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Alexandra90210 with Yggrasil Asp 2021
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William Butler Yeats poem given to Alexandra90210
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Norse Symbol for the Tree of Life Stencil
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Stencil prior to paint
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Stencil after paint mid process of peeling of stencil
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Tree of Life Symbol background of Yggrasil Asp by Alexandra90210
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First color layer on top of completed stencilled background
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One of the many steps to the completed piece – Yggrasil Asp by Alexandra90210
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Detail of Resurrection fern prior to application to Yggrasil Asp by Alexandra90210
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Wisteria blossoms prior to final highlight by Alexandra90210
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Before the decoupage and paint, pencil drawings are razor trimmed and await their fate – Yggrasil Asp by Alexandra90210
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Wisteria sketched onto 100% cotton paper
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Alexandra90210 hand cuts wisteria leaves
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Yggrasil Asp in unfiltered natural light
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The finished piece.
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You may have read the story about our unintended but blessed quarantine in Mississippi on the last post at BeverlyHillsMom. True to form, I am carrying on BHM’s tradition of taking forever to write about my projects!
Once I got over the shock that we’d be able to stay put for a while, I got our respective workspaces together, mine being the garage that has now evolved into my own little art Shangri-la with unfinished pine walls. After condo living for years, it was so amazing to open the door and be able to smell the fresh cut grass or watch the rain, pet the neighbor dogs who drop by and now know I have treats. At some point along the way, my former roommate from college came to me and brought the William Butler Yeats poem you see in the *slide show* above. He said that he really liked what I’ve been doing with my work, and he’d like to see what I’d do with that poem and a couple of myths and motifs, including the Tree of Life, a snake, and would I please use my style with local flora and fauna? I was thrilled to say the least and got busy creating what will now and forever be known as Asp Yggrasil.
I researched the tree of life. I researched trees and wisteria, the caducei, resurrection ferns, and took a turn down Norse mythology to find that there’s a very beautiful symbol for the tree of life, which immediately took its place on the background as a stencilled motif, and as the layers of the canvas dried, I drew and cut resurrection fern, wisteria blossoms and leaves, the golden asp (which, as it turns out, is quite Greco-Roman, not Norse, but aesthetics rule), a thick-as-a-tree-trunk wisteria vine, and some pretty golden butterflies. Next comes the decoupage, then the painting of the ephemera. This process of painting layer by layer goes on until it’s finished. When that is varies – it just happens.
We had a little toast to our past, present and future at the unveiling of the piece at my collector’s fabulous historic cottage. I gifted him a small print of his piece which also serves as his signed certificate of authenticity, and his piece is registered in my official body of work. We further documented the blessed event when acclaimed photographer Ann Madden dropped by to take the photos of us in front of the mantle for which Asp Yggrasil was conceived. I have to say that this was a JOY to do. I found I really enjoyed taking the collector’s choice of themes and finding the story in shape and color. A huge thanks to collector Estus Kea for taking this maiden voyage with me – may this be the first of many collector collaborations for Alexandra90210! If you’re interested in working with me on a special piece, read this, then send me a note if you’d like to know more about how you can commission your own work of art.
*You can see most of the process documented in the slide show above – click the small arrow on the right. Hover your cursor over the the bottom of each photo to see a description of how Asp Yggdrasil evolved.