The country for this week’s postcard challenge is Wales. My postcard is inspired by Welsh mythology and the tale of Blodeuwedd.
Blodeuwedd was created from flowers by two wizards so she could be the bride of LLeu Llaw Gyffes, who was placed under a spell by his mother never to marry a mortal woman. Blodeuwedd married Lleu but she took a liking to a local lord, and had an affair with him. The two lovers conspired to kill Lleu, who could only be killed at dusk, with one foot in a cauldron and the other on a goat, and by a spear that had taken a year to forge.
It was quite a task to arrange, and Blodeuwedd almost managed to pull if off, but Lleu, injured by the spear, turned into an eagle and fled. Poor Lleu eventually found his two wizard friends and was nursed back to health. When fully healed, Lleu tracked down Blodeuwedd and turned her into an owl. She’s cursed to stay in owl form, never to show her face to sunlight again, and hated by all other birds.
The background….
Two agents have been randomly chosen from the secret association MIFFED, Modern International Federation of (almost) Forgotten and Extinct Deities, to save the world from the 2012 end of the world. Can Cinxia, a once worshipped Roman goddess with an obsession of dressing brides, and Topia, a Finnish forest god now relocated to Michigan, USA, save the day?
The Adventures so far….
Austria – Week 1 | Spain – Week 2 | Brazil – Week 3 | China – Week 4 | France – Week 5 | Belgium – Week 6
Postcard from Wales
Beautiful illustration from the myth story. The eyes have a frightened look and yet there is a smile? Cover ups and intrigue…love it.
Oh this was indeed lovely! The artwork is beautiful. The story was adventuresome. I had a dream night before last where a spiritual store was closing and I asked the owner why and she told me it was because of her dream. She handed me a book and told me that she dreamt that half of her as dancing like a ballerina and her other half more so her arm and hand was holding onto a banister or a headboard of a bed. So the splitting aspect of this postcard's story reminded me of my dream. Sometimes, we feel like we need to be in multiple places at once. Loving multiple people at once. I liked this posting.
I never knew about the origins of the owl. Your painting is really lovely. There is so much to learn on this postcard challenge!
Janet xx
Interesting storyline. So smart to put the links for the other postcards in the text block. I'll be borrowing that idea.
Love the owl and a great tale. Fabulous work.
Jen x