"Her tranquility is her superpower. She is divinely fearless in her sovereignty; poised and serene. Armed with the intoxication of love, she is enchantingly passionate and seductively undeniable." - Maeve by artist Tanya Marie Reeves
Name
The name Maeve is female name of Irish origin meaning she who intoxicates. Maeve appears in Irish mythology in two forms, one as the powerful Queen of Connacht, the other as the queen of the fairies.
Symbols and Totems
A garden is also a symbol of life, death, decay, rebirth and renewal, ground in the feminine for it's cyclic nature, fertility beauty, nurture and transformation.
In history, both in art and literature, the garden is portrayed as dimension that is separate from our everyday life, most often represented as a luxuriant place, sometimes surrounded by walls, filled with fountains, fruit trees or domesticated animals, the garden is depicted as a place of peace and spiritual refreshment. A borderland between two worlds. Almost Heaven.
Inspiration
My inspiration for both Maeve and Lorelei were the silhouettes themselves; Outlines I had drawn up many moons ago, absolutely loved, and had decided I wanted to make magic of, in unison with each other. Both of these ladies were created simultaneously.
I wanted to keep these two divine beauties simplistic, making a statement of (although not limited to) my elaborate distressing of the beautiful fabrics of their foundations.
Although their simplicity did not make for easy going along the way! There were many colour changes, some heartache and risk in removal of one particular flower and then carefully re-stressing the clean area so as for it not to look out of place. Mission accomplished.
In the end I am thrilled for the way both of my ladies have evolved. While all of my personal stylistic traits are obvious, they are still quite unlike anything else I have created.
Details
24 April 2023
H121xW101cm – 48x40”
Acrylic on fabric on stretched canvas
Fabric: Edyta Sitar for Andover - Blue Sky Lilacs Full Moon