Catharine Andresen "Aurora"

6" x 24"

Soft Sculpture Doll

​“Aurora” by Catharine Andresen

Aurora represents a woman who has broken the chains of the past and is ready to dance into her future free from oppression.  

When I heard about the “Finding our Voices” organization and the June event I was truly inspired to create a piece that would show the “moving forward” after the trauma of abuse because in my experience one of the worst parts of this type of situation is not seeing any sort of hopeful future and recovery. 

Aurora herself is holding the key to opening the lock of her chains. 

She is a soft sculpture doll inspired by a pattern from Amy Felske from whom I learned this art form. I chose the colors used in this doll quite purposefully after learning that the theme colors for the event were yellow and turquoise.  I happened to be participating in the Maine “Shop Hop” which supports independent quilt shops in Maine and found the yellow batik fabric as part of the 2021 shop hop collection and thought it would be perfect for the body fabric.  

The dolls features are sculpted using thread and stuffing and then drawn on her face; I have her looking up and to the future expressing hope.  She is dancing or flying depending on how you interpret her stance. Her hair is made with hand spun and dyed yarn created by a very talented fiber artist and good friend Jan Raczkowski.  Her belt is a vintage beaded piece that originally was my Grandmother’s as are her faux pearl earrings.  

A very interesting part of this creative process is that the day I finished her and was attaching the chain and key to her hands I learned that a person who had caused a lot of pain and trauma in my past life had died.  I hope you find her inspirational.