Some days are made for writing stories, which for me also involves reading some of my old favourites for inspiration and reference.
Today I’m creating short stories (or at least starting the process) for some of my doll characters. The two characters I have in mind are Rose and The Green Man (aka Merlin).
Rose is a sort-of hybrid between Red Riding Hood / Briar Rose / Rose Red, and her character has evolved from a midwife to a mother, and back again into a girl, over the last few years. She is somewhat now a woman in a girls body, having had experiences and adventures despite being young. I am very drawn to the symbolism of red and this has been a motif in much of my costume / theatre design work in the past.
Rose somehow embodies innocence in the world of adult experience, and I’m trying to find a way to communicate this idea…
Little Red Riding Hood by Edward Frederick Brewtnall
The Green Man has a few names, including Merlin & Mossy Wizard. He is the wise man of the forest, and I think his message is about growth, endurance, time and protection. He is something of an Ent and gardener…
(Later that day…)
Well, The Green Man decided he wanted a story first, and what a story is emerging! He has more names that I could have imagined;
Jack in the Green, The Green Knight, The Garland King, May King, Holly King, Green George, Robin Hood, Robin Goodfellow, Puck, Merlin…
He appears in myths and legends in all folk traditions, and particularly Arthurian /celtic legend; he is carved into mediaeval churches, and no one really knows why…
Research is early, but he is often described as being in disguise; a wise man dressed as a beggar, a king in hiding as a gardener… He is a paradox and a trickster, teaching us wise lessons by calling upon our false assumptions and judgement of appearance.
He is fertility (May King), and loss (Holly King)… he is the wheel of the year personified, evergreen and enduring throughout all things. He is the wild madness of nature bought into ordered form in his body, and therefore represents the wild chaos and beauty within all men; our essential nature as growing entities.
Merlin by Alan Lee
