V is for VIKING as in Viking RUNE SIGNS - for 'From A to Z in April', Thursday, April 25th, 2013

V is for VIKING as in Viking Rune signs - The Letter 'V' for 'Blogging from A to Z in April', Thursday, April 25th, 2013.

Viking is one of these themes that can be sooooo tacky! I refuse to show anyone wearing a helmet with horns!!!! They did just did not have them! Here is my son Erik's rendering of a true Viking :

Erik's drawing of a Viking

Instead, I would like to focus on the Viking's or Norsemen's or 9th century Scandinavian's  writing style, which was in Runes, these stick-like letters that were carved in wood and stone. In order to get the feeling of what this writing looks like I am including a photo of the very famous Rök Runestone, Rökstenen:

Rökstenen

I would also like to feature the wonderful jewellery work of Etsian, Anna Edwards, a genuine Swede, who lives and works in Pennsylvania. She has crafted three silver rings with three different Runes. These lovely handmade rings are available in Anna Edward's shop, Noblegnome Jewelry.

noblegnome

noblegnome

noblegnome

Please note that for every Rune-ring purchased, Anna is donating twenty dollars to the American Brain Tumor Association. Read her product text to find out why.

This is Anna Edwards:

My theme for A to Z is my favourite things that might show up in written stories, poems, paintings or jewellery. This is my list of subjects that I would like to work with.


 
Best wishes,
Anna (Nordeman)











P.S. It's my mother's birthday today. Grattis på födelsedagen, Mamma!


First Commenter:
Yolanda Renee
of
Defending the Pen

U is for UNICORN - for 'from A to Z in April', Wednesday, April 24th, 2013

U is for UNICORN - The Letter 'U' for 'Blogging from A to Z in April', Wednesday, April 24th, 2013.

A unicorn-cloud! captured by birdandbloke

Unicorns are one of those wonderful mythical beings that seem to always be resurfacing in children's literature and films. You can bring unicorns into your life in several ways. One is to make your horse a unicorn for a party or celebration.

Look at this wonderful soft and safe unicorn horn attachment from the Etsy shop, RusticHorseShoe.

RusticHorseShoe

 

RusticHorseShoe

RusticHorseShoe

And for those who love unicorns, but who don't own their own horse, you can bake unicorn cookies using this cookie-cutter from CookieCutterGuy :

Unicorn cookie-cutter from CookieCutterGuy 

Or decorate your room with a glass sculpture of a unicorn made by John McElmeel of americanglasscraft :

Glass unicorn from americanglasscraft

Or wear a gold unicorn ring from diamentdesigns:

Unicorn ring from diamentdesigns

Or wear this unicorn pendant necklace from Illuminista:

Illuminista

I would love to illustrate a fairy tale about a unicorn. Look at these different artists' styles:

GingerKellyStudio

ArtElem

 

theartofstacy

 I bet Maja Lindberg of majalin could put a unicorn into this dreamlike landscape:

 

majalin

Thanks for visiting!


My theme for A to Z is my favourite things that might show up in written stories, poems, paintings or jewellery. This is my list of subjects that I would like to work with.

Best wishes,
Anna











First Commenter:
Tanya Walton
of
Allotments 4 you

T is for TROLL - for 'From A to Z in April', Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013

T is for TROLL - for 'Blogging from A to Z in April', Tuesday April 23rd, 2013. Some of my first memories of TROLLS are images painted by the Swedish artist/illustrator, John Bauer (1882-1918): 

John Bauer (1882–1918)

If you have ever walked in an old forest in Sweden, you know that you can almost feel the presence of trolls. They hide behind huge stones; sometimes they disguise themselves as moss-covered boulders. 

John Bauer (1882–1918)

John Bauer (1882–1918)

John Bauer (1882–1918)

John Bauer, 1882-1918 (Read more here: in Swedish & in English) was an artist who died too young. I wonder what his art would have become if he had been able to continue working and not drowned together with his wife and son when the steamer, Per Brahe went down in a storm on the lake Vattern on November 20th, 1918.

There have been many tacky renderings of trolls made since John Bauer stopped painting them. I would love to do something with trolls, write stories and/or illustrate them. I would like to make them majestically ugly or beautifully hidious and worthy of John Bauer's memory. But it may not be possible. John Bauer lived in a time that was closer to trolls than ours.

My theme for A to Z is my favourite things that might show up in written stories, poems, paintings or jewellery. This is my list of subjects that I would like to work with.


Best wishes,
Anna










First Commenter:
Alex J. Cavanaugh