Last winter I went through a major "itch" to be more serious about my painting. Since college I really haven't done any, mostly because it's hard to find the right kind of space here at home to allow for 1) undisturbed open storage and 2) ventilation for paint and turp fumes (as I prefer to work with oil). I started a large pastel piece last fall but beyond my initial sketch my ideas aren't meshing well and I've been too stuck on it to proceed. On that front I probably just need to grit my teeth and dive in, but that's perhaps a discussion for another day.
I found my shoe box of horseshoes and started thinking about them. Because of their size, they are fairly easy to work on in a limited space setting. I wouldn't need an easel or much else besides room for my paintbrushes, paint tubes, a small palette, and the shoe itself.
I also wanted to continue my previous artistic trend of working with mythology. I love mythology--anything other than Greek mythology, to be more specific, only because I feel it's a tad over done and I never much identified with the culture to begin with. Norse mythology is my absolute favorite, as is anything to do with Norse (and Scandinavian more generally) folk lore. When I was young Norse myths were my usual bedtime stories.
Some way or another the idea struck me. Horseshoes are very important artifacts in many cultures' folk lore--they bring in good luck, protect homes and doorways, prevent the mal-influence of faeries or gremlins (or creatures of a hundred different names). As a horse-owner I'm always fascinated by the worn shoes of my horse. I like the character of them, the story they tell of the horse who wore them, the worn toes from pawing concrete aisles, the dents and twists from throwing shoes off in the pasture or during a ride, the natural grinding of the nail grooves of the metal...I always found there was an energy to them. No wonder the cultural mythologies of so many groups of people assigned spiritual significance and power to them. It occurred to me that I could combine those ideas--mythology and the folk lore of horseshoes.
And so my series, "Mythic Strides," was born.
I immediately churned out two sketches. I decided that I wanted to represent Norse deities or specific moments of Norse myths (and eventually other mythologies as well) through abstract representation. Given the small workable surface area of a real horseshoe, abstract designs would be key. Nothing too fancy. Nothing too detailed or scenic.
My first sketch was for a shoe devoted to
Thor, called "Thor's Stride". Keeping to the simplistic, abstract and representational depiction, I chose to use a knot version of Mjolnir (Thor's mightly hammer) at the center of the shoe's toe. At the left heel of the shoe I decided to place the rune þurs, on the right would most likely be the rune algiz/eohls. The background would be a the marble of thunderclouds--plums and navies and grays, stricken with lightning bolts.
Thor himself was not only a fierce warrior in Norse mythology, associated with strength, lightning, thunder, and storms in general, but was also widely accepted as the protector of mankind. It felt only right that I paint a horseshoe for him.
My second sketch, titled "Stride Between Moon and Sun" features the chase of
Sol and
Mani by the wolves
Skoll and
Hati. It is by far my favorite idea for the series so far. As well as a shoe that will likely prove to be most complex to paint the way I intend. I hope to do a progression of sky for the background, though that will largely depend on how I depict the moon and sun through paint. At the center of the toe lies the rune dagaz/daeg, the rune of day as well as personal breakthrough and transformation.
As of yet, I haven't painted either shoe, but I am well on my way. I decided that I wanted to paint a "practice shoe" with acrylic first, just to see if I would find it more suitable for painting on the shoes. Especially because some of the designs in my moleskine are particularly suited to the strengths of acrylic.
I also fully intend to make shoes of this series available for sale, though I might make "Stride Between Moon and Sun" for myself. I really want to explore the connection of personal and cultural mythology and merge it with the folkloric significantly of horse shoes as spiritual objects. After a few I might even target horses in various mythologies first for horseshoe-paintings. We'll see. There are plenty of possibilities with this series, and I'm more than excited to dive into them.
Coming soon...
Muse's Web: Practice Shoes & New Directions
