Showing posts with label fairytale. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fairytale. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Poem by a child - "The Sea"


The Sea


The sun wakes up and rises over the sea,
Shining down and making the sea
Sparkle brighter and brighter,
Until it's almost too bright to look at.
The sea comes alive,
With swaying sea anemones,
Colorful butterfly fish,
And other darting, splashing,
And bubbling creatures.
The wind carries the sea's hearty smell of salt,
For miles around,
And everyone breathes it in,
Has visions of sandy beaches and rowdy pirates.
A reef shark lies low among branches,
Of coral,
Luring in unlucky prey.
A beautiful young mermaid,
With bright, blue eyes,
And long flowing golden hair,
Sits in the bed chamber of her underwater palace,
Admiring smooth gold pieces,
And velvety crowns from a treasure chest.
Enormous waves come roaring towards the beach,
And crash against the rocks.
Seagulls swoop and dive to catch fish,
And along with the fish,
They drink the sea's taste of secrets,
That will never be discovered.
Pieces of a broken bottle,
Wash up on the sand,
Translucent and smooth.
Shimmering pearls, glittering diamonds,
Dazzling emeralds and shining sapphires,
All stolen long ago,
Now rest in a pirate's shipwreck.
Iridescent seashells gleam,
As the sun decides it's time for bed.
The sea glimmers, then changes color,
From red to orange to yellow.
After the sunset is over,
It reflects the light of the stars and moon.

by Miss S, age 10

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

The Heart of the Rose (1889)


By Edward Burne-Jones. I don't know anything about the theme of the painting. I suppose it's based on some difficult Victorian epic poem. It's so romantic and evocative. I love walled-in gardens, especially from medieval paintings of the Virgin and Child or courtly romance.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

The Fairy Feller's Master Stroke



By Richard Dadd, painted 1855-1864. At the Tate Gallery, London.
From www.tate.org.uk/:
Dadd painted this work in the Bethlem Hospital where he was sent after murdering his father and being declared insane. The scene was drawn from his imagination. It shows the ‘fairy-feller’ poised to split a large chestnut which will be used to construct Queen Mab’s new fairy carriage. The subject, shifting scale and style of the painting all contribute to a sense of the fantastic that fits Herbert Read’s idea of an imaginative tradition that runs through to Surrealism. The work might also have fitted the Surrealists’ interest in the art of the insane.

From wikipedia:
The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke is a Richard Dadd painting. It was commissioned by George Henry Hayden, who was head steward at Bethlem Royal Hospital at the time. He was impressed by Dadd's artistic efforts and asked for a fairy painting of his own. Dadd worked on the painting for nine years - paying microscopic attention to detail, as well as a layering technique producing near-3D results - and it is generally regarded as his most important work. However, Dadd himself considered the painting to be unfinished, and as such added the suffix of "Quasi" to its title.

Gustave Doré (1832-1883)




When I was a teenager, my parents gave me a book of Doré illustrations. I loved it and looked at it hundreds of times. Well, I had good taste because (a) I still have the book; and (b) it holds up as beautiful, fantastic art. What a storyteller, what an illustrator!
http://dore.artpassions.net

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Great recording



I heard this recording on the radio and had to buy it. It is gorgeous, magical. The voices are all perfect and the orchestra is sublime. Best version of this opera I've ever heard. It's available very cheaply (used) from Amazon. And yes, the CD cover is just awful!
Conductor: Jeffrey Tate
Performers: Barbara Bonney, Barbara Hendricks, Eva Lind, Andreas Schmidt, Anne Sofie von Otter, et al.
Orchestra: Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bayerischen Rundfunkorchester
Audio CD (October 15, 1990). Angel Records.

Sunday, February 18, 2007

La Belle et la Bete



This movie has put me to sleep in the past, but not today. I finally appreciated its magic, romance, and enchantment. It is very beautiful, very simple.

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Ivan Bilibin (3)


Vassilisa outside Baba Yaga's House. Note the amanita mushrooms in the margins.

Ivan Bilibin (2)


DOBRYNIA NIKITICH FREES ZABAVA PUTIATICHNA FROM GORYNYCH THE DRAGON. Illustration to "The Tale of the Capital City of Kiev and of the Russian Bogatyrs" by N. Vodovozov. 1941. http://www.auburn.edu/academic/liberal_arts/foreign/russian/art

Ivan Bilibin



This 1920's Russian artist created gorgeous illustrations for Russian folktales.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Adrienne Segur

Another beautiful illustration. http://segur.artpassions.net/

Republished!


This book I remember from childhood has been published again and is available at amazon.com. Hurrah!! My older cousin owned it and I envied it greatly. Golden Book of Fairy Tales, translated by Marie Ponsot and illustrated by Adrienne Segur.