Third Mythic March Friday

This week I felt a bit more productive. Writing blog posts may not seem like a very creative endeavor to some, but blog writing is also definitely challenging in its own ways, just as creative writing is. I’m always wanting to turn a phrase in such a way as to charm the reader, to make them feel a sense of whimsy and wonder. And there are two new blog posts on my site this week (unrelated to my Mythic March ones each Friday, lol!)

I also am getting ready to start a new project this weekend. I will be attending a lecture at a local university on March 28th by none other than Robin Wall Kimmerer herself. If you haven’t read Braiding Sweetgrass yet, do yourself a favor and do so immediately. But don’t make my mistake and listen to the audiobook in your car. I was a dangerous driver several times because of tears in my eyes, and quite literally had to pull over my car once. It’s not sad. It’s true, in the most beautiful ways of pure truth.

Anyway, so I’m going to see Robin Wall Kimmerer, and after the lecture, she is going to have a book signing. And I started thinking…her book has stories about the Indigenous American spirit of reciprocity, and she tells about a dream she had where she went to a market, and no one was paying for anything. Everything was free, because the spirit of reciprocity was alive and well in the dream. I’ve received so very much from her book, and I am filled with so much gratitude. I wanted to make something for her.

An example of this style of artwork I’ve done in the past

I think it’s safe to share my plan. If Robin Wall Kimmerer is a reader of my blog, I will be quite shocked. I hope to make one of my “manuscript page/pressed flowers/original artwork” collages for her, featuring a page in Braiding Sweetgrass where she retells the story of the creation of Turtle Island. The animal I will draw will be the hero muskrat, who dove down into the water and brought back a handful of mud that formed the foundation of the earth.

Anyhow, I’m excited to start on that project this weekend. I also want to go to the forest again, and I have a short story to work on and a blog post idea to get out of my head. Will I get everything done? Who knows. But it just feels good to want to create, and to be bursting forth with ideas!

Before I share this week’s prompts, I wanted to share a few creations from last week again.

Greene Spiro created this incredible deep sea creature on her Twitch stream, and another artist did a draw along with her. Here is Greene’s awesome deep dark sea faerie being:

And here is her friend @roddy_taylor_art ‘s creation, based on inspiration from a gulper eel. I think he’s cute and scary in equal measure.

Erica Mann’s deep sea creation might at first seem sweeter, but there’s some mystery in that smile. And a secret when the lights dim.

And Cat Mallard is working on another artwork based on the faerie animal prompt.

Here then are this week’s three prompts! I hope you really enjoy them. 

Unseelie Flowers

What would a flower look like if it was created by an herbalist of the Unseelie court? What would be its dangers? It’s poisons? It’s purpose? 

Cosy, Gentle Magic

Every now and then, I’ll see an image online or read a description in a book that fills me with so much serotonin I just want to snuggle down into the visuals. What does this for you? Can you create your own, in images, words, or your usual medium? What colors, locations, props, creatures, etc would all come together to create something that just fills you with feelings of joy and safety?

Whose Hat Is This?

A couple of days ago, I shared a story about a faerie hat I found in the woods, only a little larger than my thumb. A couple of people immediately had an image in their minds of what the faerie who lost this hat might look like. What do you think?