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Sunday 31 October 2010

SAMHAIN GREETINGS

Having shown more "traditional" Hallowe'en projects for the past month or more on the actual day I thought I would be a little perverse and instead of more of the same go for the older, more PAGAN celebration of SAMHAIN.

 SAMHAIN
When the year is turning to harvest
and the wind invites you to ride
light fires on every hilltop
and greet those beloved who died
 Samhain marked the end of the harvest, the end of the "lighter" half of the year and the beginning of the "darker" half. It shares some elements with the festival of the dead in that it was believed that the border between this world and the otherworld became thin on Samhain thus allowing the dead to reach back through the veil that seperated them from the living.
 Bonfires played a large part in the festivities; people and their livestock would often walk between two bonfies as a cleansing ritual, and the bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames.

 I had great fun making these stitched pumpkins.......I drew them on coloured card and then stitched around them in a very random fashion, next I tore them out, this was again not a very precise thing, I liked the way some of the stitching came adrift giving a ragged appearance. I so enjoyed making these that more may well make another appearance later in the week!



This week sees the publication of the latest ART SPECIALLY magazine..............
 .......I have a project in it, here is a sneak peek!!! Been a while since I was last published so am chuffed to be so again!

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love your Samhain creations! It's great to see that someone remembers the origins of this holiday...

Carol Q said...

gorgeous pages Sue. great effect created by the stitching and tearing and interesting to see a reference to a celebration much older. congrats on being published again.

Helen said...

GReat pumpkins and well done on the mag article - I will look out for this one!

Luna Art said...

Great Samhain page,love those stitched pumpkins! I am pagan and will be celebrating Samhain today, It was lovely to see some Samhain stuff along with all the Halloween stuff x

Craft Addicts - Tracy Evans said...

Wonderful journal pages, the pumpkins are gorgeous and the stitching is a fabulous touch. Interesting to hear about Samhain, something new for me. Fantastic news about being published Sue. Happy Halloween. Tracy x x

olive said...

love the history Sue, which inspires your blogging. Congrats on being published as well..... Ciao

Rosie said...

Superb page, and nice to see an alternative take on the season.

Nigel said...

Brilliant page. Samhain blessings to you too :)

hazel said...

Lovely pages Sue, love the effect of the stitched pumkins. I'd never heard of Samhain so found it very interesting. Congratulations on being published again.
xxx Hazel.

Siobhan Brignull said...

love love the samhain and the saying is , well words have deserted me, I love it <:)

Sarah Anderson said...

those pumpkins are fab, fab, fab :) And the info re Samhain really interesting. I was at a bonfire party last night but just had the one bonfire lol ;) Great job on published piece :)

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on being published and I wishing you Happy All Hallows Eve, or Samhain.

You work it wonderful and all that stitching! I love pumkins and harvest colours.

Linda M. Cain said...

WOW! Way to go Sue!

Anonymous said...

**squeal** I have never even heard of Samhain - but I Love Love Love what you've done!!!! Brings me so much freaky joy!
xxJ

Beth Norman-Roberts said...

Your pumpkins are great. Very creative to place them in your journal; I'm so used to everything being on a card. Congratulations on being published. How exciting.

Lynne Phelps said...

Love your Samhain page! The stitched pumpkin and leaves are fabulous! What an awesome technique to add texture and interest! The colors and patterns of this page are just delightful, one of my personal favorite color schemes! And a great post, a nice twist on the usual Halloween stuff!

DonnaMundinger said...

WOW!!! Those stitched pumpkins are totally AMAZING! Love this and congrats on the mag. I'll be on the lookout! xxD