Saturday 21 August 2010

Elements of Self; A Shadow

I have no shadow! I am a vampire, or Peter Pan. I have spent days trying to photograph my own shadow, and failed.

I tried to take pictures of my shadow where it usually falls, the cooker, the table, my knitting, the computer, our bed time story in the big bed, my sewing machine. Unfortunately the light in our house is so poor, my shadow was too faint to see. Just one of the many things I am having to come to terms with in our new home. Old Devon village houses were so often built to keep the weather out, not let the light in.

I then tried to capture my shadow on our wish adventure. and though I cast long powerful shadows, whenever I turned the camera on to capture them, the sun would hide and I would get nothing.

But I don't mind, I know my shadow is still there, still attached to my feet. I'm not really Peter Pan, I won't need it sewing back on.

So my offering here is of another shadow I cast, the one that comes to mind when I think of my shadow. The lovely long summers evening shadow that followed me around the golden hillside on our wedding day.


And a shadow that might remain, long after I am gone and my name is forgotten,


I have ever been in paintings, a side effect of growing up around artists, but this one is so much of me, as to almost be my shadow.

This post is to continue with Shakti Mama's Elements of Self challenge, which this week is focusing on our shadow. Please have a look at some of the other women and their shadows linked to her blog.

3 comments:

  1. Oh, these are beautiful, so beautiful! I love the painting too ... I'm confused though ... who painted this? Whoever did, SO talented, and how wonderful that you were the subject! I've always wanted a painted portrait of me ... maybe someday :).

    How crazy that you couldn't get your shadow on camera! I took a walk around the block and got about fifty shots ... those village houses sound beautiful but dark! I think I'd get depressed ... I lived in a dark house once and couldn't handle it, though now I AM better with darker spaces.

    Thank you for participating ... and who knows ... maybe you are Peter Pan on some days :). Wouldn't be such a bad thing.

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  2. Paintings as shadow...intriguing. And really, it is all about the play of light, isn't it?

    Such beautiful expansiveness you were surrounded by on your wedding day!

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  3. Sorry, I should have said in the post. The artist is my Mum. She is amazingly talented, and has just done me a portrait of my three boys as my 30th birthday present here; http://boysinthewoods.blogspot.com/2010/06/thirty.html
    I am so lucky to have such talent in my family, unfortunately I inherited none of it and have trouble drawing something recognisable!

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