Stories from The Coalescence of Creation: Mimi, a very special Monarch Butterfly.

At the end of last year my friend found a monarch butterfly with an injured wing on the sidewalk near his home in LA. Most people would have walked on by, but not this man. Artist David Gilmore and his partner took the butterfly under their wing and took her home, by the end of the day she had a name "Mimi" and began an artisan life as model, actress and muse. 

David's Facebook feed became filled with daily updates on Mimi's progress and as each day went on his friends all tuned in for the latest news and images of this special being, being nursed back to health. Mimi never regained flight, although she retained the ability to fly as David and his partner "flew" her around their home and garden on their hands. They treated her gently and with such love. 

Then the inspiration began and beautiful images of Mimi in conjunction with David's beautiful art began to emerge. She was inspirational. She touched us all. 

Then one day in late January David broke the news that Mimi had passed, her life cycle had ended. This tiny creature had moved me so much that from the other side of the world I cried, with my children who cried too. We mourned this ethereal being who had meant so much to us from so far away. It was then that I knew I would create a place in my installation to honour Mimi and her effect on us. I had to learn to crochet to do this, and it took many attempts to make a Mimi I was happy with. 

Crocheting Mimi on Santa Monica Beach

She was crocheted in many parts of the world, as it was important to me that she should have travelled and created in as many places as possible. I crocheted her in Germany, London, on a flight from Frankfurt to LA, on Santa Monica Beach, in Finland, in Belgium and The Netherlands, on set, off set, and all kind of other places in between. She was finally completed during the road trip to Austria and the World Bodypainting Festival.

The finished result. 

Mimi was placed with great love in The Coalescence of Creation Installation as a symbol of hope eternal.

Life cycle of the Monarch Butterfly.

Here is to Mimi. 

"My soul is painted like the wings of butterflies, fairy tales of yesterday will grow but never die, I can fly my friends" Freddie Mercury. 

The Coalescence of Creation is an Award Winning Body Art Yarn Bomb Installation Art Piece featured at the World Bodypainting Festival in Austria by Artist Emma Cammack. With Artists, Bodypainters and Models also featured in the presentation there were over 100 Artisans involved with making this extraordinary piece of team work happen, of that 100 over 85 were Fibre Artists creating beautiful handcrafted pieces to be a part of a crochet and knitted fantasy woodland on the banks of Worthersee. Each and every piece and every person that is part of the installation has a tale to tell of how they came to be there...