Tree Goddess

I have been working on beading this tree form on and off for over a year. The wonderful form was created by my friend Monica Magness. The face was created specifically for this form by Carol Strand-Siebers - also known as the Sassy Art Goddess.

This was a challenge and one I took on without much forethought. Had I been thinking about how heavy beads become when they are in a concentrated mass (such as on the branches), I would have made provisions to stabilize the form a bit. This is a HUGE form - about 16 inches tall and let me tell ya' Monica stuffs a mighty tight form - I never have issues with bending or sagging when using her forms, but physics have to come into play at some point. I did open up the bottom of the form and attempt to shove (and I do mean shove) a sharpened wooden dowel up through the trunk, but no such luck (the form is packed THAT tight with stuffing).



It is one of the reasons I did not bead the branches in the back (well that and the fact that I didn't want it to take another year to complete it). Because it's size, it posed some difficulties when taking the photos - so I took a few full length shots and several shots of the various sections.


Regardless of the few issues I ran into, I thoroughly enjoyed beading up this doll. I have a 'thing' for trees and this one is no exception. The fabric is beautiful and the face complements it perfectly.


In the grass at the foot of the tree you can see a little rabbit making it's way to the flowers.


On the back of the form I added my grand kids initial just for fun.


I will purchase some sort of stand to give it some support, as of right now I have it laying quite peacefully in the case where I keep all my beading.