Lenore and Her Two Pet Ravens, Edgar & Allan

Meet Lenore. She owns this little pet shop in Old Town. 

It's a nice enough shop. And Lenore is great. It's just....When I go there, well, it's kinda dark. I find myself deep into that darkness peering. Long I stand there wondering, fearing, doubting, 

dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before; but....I digress.

It's a lovely pet shop. (Although, I don't know why she calls it a "pet" shop when she only sells big, black birds.) It is quite peaceful there.

 

Except there's this one bird that someone was misguided enough to teach it to speak. And, sometimes, while you're there, and the silence is unbroken, and the stillness gives no token, and the only word there spoken is..."Lenore".

 

Or "nevermore".

Or "implore".

Or "nothing more."

(Enough already!!!)

So, next time you're nearby, stop on in and say, "Howdy!".

And, see if you can get that bird to say something else. 

(For example, "Annabel Lee", "kingdom by the sea", "loved by me"...)

Amelia

So that you can see what else I've been up to.... Meet Amelia.

Amelia is a commissioned piece, so she is not available for purchase, but I wanted you to see her. She was an absolute joy to create! The inspiration for this 'interpretation' of Amelia Earhart is from a one-act, absurdist play called "Chamber Music" by Arthur Kopit. It takes place in an insane asylum in 1938. The eight women who are the focal point of this play all think they are a famous woman from history. Women like Gertrude Stein, Joan of Arc, Amelia Earhart, etc. I'm not going to tell you anymore about it but I will recommend that you try to get a copy of the play and read it. It has a lovely little 'twist' at the end. In the meantime, enjoy these pictures of Amelia.

Mr. d'Wolf On Application For Her Hand

 

To her utter amazement, she saw Mr. Fitzwilliam d’Wolf walk into the room. In an unhurried manner he immediately began an inquiry after her health. He sat down for a few moments, and then getting up, stalked about the room, looking…hungry. He came towards her in an agitated manner, and thus began:

 

“In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I hunger, er, admire and love you.”

 

He spoke well; but there were feelings beside those of the heart to be detailed; and he was not more eloquent on the subject of tenderness than of hunger. Mr. d’Wolf, who was leaning against the mantelpiece with his eyes fixed on her throat, struggled for the appearance of composure, and could not open his mouth without licking his lips. At length, with a voice of forced calmness, he said;

“Despite your thinness of person, the lack of flesh on your bones, I find that I cannot take my mind from you. You have nothing to offer me except the red clothes on your back and the meager cakes in your basket. Your inferiority is a degradation I am willing to overlook because I am sooo hungry!”

*****************

 

...Mr. d’Wolf walked with quick steps across the room,

“And this is your opinion of me! My faults- my big eyes, my big ears, my big teeth- are heavy indeed! But perhaps these offenses might have been overlooked, had not your pride been hurt by my honest confession of just how delicious you’d be roasted over an open fire and dressed in hollandaise. Had I concealed my struggles, and flattered you into thinking that I would not swallow you whole; these bitter accusation might have been suppressed. But disguise of every sort is my abhorrence. Nor am I ashamed of the feelings I related. They were natural and just- for a wolf. Could you expect me to rejoice in the thinness of your arms?- to congratulate myself on the hope of flesh so sparse?”

 

And with these words he licked his lips and mopped the drool on his chin with his handkerchief. He opened the front door and quit the house.

*A special 'Thank you' to Miss Austen and her never-ending inspiration.

Elizabeth Red Riding Hood Upon Receiving A Proposal

 

Elizabeth Red Riding Hood’s astonishment was beyond expression. She stared, colored, doubted, and was silent. She lost all compassion in anger. She tried, however, to compose herself to answer him with patience, when he should have done. She said,

“In such cases as this, it is, I believe, the established mode to express a sense of obligation for the sentiments avowed, however unequally they may be returned. But I cannot- I have never desired your good opinion of my spindly arms, and you have bestowed it most unwillingly. Your big eyes have done nothing but look for fault. Your big ears have been used to listen for confirmation of your feelings. And your big teeth are employed to sneer and complain.”

 

Elizabeth continued:

“I might as well inquire why with so evident a desire of offending and insulting me, you chose to tell me that you hungered for me against your nutritional needs? Why would you tell me that you desired to roast me over an open fire despite my thinness of person, my flesh-less-ness, unless it was an excuse for incivility, if I was uncivil?”

 
*************************
 

Elizabeth felt herself growing angrier every moment; yet she tried to the utmost to speak with composure as she said:

“You are mistaken, Mr. d’Wolf, if you suppose that the mode of your declaration affected me in any other way, than as it spared me the concern which I might have felt in refusing you, had you behaved in a more human manner.”

 

Elizabeth heard him the next moment open the door and quit the house. The tumult of her mind was now painfully great. Her astonishment, as she reflected on what has passed, was increased by every review of it. That she should receive an offer of dinner and marriage from Mr. d’Wolf! That he should have been hungry for her for so many months! So hungry that he wished to ‘roast her over an open fire and dress her in hollandaise’, regardless of how thin she was, and how little she had to offer by way of sustenance- was almost incredible! It was gratifying to have inspired unconsciously so strong a craving. But his pride, his abominable pride- soon overcame the pity which the consideration of his attachment had for a moment excited.

*A special 'Thank you' to Miss Austen and her never-ending inspiration.

My latest project has involved a young lady in red, a gentleman wolf and... Jane Austen. There are several 'parts' to my latest project and I feel as if they should all be revealed together. At the same time. And, as I am not finished with each part, I do not want to dole out what is finished, bit by bit. Yet. But, I'd like to share something.

The first pair to 'sit' for me are Red Riding Hood and the Wolf. But not the Red and Wolf you know. These two came into being thanks to a little help from Miss Austen's "Pride and Prejudice". The entire project will consist of sewn portraits of the two stars, a 'papier portrait' of the couple, some miniatures and, of course, their story. So, because you've been patiently waiting, here is a bit of a peak at Miss Elizabeth Red Riding Hood and Mr. Fitzwilliam d'Wolf.

Next Up...

I'll give you a hint...

Red.

Papier Marie

I have been wanting to try something a little different with my portrait making. I wanted to try "sewing" a portrait with paper, instead of fabric. So who better to have sit for this little "experiment" than the lovely Marie. She graciously agreed to be the first subject for my paper portrait. Here is the result...

Papier Marie~ 9" x 13"~ mixed media, paper collage~ ©2012 Danielle Crane

What do you think? Go here for more information.