I've spent the last few days finishing off my most recent doll Theodora Rex, which is based on a historical Byzantine Empress. I've been failing to arrive at the final composition that resonates with my inner vision of her, having constructed, tried and abandoned several different accessories to compliment her jewelled head piece and her collar of gold. I believe that when the solution to an almost finished piece proves to be stubbornly evasive, then the problem is not just with details - There is something fundamentally wrong with the whole thing from the bottom up. The best course of action at that point, is to stop tweaking little details, identify the 3 main elements essential to the composition, strip away the rest and start layering supporting details from the beginning. Yes, it's pretty upsetting having to destroy several days worth of work, but sometimes it's not just the right thing to do, but the only thing to do. Destruction is a form of creation.

These sterling silver filigree bead caps might be the key to unlocking my composition problem. I embellished them with tiny seed pearls and gold-plated them to look more Byzantine. Theodora is already wearing them, but something else is still missing there...I'm gonna call it a 'soft' finish for now and see if she 'speaks' to me in the days to come about what else she needs.

It's time to move on.