Hi.
I’m gonna do something here I try very hard not to do. I’m gonna ask you to share this post. You can go ahead and share it any time you encounter it, but it’s important tonight (2014/08/17).
I have a good friend. Actually, I have many. But this friend, who I have known since I worked for the brewery, who has many mutual friends with me, has recently gained legal blind status. That alone is very difficult to deal with, but she’s working hard on adjusting and has been doing an admirable job of keeping her spirits up and tackling her new lifestyle as a challenge. However, as she describes on her gofunme.com campaign, she’s stuck in bureaucratic limbo, between income sources, and in danger of losing almost all of her belongings to an overdue storage compartment rent.
I’d say “there but for the grace of the fishies go I,” but honestly, I could be facing the same kind of loss very soon! Not with my eyes, but financially. We’re both in a tough spot, but she got there first. And I would really like to help her out. But I don’t have any cash, so I created the following works of art in an attempt to sell them as quickly as possible to help her pay her rent tomorrow!
click to visit larger image ‘eteqeye in rattan with dragon From Grass Dog Studio |
It is available in a variety of formats from my Etsy shop (including without the dragon!):
https://www.etsy.com/shop/Fenworks
When these listings expire, I will not sell this work any more. I may sell variations of it, but this series of prints and originals are limited by time arbitrarily set by Etsy. During that time, all proceeds will go toward Disa’s fund. All proceeds. But, we really need those sales tonight if possible!
Now, a little explanation of what this illustration is about:
1. In the foreground are fronds of rattan. Rattan, aside from being rather pretty, is one of the traditional woods used for walking canes. The first white canes made for blind people were also made from wood, and it is possible and maybe likely many of them were made from rattan. Rattan is also becoming scarce. Scarcity seems like an appropriate theme for this project.
2. The fronds of rattan spell, in Fenekere (the native language of Fenmere, the Worm, fictional author of my comics), ‘eteqeye. ‘eteqeye means “The Right Eye of the Great One”, or “The Sun”. This is a little ironic, because my friend must avoid the sun in order to retain what is left of her eyesight. However, in the mythology behind Fenekere, ‘eteqeye does not go through phases like the moon does in order to maintain vigilance and keep a watch over the Earth. ‘eteqeye looks out for us. It was featured in this poem, which is rather appropriate for this project!
3. The dragon is there to make sure that you spell the word right when hanging the series.
4. I’m also working on developing a series of works where I compare natural shapes and patterns with the shapes often used to depict dragons and other monsters. This set represents the first finished piece in that series.
Now, if you’ve only got a few bucks, or you want as much of your money to go directly to Disa as possible (which I highly recommend), what you really should do is go here and donate:
http://www.gofundme.com/cy4o2g
Thank you so, so much.
More than Suitcases – using my work to help a friend originally appeared on Drawing Contraption on 2014/08/17.