Making an Angel

The idea for making an angel came from the women in The Lotus Project. Many of them love angels and have incorporated images of them in their art. Barbara mentioned that one of their favorites quotes is: "Angels give of themselves fully because they have seen the face of love." That got me thinking about angels, giving, and love and how I could incorporate those concepts in a papier-mâché figure. Although, angels are supposed to be sexless, I decided that this angel would be a woman, specifically, a mother figure who bestows the unconditional love and protection that the women in the group never receive in their real lives, but so desperately need.

The Ajax Bottle

I love the shape of the Ajax bottle: it is tall, feminine, and strong. It has ballast. I don't think it was an accident that the packaging for dishwashing liquid looks like a headless, armless woman in a housedress. It is practical to grab the slippery bottle by its empire waist, but let's face it, although there are many enlightened households, the dishes are done and detergent is bought predominantly by women.

When you create a woman from an Ajax bottle, she is not going to look like Barbie. There is just no way to approximate that waspish waistline and those narrow hips. I formed three very voluptuous mermaids from Ajax bottles, but the angel, although beautiful, is best described as matronly: she has full breasts, a bulging belly, shapely buttocks, and thick legs. She is solid and capable. As a nod to her origins in the kitchen, the angel wears a 50s-style apron over her conservative calf-length dress.

A Message of Love

The apron does double-duty by providing the cloth for the message "embroidered" on it. Many of the art pieces created by the women incorporate poems or words of empowerment. I am not a religious person, but the Bible does have some apt poetry in it. The basis for so many wedding vows is:

1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Because lettering is not my long suit, I boiled the message down to this:

"Love is kind"

A simple truth, but for victims of abuse, not something that can be taken for granted.

Spreading Joy

Papier-mâché evokes Mexico for me. I love those bright Mexican colors and use all of them: cyan, hot pink, lime green, neon yellow, purple, and orange. The feathers on the wings and the dress and apron provide a perfect canvas for ornamentation. I wanted to create an example that broke the mold of the traditional Laura-Ashley styled lace angel to inspire the artists in the group to let their imaginations run wild. Her dress is trimmed in rick-rack; her apron is studded with heart-shaped jewels; and everything is streaked with glitter. This is a happy angel; not a sober one: wings upswept, arms open wide, she soars through the air with pointed toes and painted nails ... powerful, joyful, and free.

Materials (estimated cost)