Spring has arrived in Norway with a toasty 27 degrees! Everything is green, glittering and gorgeous, the forest is buzzing with birdsong, and the lakes and waterfalls are spangled with sun-diamonds.
I went walking round the lake just up the road from our house (Theisendammen) last night, after a sun-roasted day, and was enchanted by a beautiful energy humming through the forest - the feeling of all the trees and plants quietly recharging after a long day of growing and working in the sizzle of Spring. I felt so inspired by this energy - it seemed like there was a hidden side of Spring which perhaps we don't normally see. While the Spring days can be popping at the seams with colour and vibrancy, when the cloak of evening is draped over the forest, a more subtle energy takes over, where the ferns furl up in magical spirals, the flowers nod their heads into sleep, the leaves fold up for the night, and the nocturnal animals are waking up and beginning their mysterious work in the shadow of night. Everything was sunkissed and drowsy.
As I mentioned in the previous post, I am feeling very drawn to the Hedgehog at the moment, and the symbolism of Hedgehog as a totem animal. Being a nocturnal animal, Hedgehog would fit well into the new painting I was imagining, about this hidden side of Spring.
After a little research I found out that in Celtic lore, Hedgehog is actually a symbol of Spring arriving! He has many other beautiful earthy symbols too. With his belly lying close to the plant life on earth, he is a symbol of fertility and connectedness to Mother Earth. When we see Hedgehog curled in a ball, we can be reminded of the foetal position. The curled ball form is also an encouragement to us to be centred, and with his spiny armour, Hedgehog is wonderful for helping us develop self-protection. As a nocturnal creature, Hedgehog represents intuition, psychic ability, prophetic dreams and visions.
To weave in the symbols of fertility, connectedness, and protectiveness, at the moment I am imagining a pregnant woman sitting in the woodland, in the stillness of the Spring evening, caressing a hedgehog perched on her pregnant belly. She would have 'hvitveis' (Norwegian woodland flowers which appear in Spring) woven in a crown around her hair, and perhaps dandelion clocks too, representing the passing of time and seasons, and adding more circular forms to the painting, also apparent in the belly, the hedgehog, and the spiral-furled ferns. With the dimming evening light around them, I think an albino hedgehog would be striking and symbolise the new lightness of Spring.
One more aspect of the concept behind the painting I was thinking about last night - the hidden side of Spring could be thought of as a 'between' time and place, where the realm of faerie is thought to exist, or be more easily accessed. I think this could lend a magical quality to the picture too.
Now I will start sketching! I'm so excited to begin this new painting and can't wait to share my progress with you all.
To weave in the symbols of fertility, connectedness, and protectiveness, at the moment I am imagining a pregnant woman sitting in the woodland, in the stillness of the Spring evening, caressing a hedgehog perched on her pregnant belly. She would have 'hvitveis' (Norwegian woodland flowers which appear in Spring) woven in a crown around her hair, and perhaps dandelion clocks too, representing the passing of time and seasons, and adding more circular forms to the painting, also apparent in the belly, the hedgehog, and the spiral-furled ferns. With the dimming evening light around them, I think an albino hedgehog would be striking and symbolise the new lightness of Spring.
One more aspect of the concept behind the painting I was thinking about last night - the hidden side of Spring could be thought of as a 'between' time and place, where the realm of faerie is thought to exist, or be more easily accessed. I think this could lend a magical quality to the picture too.
Now I will start sketching! I'm so excited to begin this new painting and can't wait to share my progress with you all.
1 comment:
That was a lovely visual and a well thought out representation. I hope your painting is as lovely as the thought.
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