He's done!
My Golden Ram!
At last!
But why did it take so many months that I'm not even willing to guess how much time has passed since I started building this creature? And what will I do with him now? More time will tell, maybe!
Some years ago, I decided it would be fruitful and interesting to work on the story of Psyche. At first glance it's a romance, but deeper down it's a female hero's journey.
I was in the midst of a mask-making furor, so I thought I'd make some masks of characters in the story. Maybe I'd use them in a performance, maybe they'd be just for me.
In the myth Psyche has to prove herself through a number of impossible labors. One of her tasks is to fetch fleece from the golden ram--a creature who is beyond fierce.
So ... my task: create the ram.
I started by making a clay mold so I could use it to form a sturdy papier mache face and head. For horns, I made frames of aluminum foil and wrapped them in muslin soaked in wallpaper paste, and painted the results.
His ears are natural leather. His eyes? Well, I'm not telling (you'll recognize them, I'm sure). His fur? Golden Fleece, of course.
About the fierceness. All right, already. I know I know I know. I can't help that he won't scare anyone. He's been tamed, see? Psyche did it when I wasn't looking. Not my fault.
Now there's one more half-done mask remaining on my table: Cerberus, the three-headed (fierce) dog that guards the gates of Hades. You don't even want to know how not fierce he's turning out. For those who need to know: tune in here later. Much later.
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I love him. I can imagine a whole line of creatures based on myth with him as the model. You are so clever! Karen
ReplyDeleteThanks! I appreciate that! I love to work with visuals since most of story work is so verbal!
DeleteYou could name him Ram A-Dam A-Dingdong.
ReplyDeleteNo serioiusly, he's fabulous. And those red-rimmed eyes are, in fact, pretty disturbing. I wouldn't be surprised if, when he opened his mouth, he revealed fangs.
I can't wait to see Cerberus. What if it had the heads of three different dogs? I vote for shih tzu, Chinese tufted powderpuff, and bloodhound.
Silly Lady; I hope that's in your mind because I posted it on facebook when I was trying to figure out how to hold the three heads together as if one head ... their heads are already done in papier mache. One is a bulldog, one is a Chinese tufted and one is a komondor. Any day now I'm getting one of Mattie's friends to help me make dreads for the komondor--the weave hair has been hanging around on my worktable waiting for the ram to be done.
ReplyDeleteOh, P.S., Megan, I am really, really glad you think he's cool, and when I told him you think his eyes are disturbing, he was over the moon. I'm afraid he shows signs of being covertly subversive.
ReplyDelete