Found something?

(click images to see them big)
If you happened to be in times square, 42nd street last night, you may have found one of the girls pictured below.

Yes, these three beauties, in true butterfly people form, were cast to the winds last night at approximately 9:32pm, the bottom of their cases read as follows:

Cocoons In The City

Ha, see how you can manifest things just by thinking about them?
The cocooned girls have definitely won a place in my heart, and although a blog or two ago I showed a pic of the first prototype, the things I didn't like about her were eliminated and now they really look like cocoons, the only problem with these is they also look like mummies, but I digress.

They are AWESOME (though a bit strange), so much symbolism in them, and not just related to my own art changing, but the plaque which I placed on the front of each one which reads, "Emerge". So many people are getting ready to emerge from their cocoons into beautiful new beings revealing who they truly can be. I made the cocoon have a little opening on the top for easy hanging, I am seriously thinking about getting some wire and hanging them in either NYC parks or NYC subway stations, but I want them out of reach so perhaps on lamp posts in neighborhoods?

CHANGE IS IN THE AIR - why my site changed, whats happening to the butterfly people?

So my website changed without warning or reason, now is the time. Lets sit back, relax and see if we can discuss the reasons behind the change for any who are besides themselves from loosing their precious butterfly people. First off, they have not been lost, they were re-named because of the direction they are taking in life. The Butterfly People are more and more heading into the direction of being life coaches. You laugh, but its true, they are inspiring people like crazy, and this inevitable transition is due to my cease of creating the depressed fairys (which people actually loved). The figures now come with slogans, written directly on them, or on signs they are carrying. The point must be made clear why they were created, and that is for positive affirmations. The new Affirmation figures will still have real butterflies in their cases (relief for some of you), while others will not. The butterfly is present symbolism for freedom, and spiritual realization and ascent. I still have thebutterflypeople.com, and the blog is still thebutterflypeople.blogspot.com, however I also have www.AffirmationFigures.com which will be how the site is utilized from now on. To celebrate this "metamorphosis" I have taken the idea of cocooned figures a step further and they will be highly symbolic of all of the change that is happening around us, the seasons are changing, for me my career is changing, our president will change, NYC is doing much change through construction, and most of all, the butterfly people have gone from larva, into the cocoon and now will reincarnate into Affirmation Figures, a big change on their part. More info on the cocoons and how they are developing and will be displayed to come in the next blog.

Cocoons in the city?

Remember this blog? Well, the idea of the butterfly people in cocoons hanging around the city has not exactly died, but it hasn’t really grown either. The girl pictured below looks more like a Muslim lady to me, I was thinking about instead, having them forcing their way out of the structures instead or their legs tapering like a real cocoon. We shall see. How many should I make and where should they go? Geri says to put them in places where otherwise no beauty exists.

I may combine my new idea of putting positive messages on them and then hang them around and check to see if they are still there in a week.

In Progress

Works in progress. These little guys are ceramics currently being worked on. The big brown piece on the wheel there is going to have a major amount of trimming until its base tapers down to what will be only one change in profile into a swelling form. The two directly below need to be glazed.










I cant wait to paint some designs on these.

Crete Pot w/Octopus

The following photos are three views of my latest piece of pottery based off an 1500 year old flask from the eastern site of Palaikastro. It is currently being fired and is pictured 'green', so I dont know if the sand will remain or be melted onto the piece. It will be glazed with a simple clear coat.

Custom Order Butterfly Blessing

The butterfly blessing is done finally!
I finally got the butterfly I was looking for to mount on the young mans outstretched hands.

As you may recall from previous blog posts Here and Here I have been working on this for sometime, and although I got underway rather quickly, I did have a hard time getting this common butterfly in a humane way (from a butterfly farm), but the patience was worth it and the final product is wonderful.

A re-cap on who this was made for. This was a custom order initiated by Ryans Cousin Nathan. The sculpture depicts Ryan, a young man who suffered from depression and took his life in stages like a butterfly which in the end of his line he ascends into the butterfly, you can also see it as him holding the butterfly as if about to send a butterfly signal to his family for he now sends his loved ones signs of his life after death through the life symbol the butterfly. Ryans mother Sharon Gorker Norris, was inspired to write a book which is a compiliation of a series of journal/diary entiries in which she shares her story of tragedy turned triumph in Our Butterfly Blessings.

A Step Back

Back to basics

Starting from scratch

Returning to your roots

Going back to a simpler time

finding yourself

All these quotations were not made in vain, there is a reason for them.
I don't know if you noticed (prob not) but my mind has been all over the place, where are the butterfly people going? I love the henna girl in the last blog, but many of the others do not create the same sense of excitement when I behold them. I feel as if I've exhausted my idea bank and do not want to make fairies, I want to design figures. The last figure was designed, I want to paint on more figures in different ways with different colors but also want to make figures with significance that will be taken seriously. So what to do to begin all of this? Nothing seems to help, looking at photos online of people and other artists polymer clay sculptures only depresses me, so much frivolity. So what did I do to break this ice?
I went back..... WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY back
22,000 years before Christ to be exact, that is quite some time ago!
Yes, I began looking at art history and found the ever popular and super ancient Venus of Willendorf, (apparently now known as Woman from Willendorf due to misconceptions about it being tied to pagan religion). This carved limestone figure is only four inches and some tall so I can definitely relate to its size, and its super old, one of the oldest early human figures ever found dating at 22,000 or 21,000 BCE.
What I did was made Venus, or should I say the figure of Willendorf? My own version of course which is seated and lacking the protruding vagina, has feet, and is not carved. I did however keep the texture stone-like with many pit holes and also painted the figure with different shades of paint to give it more depth and tiny bits of contrast. My plan is to actually evolve this figure (not literally this one, but to make others) into a present-day butterfly person, but the process should not be rushed, this is the "first" but in the coming weeks there should be more as they transcend into something tangible and meaningful to me.

A Step Back

Back to basics

Starting from scratch

Returning to your roots

Going back to a simpler time

finding yourself

All these quotations were not made in vain, there is a reason for them.
I don't know if you noticed (prob not) but my mind has been all over the place, where are the butterfly people going? I love the henna girl in the last blog, but many of the others do not create the same sense of excitement when I behold them. I feel as if I've exhausted my idea bank and do not want to make fairies, I want to design figures. The last figure was designed, I want to paint on more figures in different ways with different colors but also want to make figures with significance that will be taken seriously. So what to do to begin all of this? Nothing seems to help, looking at photos online of people and other artists polymer clay sculptures only depresses me, so much frivolity. So what did I do to break this ice?
I went back..... WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY back
22,000 years before Christ to be exact, that is quite some time ago!
Yes, I began looking at art history and found the ever popular and super ancient Venus of Willendorf, (apparently now known as Woman from Willendorf due to misconceptions about it being tied to pagan religion). This carved limestone figure is only four inches and some tall so I can definitely relate to its size, and its super old, one of the oldest early human figures ever found dating at 22,000 or 21,000 BCE.
What I did was made Venus, or should I say the figure of Willendorf? My own version of course which is seated and lacking the protruding vagina, has feet, and is not carved. I did however keep the texture stone-like with many pit holes and also painted the figure with different shades of paint to give it more depth and tiny bits of contrast. My plan is to actually evolve this figure (not literally this one, but to make others) into a present-day butterfly person, but the process should not be rushed, this is the "first" but in the coming weeks there should be more as they transcend into something tangible and meaningful to me.

the latest in ceramics

In that very kiln below is my precious little cylinder I showed you last blog, it will be ready to glaze next Monday.


Moving along, the next piece is larger and even more beautiful, the design painted on the piece is a SINGLE LINE, much like my drawings of the same subject matter but a bit less intricate.



And lastly on the ceramics front, a little bulging vessel also to be painted with the organic line theme in earth-tones, that I've got going here.

hand painted design

She may look big in the pics that follow, but here is one that shows she is only THREE inches tall!


Below, check out some of her progress as she was painted and finished up.

New Henna girl! This is my latest and greatest, a beautiful brown polymer clay figurine which I hand sculpted (while riding the bus/NYC subway I believe) and then painted with mehndi designs all over her body. I love her and cant wait to show her off while street vending.

She even has a video on YouTube dedicated to her creation with a slideshow.

Change is in the air

Oh yes baby

Changes are occurring, first, I finally got my website up and running without those pesky ad's!
Second is I am proud to announce SIX new street fair dates, yes the summer is over, but not the street vending season!!!
Check out my site http://www.thebutterflypeople.com/ to see the new dates under the "schedule" section of the site.
Also NEW is my website http://www.pedroramirezart.com/ has been kinda scrapped for the moment and a new blog started and put in its place, check it out to see some of my non-butterfly people works of art.

Surface Decor

The form below (the tall one) is a wheel thrown cylinder thrown a week ago at City College, I decided to work with some surface decoration solely using engobes, no texture or carving to be done since I usually physically alter the surface, I was intrigued to paint on it carefully and deliberately.
After the piece had dried for a week and was not bone dry, I decided to apply color to it, I want to keep almost all of my new terra cotta pieces in earth-tones, I don't want bright reds, greens, or blues anymore, if I use green and blue, I want to tone them down with iron oxide or dilute them down to a more natural ore color.
So the first thing I did was divide the cylinder into individual parts, since the piece is tall and narrow, I made five distinct sections, the first was to be a brown band, the next two are organic line forms which I often use in drawing, I wanted one frieze to be white on brown, and the other brown on white, yet although they are very similar they are still not not distinctly unified and its nice that you can see they are separated with a horizontal line which is incorporated into the design.
The next band down is white, but its not just a solid white band, its actually a gradient, it goes from solid white to a darker shade as it travels down. The white in my opinion creates a void on the piece, you would think brown would do this, but I honestly see a void formed by the white here, an almost separation from the base of the piece which is only saved due to the inner part of the cylinder also being white.
The piece is not yet bisque, it is still green.

Speechless Conversation

Click to make it big

Thoughts from the John Mirror

I was thinking and want to do something soon interesting. This project will not be simply giving butterfly people away or leaving them in conspicuous places where a by chancer will cart them away, nor will it be turned into some kind of "award" for people who inspire others, no, this new agenda will be to create some sort of public art project, and since I dont have any funding or huge grants, or even permission, I will have to simply do it myself which is fine. The pieces will actually more than likely showcase "being alone" or "being exposed" in NYC. What I had in mind was one of two things, either little figures in acrylic cases which can be adhered to public property, or more likely other acrylic surfaces such as subway maps, however I dont want to be arrested for vandalism, so I thought about making little cocoon girls, miniature (or small really) polymer clay people who are wrapped up in long strings of the material and suspended on perhaps nails or something that is conveniently already there. I want them in subway cars and also in parks and stuff, but I dont want people taking them so im torn, perhaps I can relate the feeling of being completely powerless into the pieces which will be again, wrapped up. I will have a picture of what im talking about soon so it makes more sense.Its ironic that I call them "butterfly people" when these new public art pieces are going to appear as if they are coming out of the cocoon but they were actually inspired by Louise Bourgeois who currently has an exhibition at the Guggenheim museum until the 28th of this month (same day Mariposa Gallery at the South Street Seaport closes). The piece was a hanging woman I believe it was gold colored and was wrapped up with only the arms and legs hanging out, suspended over a void. Something that brings together the feelings of being exposed to constant criticism and outside opinions in the NYC "street art" world and of not being able to protect my precious creations will have to be implemented, I will of course write more as the ideas go from thoughts to concrete physical representations... that is the power of manifestation and this egg will hatch.

thoughts from the John Mirror

I was thinking and want to do something soon interesting. This project will not be simply giving butterfly people away or leaving them in conspicuous places where a by chancer will cart them away, nor will it be turned into some kind of "award" for people who inspire others, no, this new agenda will be to create some sort of public art project, and since I dont have any funding or huge grants, or even permission, I will have to simply do it myself which is fine. The pieces will actually more than likely showcase "being alone" or "being exposed" in NYC.
What I had in mind was one of two things, either little figures in acrylic cases which can be adhered to public property, or more likely other acrylic surfaces such as subway maps, however I dont want to be arrested for vandalism, so I thought about making little cocoon girls, miniature (or small really) polymer clay people who are wrapped up in long strings of the material and suspended on perhaps nails or something that is conveniently already there. I want them in subway cars and also in parks and stuff, but I dont want people taking them so im torn, perhaps I can relate the feeling of being completely powerless into the pieces which will be again, wrapped up. I will have a picture of what im talking about soon so it makes more sense.

Its ironic that I call them "butterfly people" when these new public art pieces are going to appear as if they are coming out of the cocoon but they were actually inspired by Louise Bourgeois who currently has an exhibition at the Guggenheim museum until the 28th of this month (same day Mariposa Gallery at the South Street Seaport closes). The piece was a hanging woman I believe it was gold colored and was wrapped up with only the arms and legs hanging out, suspended over a void. Something that brings together the feelings of being exposed to constant criticism and outside opinions in the NYC "street art" world and of not being able to protect my precious creations will have to be implemented, I will of course write more as the ideas go from thoughts to concrete physical representations... that is the power of manifestation and this egg will hatch.

Goodbye to these beauties

They have found their homes today along with another piece

Creation is an act of sheer wheel

In the City College Ceramic studio amidst CREATION. I hope to make a mehndi pot very very soon!

Two blurry pics and two clear ones, cause blurry is greater than or equal to sharp photos right?

Update for beginning of Sept 2008

Hi guys,

whats been new with the butterfly folks?

Well, although it may seem like I've been up to nothing, nothing could be further from the truth! I survived my first week of school, and have been inspired to make a whole set of butterfly people I want to call affirmation figures or something of the like... they will be inscribed with words like the girl pictured below

They will read things like, The secret; prosperity; wealth; freedom; abundance; health; strength; power; peace; create; joy; happiness; life; love; miracle; success; and thoughts become things.

These words have absolutely transformed my life since I begun using them, speaking them, and most of all, thinking them so perhaps they can change other peoples lives for the better when I make them seen!

I have also been very busy repopulating my etsy.com shop with lots of new and loose (not in cases) figures, check them out below.