Mournful Raven
The original image of the raven came from my trip three summers ago to attend the funeral of my husband's niece, Kristen, who had been killed in a hiking accident.
Although the reason for the trip was deeply sad, the gathering of his siblings all together for the first time in many years was a privilege to be a part of. We spent 10 days together on Kodiak Island off of the coast of Alaska and fished, hiked, walked the beaches, went on a boat and saw whales and caught 1000 pounds of salmon and halibut and just spent time together.
This little raven 
came and sat on the table where we were cleaning our fish after our boat trip. He was wounded and hopped about begging for scraps. Despite his challenges he looked well fed, although a bit unkept with his broken wing and crushed leg....All the things that I heard of Kristen during my time on Kodiak, this bright, successful, talented and well loved woman of 26 years, who had faced considerable challenges of her own, this little raven seemed to symbolize. Of all the beautiful things I saw and experienced on my first trip to Alaska, his image has stayed with me and finally has found his place in my work.
The four eggs on the left hand side of Mournful Raven sybolize Kristen and her three siblings....only two of which survive her. The large dark egg in the background symbolizes her father, Dodd, whose pain is deep and enduring.
In Kristen's memory I dedicate this piece.
Art and image copyrighted 2008 by Bee Shay
9 comments:
Bee, I really like the raven and THANK you for sharing your feelings with all of us. THAT is what creating art is all about - SHARING of yourself!
xoxoxo
Thank you, bee, for sharing your story. &rew
Thank you, Bee, for sharing a part of your life with us.
In order to see the light, we must also have the dark in our lives.
Z'anne
Bee, this is such a touching story. Thank you so very much for sharing.
I especially LOVE the softness of the piece. How is the work constructed? What mediums did you use?
The art is stunning - like Tracie, I would like to know what mediums you used - the story touched my heart - it's so sad her life was cut short but the world was better having had her for a short time than not at all - thank you for sharing your story.
Thanks for sharing your story about Kristin. The raven comes to life and holds many memories. I like the gentleness of his form.
i started this piece with 5 layers of gel medium transfers. The raven image was done using a copy of my photograph, blown up and cropped. then layers of diluted gesso floated over the whole piece...followed by pan pastels, china markers, stick pastels. then the whole piece is waxed with butcher's wax. hope that helps
Ok Bee -- time to come to my house and teach this!! I do NOT have a clue how to begin and I LOVE this.
Being a therapist, I LOVE it when art comes together with healing. Love you piece!
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