Friday 26 February 2016

Kim Dellow's Show Your Face on Friday - An Owl Lady!

Hello Followers and Friends and welcome to Magpiehaven. This Friday I'm linking to Kim Dellow's inspiring blog 'Show Your Face on Friday' here with a fantasy face. I'm sharing a journal page which is part of my preparation for a class I'm taking with Robin Laws called 'The Storyteller's Art' that begins on March 4th. Robin recommended a book to us called 'Wild Mind' by Natalie Goldberg. It contains lots of exercises designed to encourage the reader to write. It's a very stimulating read and especially liberating if you're new to writing; if you're suffering from writer's block, or if you simply want to bring back a freshness and spontaneity to your work. A few years ago I wrote short stories, some of which found their way into publication and some of which did not. One of Natalie's exercises is to write with the prompt 'I remember...' and this memory took the form of a journal page for me and a memory of a story that was short-listed but didn't actually make it into print!
My story was about a woman, a jewellery maker, who lived in a remote cottage. Her children who were once her life had all flown the nest; her husband lived in his own world and seemed to have forgotten her existence and her mother-in-law was a frequent visitor, critical and cranky! Then, one morning, while plucking her eyebrows in front of the bathroom mirror, the woman discovered a tiny, snowy feather growing just above her right eye. She plucked it out and forgot about it!
It was winter and the trees were bare, but she was warm and content in her studio. Day by day the woman worked on a beautiful necklace, a commission for a mysterious client, and day by day the feathers appeared - everywhere on her body. Her husband complained about them tickling his nose in bed. Her mother-in-law criticised her appalling house-keeping skills! Feathers under the rugs!
She tried to pluck them from her eyebrows, her chin - everywhere; but they always returned, growing ever more vigorously. All the time the necklace was almost creating itself. She knew it was going to be the most beautiful thing she would ever create: she was discovering that she knew far more than she had ever realized.
As the Spring took hold of the woods around her home and the necklace was nearing completion there was no longer any fighting it - she was morphing into an owl! She knew that her husband and her mother-in-law were plotting against her, planning to convert her studio into an apartment for her mother-in-law; but that no longer seemed important to her. She added the last turquoise nugget to the necklace, left it in the silvery beams of the new moon as her client had instructed her and took flight into the moonlight...
a wise owl, queen of the wood!

I used PaperArtsy Frescos, Sara Nauman stamps, Inktense blocks and Micron pens with the addition of some tea-bag papers to create this page. It was fun to re-visit the story and to express it visually after all these years! Thank You so much for stopping by today. I do hope you will link to KIm's blog with a face that you have created. Have a happy and creative weekend, wherever you are!

14 comments:

  1. This is lovely Julie Ann I hope you enjoy your class..can't wait to see what you do...see you sunday xx

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  2. What a wonderful story and art to accompany it -your owl lady is brilliant!

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  3. A beautiful page to match your beautiful story. Absolutely magical! Lx

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  4. Was just settling down with your story and it finished too quickly......need to know how it all ended Julie Ann! Mesmerising story and your art is equally enchanting....more, more, more please! Xx

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  5. I love your story, Julie Ann, and I love your owl lady. This is a beautiful piece of work. Noreen reckons I should look out for a white feather as it means David is watching me.

    Lucy x

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  6. Wonderful story and page. You have given me an idea to use some of my "snippets" (I could never write a whole story).
    Maybe there is a painting in some of them.

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  7. Amazing story Julie, interest situation and I was very fun to read. The pages are prefect and I love her nobly and little melancholy face. xx

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  8. A magical story Julie Ann, and your owl lady is wonderful! xxx

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  9. An owl lady, she's marvelous with her sharp talons and sweet face in your magical landscape! xox

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  10. Wonderful story I couldn't stop reading!! Love the owl lady too....wise for sure!! You produced beautiful visuals with paints and words!!Thanks for sharing!!

    Hugs Giggles

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  11. I found myself completely immersed in your story telling and detailed photographs of your art that I was actually saddened to find myself at the end of the post. It was that feeling of when I am captivated by a wonderful read, I simply don't want the book to finish, to discover I am on the final page!
    We are so privileged to have you share your art and story telling with us.
    Wishes
    Lynne

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  12. Oh Julie Ann! I love your owl lady and the wonderful story about her! Magical post once again! Hugs, Chrisx

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  13. Quite a magical story Julie Ann! I love your little wise owl- beautiful my friend! xx

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  14. A wonderful story of creativity and escape - I was so busy with the words that I had to go back and look at the pictures! I love your owl woman and her newly gained wisdom pervading the air around her. Beautiful. I'm so excited for you as you set off on this journey with the Storyteller's Art... and excited for us if we get to share in your discoveries en route!
    Alison x

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