FROST PARK: YMIR

"Ymir" by Troy's Work Table. Carport chalking for Friday 26 June 2015.

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The Norse creation myths have the world of humans (Midgard) being formed out of the body of Ymir, a giant born of the primordial ice of Ginnungagap and later slain by Odin and his two brothers. These three then fashioned Ymir's body into the various elements of the world.

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I've taken some liberties with how Ymir's body was repurposed, partly aligning it with a medieval cosmological model I recently encountered. Therefore, I've made a band of ocean/sky out of the bone of Ymir's skull and flames out of his hair to represent the "northern" Niflheim and the "southern" Muspelheim.

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Plus I've added some tree for stubble on his upper lip.

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But otherwise, I tried to stay mostly faithful to the intent of the story.

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This is a fairly large piece, with Ymir's head being about five feet in both width and height.

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You can view more pictures of Ymir HERE.

NOUNS

Screenshot of the website of Meghan McClure. 

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Meghan McClure is poet, essayist, and editor.

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She also curates one of the most consistently interesting digests/reviews of literature and art.

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She titles each "exhibit" Nouns, although they could easily be titled Dreams. But these aren't your grandmother's dreams, nor are they always comforting. They are, however, always filled with challenge and wonder—a way of instruction in seeing the world; a reminder to keep one's eyes, ears, and heart open to that which one may easily encounter but often overlooks or misses.

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The images she selects and the text captions/summaries that serve as "points of departure" are beautiful in their own right. Stanzas of an elaborate poem.

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These are items you perhaps wouldn't have discovered otherwise, so each is a prized gem. This is the New City adorned in jewels and riches. Enter, read, and reflect.

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View her most recent "exhibit," Nouns XXII HERE.

GHOSTS of GAUGUIN

"Ghosts of Gauguin" by Troy's Work Table. Carport chalking for Friday 05 June 2015.

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If you put the words "Tahiti" and "Gauguin" into a search engine, the resulting collection of images looks something like THIS.

It's a collage of Fauvist dream imagery.

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The yellows and greens of the land and flora. The yellow-browns of Tahitian bodies. The oranges of homes. The reds and browns of soil, rock, mountain. The brilliant blue of the sky and the pure white of clouds that inhabit it.

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The white, yellow, and red flowers adorning the heads of women—solitary blossoms, duos, halos.

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Fruit, palms, animals.

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The beauty of the land, the people, and the interplay.

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My chalk can merely capture the ghosts of all in pale imitation. I try for homage, but fail.

(I actually turned to one of Gauguin's wood sculptures for primary inspiration, with the paintings as secondary flavoring.)

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View more pictures of "Ghosts of Gauguin" HERE.