The Story of the Moulin Rouge Dancers and La Fae Verte

If you know anything about me or follow my blog, you will know that I follow everything shiny down the artistic rabbit hole.  I thought you might enjoy finding out how this affinity for chasing everything shiny led me to create the Moulin Rouge Dancers and La Fae Verte.

 

Hand beadwork  for Ocean Goddess by Marla L. Niederer

Prior to the Moulin Rouge Dancers project I had been working on my Ocean Goddess for six months.  I was trying some new techniques with her and wanted to use beadwork to create the shimmery scales of a fish.  After doing a few rows of the beadwork on her I knew this was going to be a long project. The process became quite meditative and something I looked forward to each day.  When she was complete I felt a bit lost and was looking for something not quite as intense and a bit lighter to create.

Ocean Goddess by Marla L. Niederer

I had been fascinated with the costumes of the Moulin Rouge and thought it might be fun to create a Moulin Rouge Dancer.

I started the project by developing a pattern that would utilize a wire armature to hold the pose of the dancer. Then I started searching the internet for pictures of Moulin Rouge Dancers to use as inspiration for the pose and the costuming.  This is where the chasing everything shiny down the artistic rabbit hole kicked in.

 

First Moulin Rouge Dancer by Marla L. Niederer

As I was creating the first Moulin Rouge Dancer which has a very happy expression on her face, I started to research the history of the Moulin Rouge and the stories of the dancers on the stage.  I found out that the Moulin Rouge, which is still a tourist attraction in Paris, was where the can-can dance started. 

 

Moulin Rouge Dancer by Marla L. Niederer

I also learned that the Moulin Rouge was a place where the different social classes would mingle.  It was also frequented by many artists, one of which was Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. 

 

Moulin Rouge Dancer by Marla L. Niederer

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was known for painting the most realistic portrayals of the Moulin Rouge.  As I researched more about Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec I found out about his fascination with the dancer Jane Avril who was the subject of several of his paintings.  Of course that led to researching Jane Avril. 

 

Moulin Rouge Dancer by Marla L. Niederer

Jane Avril had a very difficult life which was the basis for the character Nicole Kidman played in the 2001 movie Moulin Rouge.  Of course I had to watch this movie again for research purposes only, wink, wink.  I then created my Jane Avril inspired Moulin Rouge Dancer with the not so happy expression on her face.

 

 Jane Avril inspired Moulin Rouge Dancer by Marla L. Niederer

Originally I was going to do the costuming completely with fabric but soon found myself utilizing beadwork in the costuming inspired by some of the costumes used in the 2001 Moulin Rouge movie.  I guess I just can’t leave those beads alone!

 

Moulin Rouge Dancers by Marla L. Niederer

I was enjoying this project so much that I decided to continue to create a series of Moulin Rouge Dancers with three different poses from the can can dance.

 

Moulin Rouge Dancers by Marla L. Niederer

When creating an art doll project I tend to immerse myself in everything to do with the project and since I enjoy reading I tend to do quite a bit of research along with it.  I continued to read about the Moulin Rouge and how the artists tended to gather together there while sharing their ideas and a drink or two of absinthe. 

Absinthe was called La Fae Verte (the green fairy) by many and five o’clock was often called the green hour due to the popularity of the drink.  La Fae Verte became a symbol of artistic transformation and artistic liberty.

 

La Fae Verte by Marla L. Niederer

When Absinthe is prepared to drink, cool water is slowly dripped on top of a cube of sugar on a slotted spoon placed over the glass of absinthe.  This process transforms the drink into a cloudy greenish-white mixture.  As the drink transforms from the green liquor into the cloudy greenish-white mixture, it is supposed to transform the mind of the drinker liberating his/her thoughts.  Absinthe was considered a muse by many artists and writers.  

 

La Fae Verte by Marla L. Niederer

Once I read this information about absinthe and La Fae Verte, I had to create my own version of La Fae Verte, the green absinthe fairy leaping out of a bottle of Absinthe.  Maybe she can act as my very own artistic muse!

If you wish to join me in a class to make your own Moulin Rouge Dancer, I will be teaching this at Artistic Figures In Cloth and Clay April  25-28, 2019 in Columbus, Ohio.  For more information on the Artistic Figures in Cloth and Clay conference and to sign up for the Moulin Rouge Dancers class go to the website cyndysdolls.com

Until next time……..

warm hugs,

Marla