In January, the company Loud Voices Silent Streets issued a call-out for short monologues (less than 6 minutes) based on the theme of Illusion. My piece originated from a consideration of themes in the ultimate play about illusion, The Tempest. I found the witch, Sycorax fascinating as she is a powerful presence in the play … Continue reading Voices From the Future
Mythology
Lockdown Drawing/Writing#2
Here is another of Matt Lee's lockdown drawings, accompanied by my creative writing response. I think they reflect the strange dreams many of us have been having. The Coming by Sarah Featherstone The globe head leans towards her. The glass is gold tinged. She can't see inside yet, but she knows. Arcturus, she whispers, you … Continue reading Lockdown Drawing/Writing#2
Palingenesis, and the Art of Everythingism
Two important exhibitions in London last weekend: Natalia Goncharova Retrospective at Tate Modern, and Lee Krasner: Living Colour at Barbican. In Goncharova's famous painting, The Cyclist, the figure is willfully heading in the opposite direction to that indicated by the pointing authoritarian finger. It suitably sums up Goncharova's spirit. A leading figure of the new … Continue reading Palingenesis, and the Art of Everythingism
Inscape/Outscape
My brother and I currently have work on display in Kemi's cafe, Pontcanna. We present work in dialogue with each other, working from very different perspectives. Matt paints plein air from landscapes around Somerset and Portsmouth, while my paintings emerge from inner imaginative worlds. I am interested in capturing fleeting moments from the mundus imaginalis, … Continue reading Inscape/Outscape
Animating the Aliens
On the after-school Storytelling and Art course at Llanover Hall, the children decided to create a theatre out of cardboard. As our theme for that week was Sci-fi, everyone made alien characters to star in the show. On the first week, the parents got a preview of act one, with one boy being narrator, others … Continue reading Animating the Aliens
Windows on the World
In their passports, participants of the Storytelling and Art from Around the World course inserted a picture of themselves as a character of their choosing complete with name, magical attributes, and planet of origin. Using coloured acetates, windows were made to look in upon various characters created in response to folk stories. This week: … Continue reading Windows on the World
Story Mapping
The after-school story-telling and art sessions have evolved into the children writing their own story in weekly installments that I type up and read back to them the following week. They still listen to folk or creation tales from different cultures each week, and these tend to inspire elements of their own story. Week one, … Continue reading Story Mapping
This Is What I Would Turn Into At Night
Here are some of my favourite art works by children I have been working with over the past months. They have been responding to old folk stories from many cultures. The Lady of the Lake (Wales) Maui's Magic Fishing Hook (Maori) The Fox Maiden (Korea) Guardian Totems (Korea) Medusa (Greece) Gelert (Wales) Baba Yaga … Continue reading This Is What I Would Turn Into At Night
Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave
For the last week of this five week cycle of storytelling and art from around the world, we travelled to Russia to hear about the enigmatic Baba Yaga. She is a many-faceted figure, variously seen as a Moon, Death, Winter, Earth Goddess, totemic matriarchal ancestress, female initiator, or archetypal image.[4] After discussing some of Baba … Continue reading Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave
Stories from the Dreamtime
For Week 3 of the Children's Art and Writing course, the children listened to three stories from the Dreamtime creation myths of Aboriginal culture: How the kangeroo got her pouch, Barramundi, (how the fish came to be in the waters), and a Kunwinjku Dreamtime Story of the long-necked turtle and the echidna, telling why they live … Continue reading Stories from the Dreamtime
Sarah J Featherstone 