Some more Russian Nesting Dolls. Since it was Thanksgiving I had my annual Indian interest revival that my family is so susceptible to.
So these are characters from Iroquois mythology. (Religion? Is it not OK to say mythology? Cause some people believe it. I mean, you don't say Jewish mythology or something. Hmmm). Some of these characters are from stories I was told as a kid. But I just learned about some of them, like the brothers and the doll.
Here is the turtle that is the earth. I know it's stupid, but sometimes I still picture it this way. I used to really think this was a possibility.
His butt.
There are two brothers who made everything in the world, on good, one bad. I like this idea, cause of my Cain and Abel love.
So this is a detail of the good brother, who made everything good.
He looks like a girl, but I like that. He's pretty. P.S. I don't know what Iroquois clothes look like, I think they are more cloth rather then hide, but they are like the first people, so maybe they didn't know how to weave yet.
The brother who made everything bad. Eventually, the good brother kills him (Reverse Cain/Abel)!
He looks lame. But It's hard to paint small. This picture is bigger then the real thing, so it looks way worse. Hmm. Whatever. The first two you need to see in person cause you need to turn it in your hands.
Coyote. He is always fun. I like how sometimes coyote is a person, sometimes he is a coyote, and the stories never explain which one he is. He changes back in forth in your mind as the story goes on.
Raven is the same as coyote. They are the most fun characters, cause they are kind of assholes.
Corn Husk doll. Apparently she was so vain that someone stole her face. (I forget who. The Great Spirit or something). I don't know who the Great Spirit is... a person? An energy force? The turtle? It's just as confusing as the Holy Ghost. What the fuck is that?
i feel like a douche because i came, commmented on someone else's entry but not yours even though you are the latest one, and left. i will come back and do this properly, i promise.
ReplyDeletei like the earth turtle the most.
ReplyDeleteand the earth IS a turtle btw.
the good brother bad brother things are actually really cool. the only thing is that it makes me sad that you put a snake as a bad thing. snakes are good things. i know they are representative of evil but that is so unfair. poor snakes. they're good.
okay thats off topic.
anyways these are good. the colors are very elementary. as in solid, bright, colors. which makes it appear more childish which maybe was what you were going for. i dunno. maybe you should invest in a magnifying glass light and a really small brush or pen for the details? those .005 microns are really tiny.
love
the great spirit
Actually Allison, I really like snakes. I once got in trouble for stealing a rosy boa from my 6th grade classroom (only for an hour).
ReplyDeleteBut when you are living in the wild... snakes are bad. Not much to eat, so not really useful there, and they can be venomous. They are not really good for humans. Sure, they eat mice and rats, but like one a month, whereas an owl or bobcat or something will eat multiple a night.
I like snakes, but they are not good things to meet if you are a human.
Man, I should be better at tiny painting. I have this tiny brush, but it's not that helpful. I am not good at big painting, nor at small painting. I am a medium painter.
i really like the earth turtle because it is a complete composition in itself. who are the two figures in the clouds supposed to be?
ReplyDeletebut my favorite is coyote. his face is so cute and his arms are so tiny and his butt is so big (i know that is because of the shape of the doll, not because you don't know what a coyote looks like). he reminds me of juneau.
also i think it is pretty badass that the second doll has two sides to it.