Being an art teacher, I know that my issue cannot lie with finding the energy to do artwork; being an artist helps me find my energy. I had worked tirelessly on my shadow box to meet the deadline for the Art League show, Hint of Fiction. Choosing a story of twenty-five words or less, I had settled on telling a visual story for “Insomnia.”
“Sleeping Beauty never minded the spindle prick. It was the wake up kiss she hated.” Val Gryphin.
There lie my limbless dolly with the cracked wooden head, reflected by mirrors in a glass box, covered with signs of nature spilling from the woods.
I had created a social/political statement on countries aborting girls to have more sons.
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| Sleeping Beauty |
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| "The War Against Girls" |
Excerpt from The Daimon:
Daddy hadn’t wanted a girl and if he had been successful, she wouldn’t have lived to tell her story. In accordance with a dark fairy tale, Elisabeth spent her life waking up from a very, very, bad dream.
Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream
Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Merrily
Life is but a dream!
Elisabeth sang as she worked on her shadowbox.
“Is this the first time you have won an award for your art?” Her husband had asked of Elisabeth after congratulating her.
Never wanting the weight of a contest, Elisabeth usually refrained from such events. This time was different; it was her baby doll, she had won as a little girl.
“Not since I was a child!” Elisabeth replied. “If you can call a coloring contest, art, that is!”
“Your piece is so beautiful! “ An admirer described to Elisabeth the witnessing of each detail taken to create an assemblage of Beauty asleep in the woods, with leaves and petals that had befallen her. Undisturbed, free of insomnia.
“My grandson loves your Sleeping Beauty!” Another viewer introduced Elisabeth to the eyes of an eight year old.
But then there were those who missed the beauty and commented, “How could you?”
“How could I not?” Elisabeth would think to herself of all the secrets her worn out dolly had witnessed.
“She is not to be cast off!”
The artists would assemble to hear the announcements: “An honorable mention goes to the artist who interpreted ‘Insomnia,’—the piece with the creepy baby doll.” And the art director called Elisabeth’s name.
Never wanting the weight of a contest, Elisabeth usually refrained from such events. This time was different; it was her baby doll, she had won as a little girl.
“Not since I was a child!” Elisabeth replied. “If you can call a coloring contest, art, that is!”
“Your piece is so beautiful! “ An admirer described to Elisabeth the witnessing of each detail taken to create an assemblage of Beauty asleep in the woods, with leaves and petals that had befallen her. Undisturbed, free of insomnia.
“My grandson loves your Sleeping Beauty!” Another viewer introduced Elisabeth to the eyes of an eight year old.
But then there were those who missed the beauty and commented, “How could you?”
“How could I not?” Elisabeth would think to herself of all the secrets her worn out dolly had witnessed.
“She is not to be cast off!”
The artists would assemble to hear the announcements: “An honorable mention goes to the artist who interpreted ‘Insomnia,’—the piece with the creepy baby doll.” And the art director called Elisabeth’s name.
What a fabulous piece of art and a wonderful blog post and I love the quote!!
ReplyDeleteIt was fun to work with some fabric as I padded my dolly's mattress and covered it with a beautiful cloth. I admire your work in cloth and keep thinking someday, I'll put my sewing skills to work and put my hands on something softer than glass and found objects. Rebecca, one of my readers commented on shrines which makes me think of you. I know you have done shrines in cloth. I think I would like to talk about shrines and archetypal images at Hearing Visions at Orr St. It would be nice to have a collective of artists' work represented in images and words. Are you up for sharing credited images I could put in a power point or a movie maker format?
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