Dickens and the Sealed Off Heart

My friend Olive always reads Dickens during Christmas time, and so, I searched through my Kindle and there was a little set of stories by him that I didn't know I had! And even though his stories have a sad side, they usually cheer me up in the end. So, I started making my way through "The Seven  Poor Travellers" and got stopped by the sentence, "His heart was in the right place, but it was sealed off." This condition could apply to many people I know. 

    At the same time, I've been thinking about easy ways to cast molds, and came across some ideas about using paper as a casting material. I did it 100 years ago, and guess what? They still look good! 

    This is my first idea for combining the two: Dickens' excellent observation and a sketch for a paper bas relief of a sealed off heart. It is probably too direct, but maybe it will lead to more sophisticated ideas :)

 

Not much, but it's a start

Yesterday, I walked into my studio for the first time in weeks, I'm ashamed to say. It drew me in and plopped me down in front of my easel, I mentioned before that I've been thinking about Lilith, and the punishment she endured for sticking up for herself. When I sat down, without much planning, I sketched in some nests with little demons in them. Right now, they are kind of hard to see, and at this point, they look like big blue flowers, but it's a start.

 

That Round Painting and Lilith the Djinnia

 Well, I haven't posted in a long time. Teaching has taken every ounce of energy and creativity that I've had.

Every now and then I walk by that round painting, and I still think it is too pretty. But I haven't known how to change that. I may be making some progress on that front. 

During the nightmare of this semester, a theme of monsters has emerged, both from school assignments like the gargoyles I posted earlier, and from a friend's generous gift of Djinn stories, as well as a recommendation to listen to the podcast  The Hidden Djinn by Rabia Chaudry.

One of the references that has come up is that in some cultures, Lilith is considered to be a djinn. And she is usually incredibly beautiful. She is often painted as a spurned woman, but it seems to me that she is the one who refused to be dominated and was punished for it. I guess that would tend to make one cranky. 

So, I'm trying to think about how I could give the girl in the round painting an edge, to make her refer to the Dinija Lilith. I have one idea about it, but I'll save it until I get it worked out.

Maybe it takes some monsters to get us through this tough time. 

Please stay well and wear a 😷.