Lizzie’s Butterfly
So I don’t know who came up with the butterfly idea first. Probably Jenny. But I know who got the first tattoo on her relatively virgin flesh. Moi. A butterfly, of course. I got it in an Amityville, Long Island tattoo parlor on the same weekend as Woodstock, which would make it 38 years old. God, my butterfly is older than a lot of you, my darlings. I got mine updated when I was in my early forties, and trust me, it hurt a lot more then than it did when I was 21. But at least no errant mass murdering spirits sank in with the ink. Now that would make an interesting story.
But anyway, tattoos mean a lot to me, and Lizzie’s tattoo is very much hers.
I found it in a book of Japanese (of course) clip art, sent it to Jenny the arts major and she fiddled with it a little bit. It’s very different from the other butterflies. Lizzie’s butterfly is delicate, precise, a little spiky, and deep purple. She has it tattooed on her ankle because whenever she screws up one of her alchemy spells shoes seem to appear, particularly when she’s turned on.
And she’s been turned on since a mass of shimmering colors better known as Elric the Magnificent first appeared in her kitchen.
Unfortunately the butterfly, which starts out a nice monochromatic blue-black, turns purple, and appears on Elric’s ankle as well. Which, as you can imagine, pisses Elric off no end. He wasn’t quite ready to commit, but the fates, and the butterflies, decreed otherwise.
Lizzie herself is a butterfly, emerging from the coccoon of safety she’s muffled herself with. Once she breaks free she’s powerful, almost scarily so, brave, and intensely sexual. She doesn’t need to hide behind random shoes — once her butterly is born she can be free.
And that’s what I love about writing. This sort of stuff just comes out as we write. Just as Jenny didn’t know Mare was the Queen of the Universe, none of us realized quiet, spacey Lizzie was the true powerhouse. No wonder we do this for a living.
10 Comments so far
Leave a reply
that is a very unique butterfly. Mare’s is more my style but this one makes me keep looking at it.
so when do we see a picture of your butterfly, Anne?
I love this one! It’s sort of art deco, where Mare’s is more 60s flower power. This is fun. I may have to try it on my characters. Won’t be getting any tattoos or putting any on them, but as a visualization technique, it rocks.
Well, and it looks like origami, which I don’t do, but admire as a way of making something complex and 3-dimensional out of something flat. Is there a good way of combining “metamorphosis” with “metaphorical”, here, for this?
I like it. Definitely delicate, but those wings have some wallop power. It’s actually more to my taste then Mare’s butterfly.
help! lizzie’s butterfly is missing and i need to see it, could someone re-put it up? thanks
I can’t see it either and I really want to. Please put it back!!!
What the heck? I just put Mare’s back, too.
Hmmmm.
Hang on, I’ll get Lizzie’s back, too.
what i am trying to do is work out a butterfly for each of you lovely ladies, that i can match in sterling wire, or i found my lovely 14k gold fill wire, half round.
didn’t plan for the surprise hospital visit, my silver was home! jon didn’t think to bring it to me, as he had done in the past. i’m known for packing my bag for the hospital, and having it filled with crochet hooks, lapis jade and swarovski, lately i’m more a slave to swarovski, there is a color change bead, cantalope, it changes in lightingg, jon swears i cornered he market in them. changes from light green, not perdot, but a pretty green, to a peach.
if i can get the detail, i want not just the outline, but crocheted wings least i got home today, and can play when i want now. frustrating to know what i had planned out, then do a week in icu. /
sparkle slut is the name,
Thank you so much :). It’s a neat butterfly. I don’t know if I’d get this one, but it is very unique. I really like Xan’s. Weird, I know, but there’s just something about that one that I like. I’d probably get it done in an emerald green, though…no black.
Ladies
have been working on your butterflies and I want you to know, they are turning out much better that i had hoped for. they are lacy winged, with some having beadwork where indicated in the designs. have to do lizzies crochet but have the others all done, cept for the bead work for Dee.
I love Lizzie’s butterfly but i gotta tell you i saved the hardest for last. have the outline finished so the easy part is next.
Do you have mailing addresses or one mailing addy you want them to go to? let me know. I ended up working all of them in fine silver wire, which is .999 rather than sterling silver which is .925.
I hope you love these, i think you will.
pat