>Fearful Faceless Felt

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Lately, I've been staring at my computer screen (just like my self portrait sketch) searching for news about the smog situation in Moscow. The smog is caused by the many peat bog fires that have popped up around the city. The high temperatures and lack of wind have not helped the situation. The smog is so thick that you can barely see the Kremlin from a distance, and many people are wearing breathing masks in the streets. The smog has seeped into homes, office buildings, and even the subway system. People have died from smoke inhalation, homes have been destroyed by the fires, flights have been diverted due to lack of visibility, and travel & health warnings have been issued to anyone headed to the city. It seems like this will go on for weeks! I am concerned because I am due to travel to Moscow in 9 short days. I am seriously praying for wind & rain in Moscow! :o

Despite my worries, I have begun my beaded self portrait. I need something to take my mind off of things! So, I cut out 4 layers of felt in the shape of my face, and stitched them together. The nose sticks out a bit and one eye & part of my forehead is sunken a bit. I probably look like this when I have a headache due to stress and lack of sleep! :o

I've also picked out some recycled eyeglass lenses to use, just to make this piece a little more interesting. The kind folks at Central Square Eye Care (Cambridge) saved me a bag full of old eyeglass lenses to experiment with, and I thought what better way to use them than in a self portrait! Just another one of my beading experiments, I guess. We'll see what happens! B)