On the Wing of a Swan is an oil painting on paper. It measures about 48x48" and the paper is permanently attached to a stretched canvas.
Many years ago, measured in thousands of years, in a Scandinavian country a young woman gave birth to a child. Both of them died in childbirth. When the grave was discovered in the 20th century by archaeologists, they found the remains of a young woman, judged by modern scientific methods to have been about 18 years old. She was dressed in a leather dress and had many pieces of jewelry made of sea shells on her body. The child, laid beside her, was too young at death to have a definite gender identification even by modern scientific methods, but an arrowhead was laid at the child's head which led the archaeologists to believe that the child was male. The two were lovingly laid to rest beside each other and the baby rested on the soft and downy wing of a swan.
Childbirth deaths of mothers and of babies were common until fairly recent times. Who was it all those centuries ago who suffered the loss of those two people? Who laid them to rest so tenderly?
Friday, March 14, 2008
Sunday, January 13, 2008
January 13, Sunday
Ariadne's Thread was motivated by the story of a princess. But her story starts with her parents, so let me begin at the beginning.
There was Greek king, thousands of years ago, who had a lovely wife. But he left her alone and lonely as he went off to war. The lovely wife, the queen, feel in love with a beautiful white bull. (in those days that sort of thing was possible, I guess) She gave birth to a half-human, half-bull child. The king came home and was so shocked and so angry that he ordered a labyrinth to be built, the first one so legend has it, and placed the off-spring in the center of the labyrinth. Now, the labyrinth was so complicated that it was hoped that the bull would not find his way out! Occasionally, young people were sent into the labyrinth and never came back; they were assumed to have been eaten by the bull.
That was the situation for many years as Ariadne grew up in her parents' palace. She was, after all, a princess.
One day a young man, an adventurer, named Theseus came by and saw Ariadne and fell in love. He asked her father, the king, for her hand in marriage. The king said he would grant that IF, and only IF, Theseus was able to enter the labyrinth and kill the bull.
Ariadne had also seen Theseus and fallen in love with him. She knew what the young man had to do to win her hand. She also knew that no one had ever come back out of the labyrinth. She, however, was a smart young woman and motivated by love. She had an idea! She would give Theseus the end of a twine and the ball of twine would be outside the labyrinth. He could enter the labyrinth, kill the bull, and find his way out of the labyrinth, back to her and they would, she believed, live happily ever after together.
And that is what happened. He took the end of the twine, went into the labyrinth, killed the bull, and was able to find his way back to Ariadne, thanks to her cunning. The king was pleased that the bull was dead so he allowed Theseus to take Ariadne and they left on a grand adventure.
Unfortunately, a few years later another lovely woman entered Theseus life, and he left Ariadne on an island somewhere in the Aegean Sea. She might, just might, still be there.
There was Greek king, thousands of years ago, who had a lovely wife. But he left her alone and lonely as he went off to war. The lovely wife, the queen, feel in love with a beautiful white bull. (in those days that sort of thing was possible, I guess) She gave birth to a half-human, half-bull child. The king came home and was so shocked and so angry that he ordered a labyrinth to be built, the first one so legend has it, and placed the off-spring in the center of the labyrinth. Now, the labyrinth was so complicated that it was hoped that the bull would not find his way out! Occasionally, young people were sent into the labyrinth and never came back; they were assumed to have been eaten by the bull.
That was the situation for many years as Ariadne grew up in her parents' palace. She was, after all, a princess.
One day a young man, an adventurer, named Theseus came by and saw Ariadne and fell in love. He asked her father, the king, for her hand in marriage. The king said he would grant that IF, and only IF, Theseus was able to enter the labyrinth and kill the bull.
Ariadne had also seen Theseus and fallen in love with him. She knew what the young man had to do to win her hand. She also knew that no one had ever come back out of the labyrinth. She, however, was a smart young woman and motivated by love. She had an idea! She would give Theseus the end of a twine and the ball of twine would be outside the labyrinth. He could enter the labyrinth, kill the bull, and find his way out of the labyrinth, back to her and they would, she believed, live happily ever after together.
And that is what happened. He took the end of the twine, went into the labyrinth, killed the bull, and was able to find his way back to Ariadne, thanks to her cunning. The king was pleased that the bull was dead so he allowed Theseus to take Ariadne and they left on a grand adventure.
Unfortunately, a few years later another lovely woman entered Theseus life, and he left Ariadne on an island somewhere in the Aegean Sea. She might, just might, still be there.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
January 10, 2008 Charlotte
Today is the day I concern myself for the first time with a Blog. Conceptually an interesting idea. I am not at all certain who in the world would want to read this but if I am going to require my students to do it, then I have to figure it out, too. There should be a picture of a painting, Ariadne's Twine, accompanying this page. It is a painting done in 2002, I think, and refers to a figure in Greek mythology. Maybe that's what I will make this Blog about...explaining the stories behind my paintings.
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