Kuan Yin Revisited

I started a cloth representation of Kuan Yin quite some time ago and for some reason she was set aside amongst my multitude of unfinished projects.  I worked diligently during the last Figurative Artists Consortium Retreat in Ottawa on her hand beaded lotus blossom seat and never finished her.  So I took her out this weekend, completed her lotus blossom seat, needle-felted mohair for her hair, and have little left but a few finishing touches to do.

For those who did not see the original post, and may be unfamiliar with Kuan Yin, she is known by many as the goddess of compassion, one who hears the cries of all beings. She is also known in Buddhism as a Bodhisattva, one who puts off Nirvana in order to liberate all sentient beings. Many representations of Kuan Yin depict her as a beautiful oriental woman in flowing gowns carrying a vessel filled with the waters of compassion. She is often seen standing or sitting on a lotus blossom. In the representation of Kuan Yin that I have created, she has golden colored skin and is seated in the Bodhisattva pose.  

The beginings of Kuan Yin

Although I do not have a new completed doll to share with you, I have been strongly encouraged by my good friend Maria (who is a wonderful artist whose work you can see at http://www.greeneearthoriginals.blogspot.com/) to show the progress of my work as I go through the process of creating a new work of figurative art. So I will share with you the progress I have been making with the current project I am working on, a cloth representation of Kuan Yin. For those unfamiliar with Kuan Yin, she is known by many as the goddess of compassion, one who hears the cries of all beings. She is also known in Buddhism as a Bodhisattva, one who puts off Nirvana in order to liberate all sentient beings. Many representations of Kuan Yin depict her as a beautiful oriental woman in flowing gowns carrying a vessel filled with the waters of compassion. She is often seen standing or sitting on a lotus blossom. In the representation of Kuan Yin that I am currently working on she has golden colored skin and is seated in the Bodhisattva pose. I chose to utilize ball joints for her knees and elbows in this representation of her for pose-ability. I needle sculpted her facial features and her feet. I have included pictures of her in various stages of development. She is far from completed but already she has the look of compassion in her eyes. Eventually she will be seated on a lotus blossom and will have an ornately beaded headdress and costume.