Five weeks, it turns out, goes extremely fast. (Yes, I know anyone who’s ever taken leave from their day job could have told me this!). Despite a brief period of extreme anxiety a week or so ago that I hadn’t managed as much art-related productivity as I had hoped, I am happy about the break and even looking forward to my day job, which I am back at tomorrow. But importantly, I’m hoping that I’ve created some habits around doing art (writing and drawing) that will continue. Mostly, learning that I don’t always need a big stretch of time to get some good work done and that a few hours can make a difference.
So, what have I done with five weeks of artist retreat?
Fairy Tales
I’ve written (drafted, really, they are still in need of some good editing!) five fairy tales:
The Swans - retelling and weaving together four traditional fairy tales that you do not expect to belong together to reveal a shocking secret and a story of revenge and redemption (yes, I’m practicing for a blurb!). This story is the one I am most proud of. I think the tone is a little different and darker compared to my other stories and I’m not sure where it fits or when I’ll get to show it to you, but I really do want to share it!
The Good Sister - about the rewards for the ‘good sisters’ in fairy tales, the ones who display all the stereotypical gendered virtues (hardworking, kind, obedient etc). What kind of reward is likely for someone who is valued for the way they fulfil others’ needs, even to their own detriment? Will they end up with someone who values this exact trait and continues to take advantage of them?
The Ogre Husband - when you think you’re marrying a prince but he turns out to be an ogre. What else can I say?! Another take on similar themes to The Good Sister.
Tiny Amira and the Dragon - about recovering your belief in yourself after a lifetime of being put down and not valued, and how powerful you can be when you truly believe in yourself.
The Glass Prince - once upon a time, a child is born made of glass. A promise has been made that he needs to meet, but his parents cannot imagine him leaving his room without breaking.
I‘ve also decided, at least for now, not to write one story that I had been meaning to write for over a year. I was hoping to use it to comment on controlling and abusive relationships (heavy stuff, but then fairy tales are full of heavy stuff if you know where to look) but it was too difficult to separate what I wanted to say from what I felt about the issue and too difficult to shape a story out of what started as a litany of examples. Perhaps it’s something I’ll come back to one day with more distance.
Art
I haven’t done as much art as I’d planned, but I have finally made more of an effort to do some digital art, and I think I’m finally getting closer to figuring out what style I want to develop. Figuring it out and actually learning to do it are two different challenges! But at least I’m a step closer. I’ve put some examples in this post.
I’m thinking of doing another fairy tale inktober (I did this last year as well, I should really update the inktober section of this website!). It’s a big commitment in time, but I do love fairy tale illustrations and ink drawing…
Thank you so much if you’ve been reading my (infrequent!) blog these last five weeks. I’ll try to keep making posts - it’s definitely easier than keeping up to a newsletter, although I should definitely send one of those soon!