Inspiration Avenue : Prima Vera

Change, the Eternal Spring

For this week's amazing challenge by PritiLisa at Inspiration Avenue, I created a Soul Collage card.  Lisa asked for an allegory, so if you are interested in my process of arriving at this card and its allegory, you can read further down.

I have named this card, Change, the Eternal Spring.  It speaks to me of the eternal river of life that feeds the Soul and the Self.  Life has a tendency to turn us into stone, like the Gorgon sister Medusa.  Our hair (our ego and thought processes) becomes an entangled mess and we become fearful of change.  Change is indeed a death of the known and a re-birth into the unknown.  Therefore, like Persephone, we have to either enter the Underworld willingly by ingesting the seeds of the pomegranate, or we will be taken by force by Hades.   Once we have surrendered to the darkness of the Underworld and  died to the old, can we be born to the new :  to a new way of thinking, acting and feeling.  Once we have faced our deepest fears in the Underworld, can we be re-born as the Spring Queen with a new wisdom.  Once we have surrendered to the cycles of our psyche and soul, can we celebrate the rebirth of compassionate love for ourselves and our own life journey.

More about this card

With true artistic freedom, I combined the Greek and Roman myths, some Jungian philosophy and the great Christian divine epic of struggle, death and resurrection into new life, all into one SoulCollage card that speaks to me of the allegory of my own journey with light and dark.

Central to the card is Venus, the Goddess of Love, she who is Soul and Anima and Divine Feminine.  She is the one that is hidden in the allegory of life;  the one that speak to me through the Nine Muses and through the ordinary sacredness of life.

On the left hand side is Persephone, the Greek maiden who was abducted by Hades, the Lord of the Underworld.  Whilst down there she ate 6 seeds of the pomegranate which meant that she had to stay there for six months of the year!!  When she emerges from the Underworld, she returns as Kore, the Queen of the Underworld. 

Hades, as the Lord of the Underworld, represent our shadow, that which we do not want to face nor accept. This may be sickness, or loss, or longing, or regret.

Underneath her is Medusa, a very famous Gorgon.   Her story tells of her long hair which turned into snakes.  According to some philosophies, hair represent the ego, the identity that we create and maintain to the outside world and to ourselves.  Medusa represents 'taking a long hard look in the mirror of the subconscious self and to face the inner demons or snakes that frighten one into withdrawal and isolation (amongst others).

Underneath all of these is the image of the broken body of Jesus the Christ, taken down from the cross, with the women who stood vigil -  the Pieta, also by Botticelli.

And on the very far right is the crowning of the Blessed Mother as the Queen of Heaven.  The new life and Divine Love as a nurturing, giving and compassionate inner giving, understanding that the Spring Within is an eternal Well of sweet life-giving water.

If you enjoy SoulCollage, or would like to learn more, please join me every week at http://pathofdivinelove.blogspot.com in a SoulCollage meme.  For more information you can click on this link 

love

Hettienne

Untie the Strong Woman

Think of her not in the ways you've been told/sold.

Rather, seek her with your own eyes without blinkers

and your own heart without shutters.

Look low instead of high.

Look right under your nose.

She comes in many guises and disguises.

Hidden, right out in the open.

And you will know her immediately by her immaculate

and undivided heart for humanity.

She is one who is present in every way.  In so understanding

one's own pull to the Holy Woman, thus do we untie the Strong Woman.

Dr Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Untie the Strong Woman

The above extract from Dr Estes' wonderful, powerful, inspirational new book inspired my entry for Inspiration Avenue's team challenge of Textures.

I have used a mixture of acrylics, water colour, masking, charcoal and gold dust for this rendition of Untie the Strong Woman.

Please visit Inspiration Avenue Team for some wonderful entries and join in the weekly fun!!

I also invite you to visit my weekly SoulSongs on The Path of Divine Love.  You can also link up with Postcard from Paradise.  Click on these links and discover some creative fun!

love,

Hettienne

Diva

At Inspiration Avenue I set the challenge of DIVA.  Inspired by all the entries and others' interpretations of what the word means, I did some more research and I found this very descriptive explanation on-line :

A diva is a female opera singer, but now the term also refers to a popular female performer of non-operatic works. The term was originally used to describe a woman of rare, outstanding talent. The term derives from an ancient Italian word meaning "goddess", which, in turn derives from the feminine form of a Latin word divus, meaning "divine one".

Time Magazine observed in its October 21, 2002 issue: "By definition, a diva is was originally used for great female opera singers, almost always sopranos. Often today "diva" is used to describe any extremely independent and wildly talented woman. Naturally the term still applies to the classical arts.

As with the earlier "prima donna", which was also derived from opera (lit. "first lady"), the term has slipped from its trade origins and come to be used in any theatrical or performance setting. In particular, because of marketing efforts, the word "diva" has come to be applied most often to popular female performers, including opera divas, pop divas, dance divas and ballet divas. In order to qualify as a diva there must be one, or both, of two dominant traits present: a broad and expansive voice and/or a thoroughly captivating and commanding presence. - http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060814013012AAiNgBz

And this is my 'divine one'.

She is only my second doll and as you can see I am not skilled at this craft at all, BUT each one that takes shape under my fingers, are absolutely divine to me!!  I used ribbon instead of wire for her arms and legs and look at these adorable little fingerless gloves I made for her :  pure diva, wouldn't you say?

I made the dress from a piece of white cotton sari that I bought in India and I tea dyed it to get that lovely creamy colour.  The little hat is a vintage doll's hat from a composite storybook doll!

I also would like to invite you to join in with my weekly SoulSongs.  Click on the image below and you will find your way there :

love

Hettienne

Your Story Told with Love

Stories, stories, magical tales

of wonder, love, toil and trouble.

No, not fairytales, our lives,

no less!

We each have a story to tell;

a tale to share.

And so do our loved ones.

Stories of dreams and hopes

Stories of passion

Stories of love found

Have your own story turned into a piece of art.

A shadow box that tells the details about your life.

Or the story of someone dear to you.  Maybe a favourite place they visited.

With little details particular to them

with a doll from that era, or that region

or a hand made one of a kind doll

choose the frame or the house

from a humble cigar box

to a customised shadow box 

Each shadowbox comes with a scroll

telling your story with love ......

For more details, please visit www.etsy.com/shop/devata

with love,

Hettienne

Here comes the Sun

This week at Inspiration Avenue, we had a special co-host, Gemma.

She chose the topic Here Comes the Sun with the possibilities of Imbolc,

Candlemas, St Bridgits Day, Brigit, Spring and so much more.

And this is my entry.

My first ever clay doll!

A Frida Kahlo folk primitive doll!

Pure sunshine!

Here in South Africa we have been having a heat wave.  As you can see from the flowers behind Frida,

the flowers have been loving it.  The bougainvillas are bright pink, the hibiscus radiates sunshine

and all these amazing colours reminded me of Frida.

I have been wanting to make a clay doll for a while and I discovered 

http://nancysartdolls.ning which is a wonderful site with tutorials,

resources and more.

I am hampered by a lack of availability of materials, but have been improvising as I go along.

I have also teamed her up with Songs of my Soul, my weekly SoulCollage

challenge here where I made a Frida card.  Pay a visit and see my beautiful sunshine Frida SoulCollage

and maybe you would like to join in?

Song of my Soul collage challenge

I am now working on making her house, so please come back and see the 

finished cigar box house.

happy week

Hettienne