QUOTH THE RAVEN CHALLENGE #41: FOR THE LOVE OF POE (WEEK 4)

Two of my Design Team sisters from the Quoth the Raven, Nevermore website are hosting the reminder challenge this week, so I want to share their artwork with you.

First is the project from Nanette, who used a photo taken during a recent visit to a Louisiana plantation for her beautiful background!  The poetry she shares is from Poe's work To One in Paradise.  (You can read the whole poem here).  The image Nanette has artfully colored is a digital stamp from Ike's Art.  

Next is Shell's project.  She created a triangular wall hanging.  Her background is full of texture and interest and perfectly supports the "love" theme this month with her heart elements.

I hope you will make an effort this next week to create something "For the Love of Poe." 

QUOTH THE RAVEN CHALLENGE #41: FOR THE LOVE OF POE (WEEK 3)

This is Week 3 of the February challenge for the Quoth the Raven, Nevermore site.  The theme is FOR THE LOVE OF POE, and can be interpreted as you please--as long as your artwork is inspired by Poe.

I am currently reading a book called The Raven's Bride:  A Novel written by Lenore Hart. Although there remain allegations of plagiarism, I am enjoying this bit of "fiction" about the life and loves of Edgar Allan Poe. This book has made me curious about Poe's older brother William Henry Leonard Poe, and I have done some additional reading about him.  Henry,  also a published poet and author, died in 1831 of tuberculosis at the age of 24.  But, what of his relationship with his brother?  There are as many biographers who say the brothers were estranged as there are that say they were close.  I have chosen to believe the latter.  The younger Poe is credited by Wikipedia with writing, "There can be no tie more strong than that of a brother for brother...."

For my artwork today, I searched for copyright-free images of William Henry Leonard Poe.  I found many, but the likenesses to Edgar were overwhelming and I dismissed them as actually being of Edgar.  I do believe the drawing that I used might just be of Henry.  

For the background, I used "Daniel's Hearts"  (stamped twice) from Stampotique Originals.  The title was computer generated and printed on white card stock, then matted in black.

I hope you will find inspiration to create something for the Quoth the Raven challenge this month.  

QUOTH THE RAVEN CHALLENGE #41: FOR THE LOVE OF POE (WEEK 2)

Reminder inspiration is up on the Quoth the Raven website, and I have a new piece of art to show you today.  The theme of "For the Love of Poe" will continue for the next three weeks, and I hope you will create something for this challenge.

One of Edgar Allan Poe's most easily understood poems is Annabel Lee (you can read the poem in its entirety here).  It is a simple poem, said to have been written about his recently deceased wife, Virginia Clemm Poe (although other rather prominent women in Poe's life have claimed that honor).

This was a fun project for me, the basics of which came to me as I lay awake in the early dawn hours.  I seemed to be fixated on the line in the poem which reads "In a kingdom by the sea."  I was remembering a photograph taken by my husband Russ Wallace one morning as we walked along the seashore in Salisbury, Massachusetts.  The beach was abandoned, cold and with only a lone seagull in sight, which seemed oblivious to the crashing waves foretelling of the storm ahead. I asked Russ to print off this photograph in black and white to serve as my background.

For my image, I used a Stampotique Originals stamp designed by Daniel Torrente called Relaxin'.  This stamp reminds me of what I believe Virginia might have been, rather simple, yet regal.  Since Virginia had already died when the poem was written, I wanted her to appear more as a ghost in this project, so I used only the outline of the stamp.

To support the challenge of "For the Love of Poe," I used only the first stanza of the poem, with emphasis on the last two lines:

And this maiden she lived with no other thought

Than to love and be loved by me.

Perfect in my book!  It is not uncommon for a poet's lyrics to be put to music, but I find it a bit strange that Poe's poems have been among them.  Give a listen (here) to Joan Baez, an American folksinger popular in the 1960's and 70's, as she sings "Annabel Lee."

I hope you can find some time this week to get crafty and create something for this fun challenge.  I appreciate your visit and your comment today!

QUOTH THE RAVEN CHALLENGE #41: FOR THE LOVE OF POE

The "Quoth the Raven, Nevermore" website is challenging us this month to find love in Poe's life.  It's almost Valentine's Day, so choose a Valentine theme or something from Poe's writings about love.  The choice is yours.

For me, it's all about Poe's "real" valentine, his wife.  Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe was born August 15, 1822, in Baltimore, Maryland.  At the age of 13, she married her first cousin Edgar Allan Poe, then 27.  History tells us that in order for her daughter to be married, Virginia’s mother provided a sworn statement testifying the age of both to be 21.  

Virginia, at the age of 24, wrote the following Valentine’s Day poem to her husband.  In 1847, two years before Poe’s death, Virginia died of pulmonary “consumption.”  From what I have read, Virginia truly loved "Eddy," and provided not only care and support for him, but seemed to serve as his muse.

The story is told that Poe realized after Virginia's death that he had no "likeness" of her, so commissioned a portrait before she was entombed.  The likeness I have used here seems to be a penciled drawing of that original work, but that information was not available.

This creation is rather simple, but I thought perfect for this month's challenge.  You can see the poem in Virginia's own hand here.  As many times as I have read this poem and even as I was working on this project, I never knew that Virginia's poem is an acrostic poem.  If you look at the first letter of each of the lines of this poem, you may be surprised at what you see!

The red hearts in the center were stamped using "Daniel's Hearts" from Stampotique Originals.

I hope you will find time this month to play along with the "Quote the Raven" challenge.  Thanks for coming by today!