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!

POE-ETRY

This is Week 4 of the "Snow Poe" art challenge at the Quoth the Raven, Nevermore website.  I hope you can find some time this month to create something (white plus one color) with Poe in mind.  Inspiring examples created by the Design Team can be found here. 

Edgar Allan Poe is best known, I think, for his short stories, but he was also a poet, with more than 50 poems to his credit.  Although the quote I have used in my project today does not appear in any of Poe's works, he is credited with having said it.

To support my quote, I have used a stamp by Inkadinkado, as well as a border stamp called Streamers from Stampotique Originals.  My 6" x 6" card was made with paper scraps, and I used an orange marker to color the flowers and ribbon, as well as to highlight the streamers.

Thanks so much for visiting today and for taking a moment to leave a comment.  I appreciate both!  I hope you will also sign up as a "follower" today (options are in the upper right-hand sidebar).  

POE AND HIS DEMONS

Let this post serve as a reminder of the January art challenge at Quoth the Raven, Nevermore. You can find all the details for the "Snow Poe" (white on white, with a spot of color) challenge here.  

It has been written in many biographies about Poe how life-long demons seemed to pursue him. Poe, himself, even wrote of demons in more than a dozen of his works.  In his poem Ulalume, Poe's reference to the demon seems to be almost personal.

In my artwork today, I have featured a stamp from Stampotique Originals called "Heads" by designer Daniel Torrente.  My quote is computer generated/printed and is from Ulalume by Poe.  

Thanks for stopping by again today and for taking a moment to leave a comment.  Both are important to me!  If you are enjoying these posts and want to continue learning new things about Edgar Allan Poe, please join as a follower.  You can do so in the upper right-hand corner.  There is a further option to follow by e-mail if you wish to receive a notification when this blog is updated.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR. POE!

Let this post serve as a reminder of the January challenge of Quoth the Raven.  You can find all the details for the "Snow Poe" challenge here.

January is the month of Edgar Allan Poe's birthday; January 19th, to be exact.  Poe lived from 1809 until late 1849, making him 40 years of age when he died--premature by today's standards.  Yes, I did say "premature!"  Having this thought reminded me almost immediately of Poe's short story entitled, The Premature Burial.  I read this story for the first time in college, but decided to read it again to refresh my recollections of it.  

It was as horrific as I remembered it to be, but definitely worth the time to read it.  I believe it tells a lot about Poe; more, perhaps, than most of his other works.  The quote I used for my project today will not be unfamiliar to a Poe enthusiast, yet easily absorbed by the new follower.  It is from The Premature Burial and appears on the inside of this card.

"The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague.  Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?"

So, to you, Mr. Poe, a belated Happy Birthday!  I can't help but wonder what he might think, at the age of 206, looking at the efforts of our group today struggling still to understand his work.

ANNOUNCEMENT

NEW DESIGN TEAM FOR 

"QUOTH THE RAVEN, NEVERMORE" 

I am delighted to announce that I have been invited to be part of the creative design team at the popular website "Quoth the Raven, Nevermore"!  Joining me as new members are Nan and Jane, as well as continuing design team members Ike, Black Dragon, Shell, and Fiona.  

"Quoth the Raven, Nevermore" is a website about Edgar Allan Poe, both personally and professionally--his failures and his successes, his stories and his poetry, his humor and his melancholy, and how we, as artists, might interpret those very parts of his being.  

My introductory artwork for the current theme (white-on-white, with one additional color) uses an excerpt from Poe's poem Annabel Lee. The two stamps I have used (Skull Moon and Goth Candelabra) were created by stamp designer Arwen McCullen from Germany.  Her stamps are sold through the Stampotique Originals website, and they ship worldwide.

So, come play with us!  Each month during 2015, as a team, we will be presenting a different challenge for you to incorporate into your artful Poe projects.  Quest #40 is now posted on the "Quoth the Raven, Nevermore" website.  Details here.

Thanks again for visiting my blog and for leaving a comment.  Both are important to me! Please take a moment today to become a follower of my blog.  Just click JOIN in the right-hand sidebar at the top.  If you want to receive an e-mail notification when I update this blog, then you can additionally "follow by e-mail."  Thanks for that, too!

POE: IN THE HATRED OF A MINUTE

As some of you know, for the last year I have been part of the Design Team at the Stampotique (a rubber stamp company) challenge blog.  As such, it was my pleasure on November 26 to create and host the weekly challenge.  Long being an admirer of Edgar Allan Poe and his works, I created the challenge In the Words of Edgar Allan Poe. The idea was to create artwork around a Poe quote. Many of the stamps sold by Stampotique are by stamp designer Daniel Torrente.  Torrente's creations lean to the "quirky" side, much like Poe was a bit quirky, so I thought the challenge was a good fit.  

The challenge was a huge success, in part because many who participated were already Poe fans and partly because some who participated had never heard of him and needed to do a bit of research to find their quote! If you would like to check out other Stampotique Design Team creations for the Poe challenge, you can find it here.  You can find my post submitted for this challenge here. My artwork is below.

Thanks for stopping by today and for taking the time to leave a comment.  Both your visits and comments inspire me!