"If you hear a voice within you say, 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced." --Vincent van Gogh

Friday, June 15, 2007

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi


Inspired by the story of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi in Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book", I decided to make another 5x7 piece. The story is about a brave and loving mongoose who defends a village, and a boy, against an evil Cobra named Nag. I was quite captivated by this story as a child, and a huge fan of the mongoose!
I challenged myself to work abstractly, something I find very difficult to do. I chose colors which I felt reflected the jungles of India, where the story takes place, and laid out the pattern to reflect the struggle between the mongoose and the snake. I free-motioned jungle leaves around the edges of the piece, but they are a little difficult to see. I used embossed Misty Fuse on the background (as I did in "Boats on the River") and added beads to the couched fibers. I'm pleased with the results.

4 comments:

Digitalgran said...

I love this work, the colours are so rich. You have made good use of Joanna's technique with the Misty Fuse.

Anonymous said...

I loved that story when I was a kid. This is another great piece of work Michelle.

Val said...

I think this is great Michelle, and the colours certainly evoke the jungle, wet and hot! (I imagine)

Doreen G said...

Thanks for the comments that you left on my blog Michelle---much appreciated.
Doreen