A poet and a harpist, fairy tales, myths and secret waterfalls all hidden inside a rather small oval painting by Ioanna
How did the inspiration for this painting really came to be?
Each artist has their own way of processing things that corresponds to their own unique and complicated way their brain and psyche works.
Apart from that, my understanding is that we will probably never come to decode or fully understand inspiration, because it has to do with spirituality and not only the thoughts and feelings gathered in our brains. I think there is a mystery to it, as that is what makes life what it is, unpredictable, challenging and magical. As for myself, I see each painting as a unique project, and entity. Each of them requires a new approach and process of evolution up until their completion.
In this post I will share with you how this specific painting came to be at the stage that is today, and all the factors I can think of, that conspired to it’s creation..
I really believe that the mystery behind art gives the viewer the proper space to connect in their own way, with each artwork. So, my recommendation is not to view my description as a necessity in order to experience yourselves the artwork and I hope you will not be limited by my personal story!
Everything began, when a poet sent me his new unpublished poetry collection and asked if I would be interested in creating a painting for the cover of his book. I read the poems and was overwhelmed with beautiful vibrant images rushing through my head. But one poem really struck me and I couldn’t hold my tears. I started imagining the scene before I even finished reading it.
The poem talks about a dream, where a girl enters into an otherworldly, beautiful realm where she sees the spirit of her deceased mother who died in the prison due to the persecution of her faith, in China, because of her belief in the principles of Truth, Compassion and Tolerance.
In ancient Chinese culture, people used to believe in divine figures who carry different qualities and of different denominations and who, often, show themselves to people. So the dressing and appearance of the spirit (mother) in this painting is inspired from the myth of the “Heavenly Maidens”. I always loved this myth, since I first read about it. Heavenly maidens are believed to be spiritual beings who exist close to the human realm and are spreading flowers to people whenever something really good is happening in the world, like for example saving people.
I found out that this myth has some similarities with an ancient Greek myth. In ancient Greece the explanation for the rainbow came after a spiritual being named “Iris”. She was the representation of the female speech and was the female messenger who conveyed messages to humans from Gods. She was also believed to fly in a closer distance to humans in comparison with other Gods in Greek mythology. While flying in the air, Iris left a row of colours behind her, and flowers were scattering on earth. That is why many types of flowers are named after “Iris”.
Back to my painting. I didn’t want to limit my artistic expression by making the sprit figure exactly like the heavenly maiden, because I only used by the aesthetic aspect of the figure .The image came effortlessly in my mind, and I used it to represent the spirit of the mother in the painting.
As for the waterfalls…
I combined my memories of two hidden waterfalls, from two opposite sides of the world. One in Iceland, and the other one in Cyprus that I really enjoyed discovering.
The hidden waterfall in Iceland has a beautiful folk-story background. Did you know that Iceland is the mother of fairy tales? Indeed, Icelanders are still holding fast to their fairy-tale tradition, since a very big percentage of the population still believes in their folk traditional stories! The most prevalent one, is the one with the “hidden people”.
Hidden people are believed to be creatures with supernatural abilities who, being invisible to humans, can appear at will to people. So Icelanders of the previous generation grew up with cautious tales and rhymes, careful not to insult or harm these creatures by accident, because they believed the hidden people would seek them for compensation.
Some people see it as a silly prejudice that has only to do with fear, but people who do believe in the myth, I think they see the world a little bit more wondrous, unpredictable and with respect towards the spirituality of life. A few decades ago, for example, Icelanders voted for building a new road over a hill rather than penetrating it, because they felt they had hints and signs from hidden people living there, and this shows how many people still believe in this myth!
Back to the painting now
The hidden waterfall named Gljúfrabúi, is believed to be one of the hidden people’s places. It is also what I loved most in Iceland, perhaps due to it’s mysterious and secretive nature.
The second hidden waterfall, which I also incorporated in this painting is also a unique one in my eyes. I “discovered” it two years ago, in the beautiful small village called Critou Terra. It is not at all easy to access; someone has to walk inside a waterfall, then crawl through a small tunnel, and find the tropical little microcosm, in a rather rocky area; a truly memorable experience!
With that, I disclosed to you my experiences that led to this painting still in progress. As for the composition of this painting, I don’t have a lot to say because it all came so natural and effortlessly, and I can’t say inspiration didn’t have anything to do with it, as I believe it does.
Thank you for your time reading my storytelling and my personal thoughts around this very dear painting of mine! I will soon make another post, with the final photo when the painting is completed.
Feel free to comment below and share your impressions, feelings and ideas!
