Watercolour and Coloured Pencil on Paper
H: 66 cm x W: 81 cm (unframed)
2015
Below is an original poem I wrote in conjunction with this drawing.
The Crucible
I remember the day
You told me the word
No one wants to hear
I sat by your feet in those last days
As I once had in my youth
Making rodents out of felt
Waiting
While other rats ate their fill
When it was over and I was at home
Empty
I found the little doll you’d bought me
Smashed
I cradled the remains of innocence
And wept
We stood by, helpless spectators
In the crucible
All of us were broken
The still life set up depicted, was inspired by the theme of, 'The Nutcracker and the Mouse King,' (a story written by E.T.A. Hoffmann, in 1816). In Hoffmann's story, a young girl's favorite Christmas toy, the Nutcracker, comes alive and, after defeating the evil Mouse King in battle, whisks her away to a magical kingdom populated by dolls.