Medusa | JD x ArtFoamies stamp

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What Jane says

 

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I am BESOTTED with learning about ancient cultures and beliefs, especially the relationship between women and the deities they looked to for safety, for love and peace in their lives. It fascinates me that over countless generations from past to present so much has changed, but we remain so connected with our ancient sisters by the same dreams and desires!

In this Collab, I was inspired to pull elements from mythology to create versatile designs that could act as little muses in your artwork to express ideas of sisterhood, support and connection as well as just be fun designs that lead you down a creative  path of your own.

I believe that the voices of artistic muses echo on in us and guide creativity…  how else would you account for the way this Collab started?  I was literally reading a lovely book about art supplies and mid-chapter I stopped to check my phone… and I had a message from KP of  ArtFoamies … I nearly fainted, because what was I was reading about? ARTFOAMIES! I literally had the book open in my lap, with images of ArtFoamies, and KP floating the idea for a Collab in my DM’s! Talk about serendipity!

What you might like to know

The Designs

Ancient Greece had a plethora of fascinating female immortals that were part of people’s daily devotions. Ancient Greeks truly believed that these immortal beings were part of their physical world and that their goddesses, muses and nymphs lead passionate, adventurous lives of their own as well as dabbled in the affairs of mankind, even walking amongst them in disguise…

Different goddesses had their own personalities and interests that became synonymous with important aspects of peoples lives such as : love (Aphrodite), marriage and childbirth(Hera), the safety of children (Artemis),  fertility of farming land (Demeter) and wisdom (Athena). Temples were raised and devotions were left as people pondered on their lives and the improvements they needed. (It seems like a good idea to ponder challenges and articulate wishes as you are really setting the intention to move forward, whether a goddess intervenes or not!)

This collection is called by the ‘Myths and Muses’ and isn’t a retelling of the grand moments of Ancient Greece, such as the war of Troy and Sparta or Jason and the Argonauts. Rather, the designs are inspired by elements by some of my favourite myths from that epoch, but are not purely representative.

Some characters you will recognise, such as Medusa (misunderstood and magnificent) and Pegasus ( who arrives in ArtFoamies form with seperate wings and a unicorn horn- hello versatility!).

Other designs celebrate purely female forms inspired by the goddesses themselves, such as Aphrodite, Hera and Artemis.

Some designs call to the marble artefacts left by the incredible artisans of the ancient world, soaring columns to elevate your ideas  and frame your work, arches to bring focus and busts that can be used to create new lives.

Other elements are so essentially of their time, but have become symbols over eons. You wouldn’t even know they were inspired by anything other than a designers mind trying to give you versatile designs you can stamp over and over again.

The Greek key is thought to go back to the King Minos’s labyrinth and finding your way through twisting paths of life,  and the laurel wreath is still a sign of triumph through great endeavours made with pure intention. But they both are just beautiful designs that can be used as background elements.

Ancient Greek writers loved to include stories of sisters in their myths, such as the Creative Muses, the nymphs of Artemis and the Pleiades ( who live on as a constellation to this very day, sometimes called the Seven Sisters), each is named in the tales and has their own sphere of interest, own loves and family trees. Their stories tell us just as much as the bolder tales of demigods such as Hercules and Theseus. I am inspired by these individual feminine faces in different formations to celebrate  support and friendship.

One of my favourite designs is called Demeter. The design shows a beautiful face resplendent in flowers and calls to the flower and Frida lover in me.

The story behind the design tells of the fertility goddess Demeter and a mother’s great love for her daughter. Demeter stopped the seasons themselves when Persephone suddenly disappeared (As a side note, the Sirens have their origin here as well. They were once Demeter’s nymph attendants and were sent out to call for Persephone, but they could never find her because Persephone was being held in the Underworld by Hades. Eventually the winged nymphs were completely spent and collapsed on a stony island. But they never stopped calling out to find Demeter’s daughter, and their immortal voices possessed passing sailors, dragging them to their doom on the rocky shores. Over time they became half fish in the stories and the myth of mermaids came into being).   

Plunged into an eternal winter, mankind suffered with a great famine and offerings to the gods stopped, as there was nothing left to sacrifice. Finally Zeus, the King of Olympian gods, intervened as it was his brother who had stolen Persephone and taken her to the Underworld. A visitation schedule was brokered with Hades, and Persephone could return to the world for a few months each year.

If you live in the USA, You can order the Jane Davenport x  ArtFoamies collab direct on the ArtFoamies website too.
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Spring heralds Demeters anticipation of Persephone arriving, which gives us Summer. Autumn is bought about as Persephone goes once more to be Queen of the Underworld, and winter is Demeter’s deepest despair and missing her beloved daughter.

This last element is an application tool called a ‘Muse Mop’! It allows paint and ink to be spread on your ArtFoamies in just the right amount. Add individual colours to different areas of the designs. But of course you can use them to spread paint and ink on your surfaces too! They are essential washable and reusable tools.

Myths are a way of explaining the unknown and bringing some sort of reason and peace to the cycles of life and nature. Muses help us feel connected to our own desires and wishes. Together they allow us to experience the wonder of life and creativity. It may seem like a grand design, but I hope that this ‘Myths & Muses’ Collab with ArtFoamies delivers those same creative pathways to imagination and wonder via your artwork