I will be teaching HAPPY HARPIES in just a few weeks at Art and Soul in Virginia Beach and there is still spots left in the class!! Come play and make your own Harpy or maybe we should start calling them BIRD GODDESSES.
I seem to be kind of obsessed with the image of a woman’s face on a bird body or a harpy. But Mythologically speaking or in modern slag the Harpy’s reputation is not a pretty one.
HARPY
–noun, plural -pies.
1.Classical Mythology . a ravenous, filthy monster having a woman's head and a bird's body.
2.( lowercase
) a scolding, nagging, bad-tempered woman;shrew.
3.( lowercase
) a greedy, predatory person.
However in earlier Greek mythology, Harpies were described as beautiful, winged maidens. So what happened? I have some feminist theories about what happen, but alas this blog is actually about art. I have been making lots of Harpies lately and it has been an image that has been in my sketch books for years.
Mixed Media painting done a few years ago
Assemblage Harpy made with a porcelain doll head
on a fake crow body made this spring for Artfest
Class sample from Happy Harpies at Artfest 2011
made of a vintage compostite doll head with eyes
that blink on a tacky Christmas bird decoration.
My circus Harpy painting
Collage and Acrylics on Canvas 2009
A bit scarier Harpy made of a composite Virgin Mary head with wings made out of gut stretched over wire
Geisha Harpy made this spring from a doll head I had in my childhood
