From My Heart to Yours

Merry Christmas! 

Wishing you joy and cheer and a Happy New Year!

~Claire

The World Tree

At core of ancient Slovak belief is the World Tree. The mythological symbol of the World Tree is a very strong one, and survived throughout Slavic folklore for many centuries after Christianization. Three levels of the universe are located on the tree. They are called Parv, Iav and Nav. The crown represents the heavenly deities, the trunk is the realm of mortals, and the roots of the tree stretch into the underworld.

  

In the crown of the tree is where the God of Fire - Svarog rules. 

Below is the world Iav – the world of living creatures, the visible world. There rules the God of lightning and thunders – Perun. 

In the roots of the tree exists the world Nav – the realm of the spirits, the dead - the realm of the God Veles. As opposed to many other cultures, the underworld of Slavic mythology was not a world of fire and judgment, but of eternal spring.  

Jarilo & Morena

Here's the story of Jarilo and Morena:

In Slovakian folklore, Jarilo is the god of war, vegetation, fertility, spring, and the harvest. Morena is the goddess of the harvest, witchcraft, winter, and death. Jarilo is associated with the moon and Morena is considered a daughter of the sun. Both of them are children of Perun (the god of thunder and lightning). 

They are born on the night of the new year, but Jarilo is snatched from the cradle and taken to the underworld, where Veles (god of the underworld) raises him as his own. At the spring festival, Jarilo returns from the world of the dead, bringing springtime from the ever-green underworld into the realm of the living. He meets his sister Morena and courts her. At the beginning of summer, they are married. This sacred union between brother and sister (children of the supreme god) brings fertility and abundance to earth, ensuring a bountiful harvest. And, since Jarilo was raised by Veles and his wife is the daughter of Perun, their marriage brings peace between two great gods and ensures there will be no storms to damage the harvest.

After the harvest, however, Jarilo makes a bad choice. He is unfaithful to his wife, and Morena vengefully slays him. His death returns him to the underworld. Without her husband, Morena — and all of nature with her — withers and freezes in the upcoming winter. She turns into a terrible, old, and dangerous goddess of darkness and frost, and eventually dies by the end of the year. 

The whole story repeats itself anew each year. There is always a fresh springtime, followed by summer, autumn, and winter.

St. Mikuláš

Here’s the cover I illustrated for a Slovakian publication.

(Click for larger image)

Mikulás is sort of like the Slovakian version of Saint Nicholas. On the night of December 5th, children in Slovakia traditionally place a boot on their windowsill for Mikulás to fill with treats. The boots must be polished, because he won’t fill boots that are not shiny and clean. While “good” children receive gifts such as fruits, candies, nut and toys, “bad” children can expect nothing more than a wooden spoon, an onion, a lump of coal, or a willow switch. But, with the implication that no person is either completely good or entirely bad, most children get both sweets and a switch.

As you see here, Mikuláš is often accompanied by an Angel and a Devil. On December 6th, the older boys of a village might dress up as St. Mikuláš, accompanied by his angel and devil. The boys dressed as angels wear long white shirts, while the devils wear long black coats and paint their faces black, chains and bells tied around their waist. They roam about, visiting families with small children. If the kids improvise a poem, a song or a prayer, they might receive additional gifts. Those who misbehave can expect coal, rocks, or perhaps a raw potato. Yay!

A Very Slovakian Christmas!

This is a series of illustrations I did for the winter issue of a Slovakian heritage publication. They accompany an article written by my cousin that describes Christmas customs in Slovakia. One of these traditions consists of gathering around friends and family on cold, dark evenings with tales of Slovakian folklore. Gods, Goddesses, tricksters, serpents, revenge, love, birth, death, and rebirth - there’s nothing like a good story to pass the time and warm the blood on a long winter night.

I'll follow up tomorrow with a description of each one. I think the stories behind the illustrations are pretty fascinating!

Holiday Hangers

Here are two cards I worked on from a Christmas series for American Greetings. They have little yarn loops at the top, so you can use them as ornaments! The rest of the series includes a snow globe, stocking, and three wise men.

Snuggly Snowfolks

Another Christmas card of mine for American Greetings.
Find it at Target!

Protective Luck Dragon

On paper, this little guy is only about an inch tall.
Made him for my dad.

One of my Christmas cards for American Greetings.
Available at Target.

Love Everywhere, Continued

A few more of the cards I illustrated for American Greetings' Love Everywhere card line, available in Walmart. Really pleased with how these turned out! Check out the delicate embossed details on the bottom Newlywed card with the cowboy boots and flowers. Purdy!

A Festive Flock of Feathered Friends

For a holiday craft show here at AG, I whipped up a baker's dozen batch of little bird ornaments.

I sculpted each from polymer clay, painted them, and hung each one with a bead and colored wire.

I ran wild with Sculpey as a youngster, and must have made hundreds of little characters and trinkets, but this is the first time I've worked with clay in many years. That said, I'm pretty happy with them!

Hope you all had a wonderful and delicious Thanksgiving holiday!

A few of the cards I illustrated for the Love Everywhere card line, for American Greetings in Walmart. More to come!

Love Everywhere is Everywhere!

 

I acted as Art Director and Illustrator for this 104-card line from American Greetings. I had the opportunity to work with some very talented artists, photographers, and writers to develop Love Everywhere from start to finish. These cards are sweet and funny and snazzy and unexpected and lovely. 

Go see for yourself! They're available in Walmart.

Letmý Pohľad

Here's a little glimpse of a project I just finished for an upcoming publication.
Can't wait to see it in print!

Cute as a Cupcake

Our dog Lily has been featured on an American Greetings birthday card for Target!
Photographed by the very talented Audrey Jones, this series is not only cheerful and sweet, but will help raise money for the ASPCA.

Amusingly, the top card you see in here the end cap with the wrinkly shar pei was photographed in our living room! That's our red sofa and black bookshelves you see behind him.

Sneak peek of what I've been working on these days.

Most of my fellow artists and designers agree that the "I VOTED" stickers we got today are just plain boring. Or ugly. Or both.
I whipped this up for a friend of mine who didn't have a sticker due to casting her ballot early. If you desire a snazzier badge that the one you got at the polls, feel free to print this out and wear it yourself!

Happy Halloween!

Here's the Valkyrie costume I made this year.

The Style Letters

What a treat! I'm one lucky girl, to be featured on The Style Letters! Maria's lovely blog is a love letter to all the people, places, and things that inspire her personal style. Take a peek! 

Thanks, Maria!

Who?

Found this little Owlie friend of mine lurking at my local Target store.
Take him home with you!

 Illustrated by me for American Greetings.

 My mantra right now.

Birthday Girl

Excited about turning 30 today!
Wishing for many happy adventures to come ♥

And That's Why You Always Leave a Note.

Arrested Development: You’re Gonna Get Some Walk-Ons

To celebrate the exciting return of the show, the folks from Arrested Development recently held a contest in which you and your friends could potentially win a walk-on role. So, a few of us greeting card artists put our heads (and pencils) together and whipped up a (fake) mini-line of greeting cards for this contest that anyone can download and print out for free!

It’s super easy! Download the high-res files here. They even come with a dotted line for the fold and should print easily to your basic home printer.

And if you like them, please share them to your heart's content!

Celebrating my Heritage

I am pleased to have a little illustration included in the Fall 2012 issue of Slovakia - a Slovak heritage magazine.

 For the upcoming Winter issue, I'm working with a fellow member of the Mojher family to illustrate an article all about folklore from Slovakia. It's an exciting project, packed full of gods and underworlds. I'm learning so much about my heritage and am soaking up all the wonderful Slovakian myths like a sponge. Stay tuned!