Call me cheesy, I'm a sucker for Disney love songs. Bella Notte from Lady and the Tramp came to mind as soon as I saw this image:
I was asked to guest design for the Creative Therapy blog and I really enjoyed it. Karen sent me a list of catalysts as a jump off point for an art inspiration project, and I chose "What's your favorite poem, and why?"
Here's my intro and the project I created in response to the catalyst - be sure to check out the other amazing inspirations from the team and if you decide to play along, you can upload your creation to the Creative Therapy Flickr group for a chance to win a RAK. (Details on the Creative Therapy blog). Thanks to Karen for letting me play along and to the team for such amazing artwork!
Ranjini Says:
I love poetry. I have loved words from the time I was very young - I learned to read early on and devoured books. I remember though being profoundly affected by poetry; Shakespeare, Tennyson, Dickinson, Frost and a host of other poets enchanted me with their works. I was charmed by beautiful words strung together in precisely the right fashion so as to evoke emotion and challenge the intellect. I have loved many poems throughout my life and even keep a notebook of my favorites, however the one that has moved me more than any other poem is one by William Butler Yeats, titled “When You Are Old”. The poem inspired me to create this work that is centered around Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in the movie “Roman Holiday”. In the movie, Audrey plays Princess Ann, a princess of an unnamed country. She is on a European tour but longs to escape the strenuous and tiresome duties of being a royal in the public eye. She decides to leave her country’s embassy to explore Rome for herself. In the course of her adventure, she cuts her hair short, meets Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck), an American reporter, and finds herself. Unexpectedly, she falls in love with Joe, and he with her. Eventually she acknowledges that she must return to her royal duties and he bids her adieu. He sees her again at a Press Corps meet and greet with the Princess. During the meeting, he hands her an envelope of photos that could have ruined her dignified reputation. She expresses her love and gratitude in a hidden message to him. In the end, he walks away, wondering what may have been between them. I particularly love this movie, and everytime I read William Butler Yeats’ “When You Are Old”, I think of this movie. It is essentially a poem of unrequited love, and Yeats reminds his love that “one man loved the pilgrim soul in you”.
When You are Old, by William Butler Yeats
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.
The poem gives me chills when I read it, and I liken it to Joe’s character and to Princess Ann - who will never forget their love.
The poem inspired my project, titled “amore”. I created this piece by gutting out an old vintage book. I then printed a photo of Audrey Hepburn for the cover, on canvas paper. I trimmed it down to size and then applied glue and clear glitter to her bodice and hair ribbon. I added a small clear gemstone to her ring for a bit of three-dimensional bling. I used Seven Gypsies gaffer tape down the spine and sewed on a few vintage paste and rhinestone buttons. I added the words amore (Making Memories stickers) to the bottom right corner and glued the image to the cover. I added crimson seam binding (crushed by wetting and crumpling it and allowing to dry). On the inside of the book - I added a photo of Ann and Joe from Roman Holiday, the poem printed on cardstock on the facing page, and some small embellishments on either page. I took an approach of less being more as the poem and the photo speak for themselves.
Technique Highlight:
Printing on canvas. I used plain Office Max brand premium coated canvas, but there are better canvas papers out there if you want extra high quality. I did adjust Audrey’s image in photoshop by applying some artistic filters. I loved the dimensional and glittery look that the addition of glitter and bling added to the piece. I set my printer on a glossy paper setting when I printed the piece.
