we've already done "divorced, beheaded, died": so now it's time to move on to "divorced, beheaded, survived".
the anne of cleves -- "the flanders mare" -- has a big clunky "head" and big clunky "feet". beaver dubbing and silk waste dyed with cochineal make her mantle, and her skirt and "legs" are natural silk, caddis beads, and a material unceremoniously labelled "hair". (it smelled like "ass". this is a feature not uncommon to fly-tying materials, which come often in little sealed plastic bags.)
the katherine howard is based on a "nymph" pattern, meant to approximate a fly in it's not-quite-adult stage. like katherine howard, yes? and this one, with its parrot colors, is also headless. no head dangling by her side (or tucked underneath her arm, as the song about anne boleyn does go) but gone entirely.
i have a particular fondness for katherine parr because hey -- she outlived the gout-ridden bastard. and, whenever i have taken the "which wife of henry VIII are you?" quiz online, i have come out to be katherine parr. and although she was never said to be any great beauty -- and was, i believe, rather puritanical -- i tried to make the katherine parr dignified and beautiful in its own way. here it is, canoodling with the king. lucky girl.
i have a plan for displaying the six flies, but that's for another post! ta da! i did it.