Celtic Ravens - Myth and Magic

Raven Fey by Brigid Ashwood. Available as prints, totes, journals... 

There's a chill in the air. Mother Nature has freely splashed the colors of gold, pumpkin orange, deep red on the foliage. Costumes are being assembled with humor and fright. Its that time of year! Halloween? And October - time for the ravens to take the lead role as the theme this month.

For out AJE theme challenges - we invite you all to join us and create jewelry or art in other mediums, with ravens as the theme. Raven beads? Raven jewelry? yes and yes. Please see Karen's original post with all the details on how to participate. 

As I prepare for FaerieCon - I realized I have many artist friends/colleagues that love corvids (Corvus corax - common raven) I decided to share art with you today for inspiration - and knowing me - a little mythology thrown in... 

Meredith Dillman - is an artist and illustrator originally from Minnesota. She now lives in Wisconsin. She is known for her colorful watercolors which blend Art Nouveau, fantasy and Asian influences. She enjoys painting fairies, woodland creatures and other fantasy and medieval themes and has been drawing such since childhood. She is inspired by Pre-Raphaelite artists, Japanese comics, and turn-of-the-century book illustration.

Diverse raven offerings from Meredith: "Throne of Ravens" & "Raven's Treasure" 

Stephanie Lostimolo - "I suppose I've always been a "creator." I think we all are, but most people are forced to (or choose to) abandon their creativity in order to "fit in" or "get a real job." Sometimes I make books, other times I build worlds, still other times I fashion things out of horns, bones, and some modern materials like resin and polymer clay. I double as a graphic designer for many book projects, websites, and special events."

Clockwise from top left: "Fire in the Belly", "Raven Talisman of Protection", "Generations" and "Rosemary is for Remembrance". 

• Ravens have appeared in myth from Ancient Greece/Rome to modern day Native American belief systems. While Karen shared more Native American inspirations in her original post - I am drawn to the Celtic mythos and to a lesser degree the Norse as well. 
• Ancient Greece - ravens served as messengers to the gods, were considered lucky, and especially searched to Apollo, in his role as god of prophesy. 
• In the Norse world, Odin the father deity was accompanied by two ravens, names Huginn (Thought) and Muninn (Memory). Each day the ravens fly out from Hliðskjálf and bring Odin news from Midgard. Odin was associated with knowledge, healing and runes among many other things. 
• The myth of Bran and Branwen is a complex tale that links ravens to the Tower of London and the present day. The original tale is from the Welsh Mabinogion. 
• In Celtic and Irish myth ravens are often associated with the Goddesses the Morrigan, Macha, Badb. Warrior goddesses all there then becomes and association with ravens and the battlefield, the slain. ( Ravens are omnivorous, but will feed on carrion) This trifold goddess is described below. 
• Badb - an Irish warrior goddess known as the "Battle Crow". She is known to cause fear and confusion among soldiers to move the tide of battle to her favoured side. Badb may also appear prior to a battle to foreshadow the extent of the carnage to come, or to predict the death of a notable person. She would sometimes do this through wailing cries, leading to comparisons with the bean-sídhe (banshee).
• Macha - warrior and goddess of sovereignty. Also associated with horses. 
• Morrigan - also a warrior goddess, associated with strength and the cycles of life death & birth. 

Jane Star Weils - Ancient cultures, myth and magick are the basic core elements that inspire my artwork. Fascinated with symbolic mythology, I try to weave a bit of symbolism into every painting.
I want to create artwork that draws the viewer in, unfolding and revealing it's meaning slowly.
Color is also extremely important to me. Exploring it's richness, the way light creates and interacts with it, and how even the darkest shadow has an unexpected depth to it. My medium is a combination of watercolor and colored pencil. I build up many layers with these two mediums and quite often will ad gouache or ink.

Jane Star Weils brings us: "Branwen ( white raven)", Celtic Raven", and "The Morrigan"

Brigid Ashwood - " Art. Words. Design. - I am an artist who paints steampunk bugs, clockwork dolls, fairy tales, magick and myth. I also write stories... My technique is well rooted in traditional mediums such as oil paint and silverpoint. But I also work in the luminous tones of the digital palette; merging the labored craft of portraiture with the flexibility of modern mediums." ( See her ravens that open this post)

Brigid shared a few images with me of an upcoming project. Her Morrigan concept drawing is shown below with its initial sculpt. Brigid has licensed designs and is working with Pacfic Trading to see these goddesses come to life in detail and color. The second picture here is the first completed sculpt! I love it, and think it maintained Brigid's original detail, palette and symbolism. (Releasing soon. Sign up for her mailing list for details. )

Concept drawing and sculpt preview of B. Ashwood's Morrigan

The Morrigan by Brigid Ashwood. 

I do hope you will join is for the Raven theme challenge this month at AJE. There is still time. (Details here.) I personally just had an insane idea for a bead embroidered piece while looking at these artworks. Gotta go sketch... 

Artists featured in this post retain all copyright; images used with permission. For more information: 

Meredith Dillman's website and store

Stephanie Lostimolo website and Etsy  store

Jane Star Weils website and Etsy

Brigid Ashwood website and store

Folklore Friday - Garnets

 I can never tire of garnets... 

January's birthstone - from deep wine red to amber brown to forest green... 

I'm missing the jewelry studio this week ( and next) as I am in the midst of teaching a summer intensive Clay Camp. My week is the wheel not the saw; porcelain not polymer. I DID manage to get a few firefly pieces in the kiln this week for this month's COM! 

My only real jewelry time of late has been vicarious, browsing a few hardback library tomes on historical jewelry. So in light of my absence from the studio; I decided to show you garnets from those ancient times. Ancient jewelry has always fascinated me. Materials used, cultural and historical context of pieces, uses and meaning of personal adornments. Jewelry was worn through out history and time, yet carries such meaning with each style and time period....

Whats in a name? 

garnet (n.) 

early 14c., metathesized from Old French grenat "garnet," originally an adjective, "of a dark red color," from Medieval Latin granatum, originally an adjective, "of dark red color," perhaps abstracted from pomegranate (q.v.), from the stone's resemblance either to the shape of the seeds or the color of the pulp. But perhaps the word is from Medieval Latin granum "grain," in its sense of "cochineal, red dye." 

Bottle/Amulet with garnet and chrysocolla. 2nd-3rd century BC

Roman ring - garnet and bronze. Garnet intaglio depicts Minerva. 1st Century AD.

Roman earrings, gold, glass, garnets. Circa 2nd-3rd century AD. (www.elogedelart.canalblog.com) Gold and garnet pin, intaglio carving of Winged Nike/Victory. Roman, Imperial period. (www.vroma.org)

Late Roman gold and garnet ring. Circa 4th century AD. ( www.christies.com)

Eastern Roman gold and garnet earrings. circa 2nd century AD (www.christies.com)

The Canterbury pendant featuring inlaid "cloisonne" garnet.  Anglo Saxon, early 7th century AD. (www.gold.org)

Gold sword fitting, inlaid with garnets. From the Staffordshire Hoard, Anglo-Saxon 7th-8th century AD.  Gold sword fitting, inlaid with garnets. From the Staffordshire Hoard, Anglo-Saxon 7th-8th century AD.

Gold scabbard boss, with garnets. The Staffordshire Hoard.  The Staffordshire Hoard is the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork yet found. Discovered in a field near the village of Hammerwich, near Lichfield, in Staffordshire, England, on 5 July 2009, it consists of over 3,500 items that are nearly all martial in character and contains no objects specific to female uses.The artefacts have tentatively been dated to the 7th or 8th centuries, placing the origin of the items in the time of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia.  Gold scabbard boss, with garnets. The Staffordshire Hoard.

Basic Garnet info: 

• Garnet occurs in every color except blue and most varieties are named for their color. Rhodolite is a purplish red, hessonite is the name for an orange, cinnamon, or pinkish variety. Tsavorite is the name given to dark green grossularite. Uvarovite and demantoid are also green varieties. 
• Garnets range from a 7.0 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale of hardness and are found in the U.S. (Arizona), South Africa, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Myanmar (Burma), Scotland, Switzerland and Tanzania .  
• Garnet's powers include healing, strength, and protection and it is often worn to relieve inflammations of the skin. It is also believed to regulate the heart and blood flow and aid in curing depression. In earlier times, garnets were exchanged as gifts between friends to demonstrate their affection for each other and to insure that they meet again.

I hope you have enjoyed this ancient sampler. I didn't even touch upon the Renaissance, the Victorian era... so much rich history. Perhaps you'll find inspiration here, it will keep me satiated until I return to the studio! 

Trick or Treat

Hi and Happy Halloween!

Welcome to today's post where I'm going to share what I'll be doing along with a little bit of history of the day... and of course some lovely handmade treats!

Spooky bead set byMadCatGlass

Although it isn't celebrated as keenly as it is in the US, Halloween originates from over here in the UK. The oldest stories reach back to the Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced Sah-Ween) which marks the final harvest and the end of Summer. The Celts held any time of change or transition in high regard and believed that these times were magical and spirits could wander freely. Those that had died in the previous year could pass across to the otherworld and those already passed could travel back through to earth. Fires were lit in their honour and costumes were made from hollowed out animal heads and skins to represent the Gods of Nature.

Pumpkin candles byFlickeringWicks

Today, I'm going to be busy carving pumpkins with my kids, and they want angry birds... I think they're being a bit hopeful of my capabilities!

The tradition of carving pumpkins or Jack O' lanterns comes from Ireland where there lived a man known as Stingy Jack. He was well known for being mean and playing tricks on those around him and also for being a terrible drunk. One evening in a bar, he met the devil.

Devil lampwork earringsby BlackPersimmons

Not being easily intimidated, he asked him to join him in a drink. But being stingy, he didn't want to pay for them, so he convinced the devil to turn in to a sixpence to pay the bill in return for his soul. But rather than settle up, Stingy Jack decided to keep the coin and put it in his purse where he kept a cross. The devil was trapped and couldn't return to his original form. Jack agreed to let the devil go free if he promised not to bother him for a year. A year later, Jack again met the devil, this time while walking home. He convinced the devil to climb up in to a tree to pick him an apple. While he was up there, Jack carved crosses in the tree preventing the devil from climbing down again. This time, he agreed to free the devil if he promised to leave him alone for 10 years.

Cross cuff byMichelleVerbeeck

Before his 10 years were up, Stingy Jack died and went up to heaven. He was turned away at the gates due to his mean ways on Earth, so he travelled down to hell. The devil refused him entry as he had promised not to take his soul for 10 years and wasn't happy about being tricked, so Stingy Jack had no place to rest. As he left he asked what he should do... the devil threw him a burning ember, which he put inside a hollow turnip to light his way as he roamed for eternity looking for a resting place.

Polymer Pumpkins byPennysLane

So with the pumpkins carved, it will be time to dress up, this year we're going with skeletons. Traditionally costumes have been worn to hide from the faeries or spirits alleged to run free on the night of Halloween. Disguised as beggars, they visit houses asking for treats and handouts. They will reward those who give food, but those who refuse will be tricked. Other stories say that pumpkins are left outside houses to guide the souls of those lost through the year home, and the scary faces are carved to scare away evil spirits.

Ours will be going in the garden while we go out looking for ghosts, and bats, and witches on broomsticks.

Witch & cauldron by JoanMillerPorcelain

Witches for modern Halloween are usually portrayed haggard old ladies with warts and green faces, cackling around a cauldron. But the first witches were much kinder people.

The word witch, derives from 'Wicca' meaning 'Wise one'. These women were originally known as wise as they were healers. They practised early forms of medicine, making natural remedies to assist with pain and other ailments and were well respected in their communities.

Witchy finger by Izzybeads

With the spread of Christianity through Europe, practising medicine was frowned upon and considered to be practising against God's will, so witches were cast as evil, horrible old hags doing the work of the devil, and mass hysteria ensued. Accusations flew and people were accused of witchcraft for things as simple as having a birthmark or mole, considered to be marks of the devil. Those leading the witch hunts would offer the accused salvation in return for their confession and naming of the other witches in their coven. Faced with the choice of a nasty painful death, or being saved by naming a few others, the accused usually put forth the names in order to save themselves. This lead to hundreds of people being falsely accused and many put to death. This spread across continents with the migration of the Irish and led to events such as the Salem witch trials. 

Black cat cabochon byGraphixoutpost

And finally, we can't have a Halloween post without a cat! Now a symbol of good luck, the black cat was once feared as a figure of darkness. It was said that witches could transfer between their human form and that of their familiar to travel incognito, that the devil often appeared as a black cat when associating with witches, and even that they were gifts given by the devil. Cats were accused along with the witches of practising the dark arts and unfortunately many suffered the same fate as their owners. Thankfully we're a little more open minded about our pets now!

Well it's time for me to go and carve some pumpkins...

I hope you enjoyed reading, and whatever you're doing and whatever you believe, I hope you have a very Happy Halloween!

Caroline 

Blueberribeads