Category: Poetry

Selkie Woman

4/11/2017

Selkie Woman
2017acrylic on canvas, varnished 36x24"
View this work in Cactus Gallery's online shop
View other works in this ongoing series

The Selkie is a creature of Scottish and Irish folklore. Selkies live as seals, in the sea, but may take human form when they come ashore. Should a man happen upon a female Selkie; if he can steal her seal skin and hide it from her, she will make him an excellent, if wistful, wife. But should she ever find and reclaim her seal skin; the Selkie will return at once to the sea, her true home, leaving him to languish and die of heartbreak.

In my favorite Selkie legend; a young man happens upon a lovely Selkie, dancing on the beach. He steals her skin, hiding it away from her. And so, she becomes his wife; she bears him many fine children, and brings him great good fortune. He becomes increasingly wealthy as the years pass; he moves his family repeatedly, to larger and grander houses. But on their final move; his wife discovers an unfamiliar box hidden among his things. She opens the box, discovers her stolen seal skin, and returns immediately to the sea. The man’s luck is broken, as is his heart; he dies pining for her. As this legend comes to a close; the Selkie is said to be seen often near the shore, playing with her children in the waves.

This work is the newest addition to my ongoing series, 'Reaching' and it will exhibit with Cactus Gallery, Los Angeles, in 'Bad Girls and Outcasts' opening April 22, 2017. Visit Cactus online to see the show before it opens!

In 2006 I wrote a poem inspired by the Selkie Legend. I've been meaning to create a painting to go with it, ever since. The theme of this exhibit, "the witchy, wicked, wanton, and weird women of fairie tales, myths and legends" is a nice match for my Selkie Woman. It feels good to finish this project.
Can't wait for the next one!

Selkie Woman

awash in the surf
I sing content
but for your shadow
on the beach.

enamored of you
I slip my skin
you take it willing
you hide it well.

now wretched am I
upon the sand!
keening, keening
for my freedom!

and rest you smug
in my defeat.
but be aware,
oh mortal one:

the longer
you hold me
the worse off
will you be

when I return
to the ocean's embrace.

~Jen Raven 2.06

the lines unread

7/6/2014

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I've started working on a new series, in ink and acrylic on canvas. Each piece begins with a rough figurative sketch over written lines of prose or poetry, and then layers of acrylic gesso, paint and more sketch are build up on top of the words.

the lines unread 14x11" acrylic on canvas 2014

For the base of this work, I chose one of my own poems, 'blanks' (written in 2006). The title of this painting, 'the lines unread' is borrowed from the poem:

blanks

sometimes it's good
to let the silence be.

to leave the lines
unread

to let the words
go

unsaid.

sometimes it's best
to leave the rest

to the imagination
the rumination

participation
abounds
in the blanks
we leave for others to fill

or not

inaccessible
is right where
I want to be

safe
in anonymity

reaching so much more
with less ...

answers
in the emptiness.

fill in the blanks
with the secrets
of your own heart

dear heart;

and learn to read

yourself
between the lines
she leaves out.

~ jenraven 11.06

More works in this series, to follow.

Stay tuned!

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A Long Way to Somewhere

2/2/2014

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In May of 2013, I had the pleasure of working with model Jin n' Tonic, for a body painting photo project we titled 'Dandelion.' I was inspired to continue with the dandelion theme on canvas, and early this year I finished 'Long Way to Somewhere' (acrylic on canvas 10x8"):

'A long way to somewhere' is an homage to the poet David Whyte.; this line was taken from his work, 'Glentrasna,' which spoke to me on a very personal level, as I worked my way through the project. An excerpt from this poem wound up on the project board, and kept me inspired in the weeks leading up to the shoot.

". . . and horizons held their own unspoken promise,
that grief could be its own cure . . .

. . . as if even the sharpest pain
could be a long way to somewhere after all . . ."

~David Whyte, excerpt from 'Glentrasna'

On a personal level, working with the dandelion theme over the past six months has been wonderfully healing. I'm so grateful for paint; for poetry; for people.

Slideshow: Progression of 'Long Way to Somewhere' (May 24, 2013 - January 1, 2014):

Progression photos of 'long way to somewhere' by Jen Raven
Portfolio photos of 'long way to somewhere' by Todd Powers

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Selkie Woman

the lines unread

A Long Way to Somewhere

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