I went to an estate sale a few weeks ago and found this bust beneath an overgrown willow tree on the side of the property. I was struck by the haunting beauty it possessed despite its appearance; cracks meandering through the features as its bottom half crumbled into the thick ivy below. And yet, there was something in the downcast eyes of the figure, a quiet assurance as if she had lived through a battle and persevered against the weight of her journey. I identified with the personification of her in multiple ways, and sought to create an image that would demonstrate a need to take care of oneself in times of insecurity and uncertainty.
Being the lover of wisdom that I am, two quotes kept ruminating through my head as I worked.
Rumi:
"These pains you feel are messengers. Listen to them."
and
From Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven
"But the Raven still beguiling all my fancy into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust and door;
Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore—
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking “Nevermore.”
This 18x24 drawing was completed with graphite on 110lb Canson drawing paper.