The tattoos are memic. Body memory. Touching any line with Lore's permission will reveal the narrative. She is one of the characters I have shared the most time with - I know her better than 5 generations of my family, although she is written from each lifeline in my matriarchal stronghold. She can kick your ass and tuck you into bed with the same aplomb. Lore is ancient. She has cajoled, wheedled, tricked and finessed Monomyth to get someone to take her place so she can step on. At the point we join the story, Lore's career path is pointed to ancestor. She's still feisty (and fashionable) enough to wear fancy togs. She makes them herself, as Monomyth continues to remind those who want the same. Ask Lore.

Lore is a Polynesian Princess Barbie. She's the doll I've had the longest and the first I aged. Her facepaint was removed. It took a year for me to be OK with scrubbing her that way. Then her hair was cut and greyed. And the tattooing started. The tattoos are applied with about 50 extra fine Sharpies. I wrote the Last Standing history, switched it to Elder Fruhtark font in Illustrator, and then transcribed it onto her body. I sure hope I saved the translation because when my old computer croaked, I lost Illustrator.

I cut the hat and molded it from another hat. Her cloak is a CyGirls trenchcoat, and I added the beaded embellishments. She has an original Barbie leotard (with a tiny hole in the abdomen that I did not repair: shabby chic in the future!) and some stockings by The Sister Who Sews on eBay, from whom I buy all my stockings. Her boots are a new acquisition - slumpy felt, possibly hand-built, that had white top stitching I hoped, hoped I could remove. And I did!

I love this figure. She is the character I started this journey alongside, and why I continue to enjoy creating older women figures. Her tribal leader is Monomyth, the next character in this blog trail.

Lore will be joining her 12 sister warriors for sale at the WisCon40 Art Show in Madison, Wisconsin during Memorial Day weekend.

For those who will not be attending WisCon, a 4x6 art print of Lore is available in my etsy shop.

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Gem Women Warriors at WisCon40

Gem is the apprentice of Lore in the Monomyth story. She is a tween caught stealing food from the Last Standing tribe's protected farm. Rather than put an arrow through her, Monomyth sees something that brings Gem into the group. Her bandolier carries cartridges of seeds and cuttings (in the story.) Last Standing are the protectors of fresh water and heirloom seeds. As apprentice to Lore, Gem will wear the history of the tribe, as Lore does now. On her arms are the first tattoos: one arm has the seasons, the other the elements air, water, earth, fire. The talking tattoos are the history of the tribe. Gem will be one of the hidden individuals who will carry on the traditions and stories. All are secretly protected and unknown to each other. I'm noodling in my head telling this story as a mythic character piece. Gem would then be a major narrator, rather than the Monomyth. It's a tough mind switch, but will be fun to do. Gem is named for a character in the original Star Trek series. The Empath was written by Joyce Muskat - the only original script she sold to television. Unforgettable writing.

What I envision for this trio of characters is a video game for children. Players will identify edible and medicinal plants, learn trees in all seasons, get points for collecting seeds, and protecting nature. The game can be adjusted to reflect what the child may be doing at home or in school, with downloadable teacher and parent workbooks. It's a good dream to nurture.

This figure came to me with shiny straight, static-electricity-mad hair and the usual glam girl make-up. I dreadlocked her hair, and repainted her face. She has copper eyes. The jeans are a scrap of a favorite pair of mine, and I distressed holes in the same places mine had worn out. The pants close with a snap in the front. Gem has an orange camisole under the jacket. The jacket has a working zipper. She has a knife in the pocket of her jacket. Her boots are plastic. Her body is not articulated, so she has limited posing potential. The knife is plastic.

Gem will be joining her 12 sister warriors at the WisCon40 Art Show in Madison, WI during Memorial Day weekend

For those who will not be attending WisCon, a 4x6 art print of Gem is available in my etsy shop.

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Biewe Women Warriors at WisCon40

Biewe is the Saami goddess of the sun or the actual sun itself. For this character, she is the deity and spelled from one of the options. The pronunciation of her name - however you feel about it. In Finnish, there are a couple more syllables than actually appear: there are English (US) and several other languages on pronouncekiwi. She got her name because her hands are a shiny odd color - like liquefied vanilla fudge. Or streaming sunspots viewed through a powerful telescope. Biewe will feature in the same storyline as Akka, which, for now, is in the Stellar Repo universe.

Biewe's body is articulated: I think she's a Dragon Toy product I got in a sale lot of wounded action figures. I took off her face paint, repainted her in purple and silver. I added a purple manicure, too. Her armor is assembled from jewelry findings in my collection, including the nunchuks, which are not hardwood, but stainless steel tubing, wrapped with stainless steel wire. Her headgear is a pair of my mother's earrings. The bodysuit she's wearing has wear, and Biewe's hands do not come off, so it'll be a session to remove that garment. The armor pieces are all removable if you're like me and want to switch it up (or clip the pieces together for a conversation-starter bracelet.) The boots are CyGirls.

Biewe and her 12 sister warriors will be for sale at the Wiscon40 Art Show in Madison, WI over Memorial weekend this year

For those who will not be attending WisCon, a 4x6 art print of Biewe is available at my etsy shop.

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Avian Women Warriors WisCon40

Avian is the leader of the moon of the same name. Stellar Repo thinks of Avian as her home world. She was left there as an infant, and raised by the female monks in the aerie. This character has the face and neck colorization of a Cooper's hawk. She would have more birdish legs in a figure constructed from armature, but patterned orange stockings, and some nubby boots fit the bill. (Is that a bird joke?) This character was originally Megara from the animated Hercules. Her robe is made from an old tshirt. The dress and shrug were bought from a maker on etsy. The wings are Angelina film, beads and wire. I didn't make these wings, but you can see my constructs on the figure of Kala. Wing supplies are from OOAK Art Emporium. The wings can be gently posed, and also be easily removed.

Stellar Repo is the lead character in her own story. She works as a recollector of pilfered stuff. Stellar is an orphan, parents unknown to her, but perhaps not to others, and she is being hunted by authorities of one of the regimes at play in the universe. She is a misanthrope by personality and necessity. Her PA is Surly Bugger. Some of the other characters in Stellar's realm are Token Guy, owner of The Bar, Stellar's watering hole; Arty Fact, owner of the asteroid belt refueling station at the center of the cosmos Stellar travels (Hot Mess is the cook at the eatery housed there.)

Avian will be joining her 12 sister warriors at the WisCon40 Art Show in Madison, Wisconsin during Memorial Day weekend

For those who will not be attending WisCon, a 4x6 art print of Avian is available at my etsy shop.

Sunday, April 10, 2016

Akka Women Warriors WisCon40

Akka is a Saami fertility goddess. Akka is also an open source toolkit for building applications on the JVM. Kinda cool in that I just named this figure yesterday from my backpack of Names To Use in Future, and found this technie stuff going on. Etymology: from the Greek word meaning to hide. Urban dictionary defines it the same as whinging. Going akka at the club. A Dravidian word with the same sense as mother. This searching stuff is what makes me happy. If you dig wide, you can find trivia that supports whatever premise you start conjuring. I like significant naming protocols for fiction. Especially if those parameters are just in my head. That's where story lives, yes?

I have constructed figures when I need to see what I'm writing or thinking about. I started doing this when I began to go akka about the absence of women in pop culture. This began when my niece was born. Try finding a diverse angel at the Hallmark store in 1992. Or books that feature all girls, or girls at all. Or calendars. Cards. Movies. I made my own. When I spotted history altered to credit men, I made a figure. One of the first was a kabuki dancer. Women created kabuki theatre. Until the Edo period, when women were banned from performing. Prestigious newspapers got it wrong covering the influence on Bowie. Rewritten history. When I get mad about women being stuffed in the back, I create a positive image.

Creating characters in real world transforms the women in story world. Akka was just a cool action figure I bought in a lot. She had green plastic molded hair and a green face. She's articulated everywhere, including some shoulder action that looks like armor. But she wanted to be softer, less martial. I razored off her plastic hair, and gave her gray curls. Her undertop is made from scraps of a pair of leather gloves that the same niece played with in the snow. The pants are from a pair of winter tights. The vest is a sale item I grabbed from Hazel Street Designz. The rawhide skirt is a scrap from a Gathering Society day of making canteens. The boots are suede with treaded soles. I bought those. Because wow. Her staff is a wood dowel wrapped with flax. I was given the flax from the collection of a dollmaker who is now in a nursing home. The flax smells wonderful.

I don't know yet which story this character will populate. She may be part of a group of deity/tech women who are hiding out on an obscure planet. And what would a goddess of fertility do on a moon that does not feature in utero reproduction? Sounds like AI to me. A detail to be expanded in the backstory development.

Akka will be joining her 12 sister warriors at the WisCon40 Art Show in Madison, Wisconsin during Memorial Day weekend. For those who won't be at WisCon, a 4x6 art print of Akka is available at my etsy shop.