#FolktaleWeek2020 - Day 6 Picks: Harvest

Promotional pic by A. Lysiak -Sz. (@jelen.iara)

 The prompt for day six is HARVEST.

by Vanessa Soberanis (@vanessa.soberanis.illustration)
And as Rapunzel's mother plucked the radishes from the cold earth of The Witch's garden bed, so came The Witch to pluck Rapunzel from her mother's hardened clutch.

by A. Owl (@otuscops)
Once upon a time, Bear and Fox decided to sow turnips and to split the harvest evenly. What lovely turnips they turned out to be! Such big, fleshy roots, and such lush leaves! So, Bear pondered how to divide the harvest in two equal parts. He said: “Let’s split it this way—I will take these green tops, and you’ll take the roots”. Fox knew that it was unfair but gladly complied with his plan. She just took the turnips and left Bear with useless leaves. Bear hadn’t found what a mistake he had made until later, and Fox took advantage of him. Unfortunately, he was left without food. 

by Julia C. Illustration
This prompt is based on Cornish Piskies and how one day, a boy from Truro went missing one day. He went to pick some flowers and turned up days later. When asked he said he fell asleep and woke up to the dark with all these strange stars around him. It was actually Piskies, who fed him honey. He woke up back in the glen he disappeared from. So be careful what you pick and harvest

 

by Denise Burden Art

by Katrin Dreiling (@katrinaartworks)
Another Brothers Grimm folktale ~ A peasant found a devil in his fields, sitting on a little pile. He guessed he was sitting on treasure, and the devil offered it if for two years, half of the crop was his. The peasant agreed, and said that to prevent disputes, the half above the ground was the devil's, and the half below the peasant's. When the devil agreed, the peasant planted beets.
When harvest time came, the devil saw his leaves and the peasant's beets, and said they must do it the other way round the next year. The peasant agreed and planted wheat. At harvest, the devil found he got nothing but stubble. Having been outwitted twice, he retreated into the earth in a fury, and the peasant took the treasure.

by Imogen Joy (@imogenjoy_illustration)
FOLKTALE WEEK DAY 6: CORVELLO & THE BIRD QUEEN” (Written and Illustrated by Imogen Joy) -- DAY 6: PROMPT ~ HARVEST -- As soon as the Bird Queen fell, light and colour, so much colour, returned to the land. The bird folk happily returned to their human form, albeit for a few feathers which remained. Crops grew and the harvest was abundant. As if by magic, each time a crop was harvested it would replenish itself to the delight of the hungry villagers. -- Corvello and Luna travelled throughout the land in search of Corvello’s mother. So long had he been parted from her that he had no memory of the village where he came from. As they passed through each village, Corvello and Luna would stay a day or two to help reap the plentiful crops. They rejoiced in seeing the happiness in the faces of each of the peasant folk. Yet Corvello’s heart was heavy. Would he ever find his mother?

by Marta Dorado (@martadorado)
(6/7 of an ongoing story) HARVEST: That year, the harvest was so abundant that all the barns in the kingdom were not enough to store it. Nobody saw the princess again, and to be honest, few mourned her absence. Soon, she was just a blurry memory. Only the old soothsayer smiled to herself from time to time, remembering omens from the past.

by Kamila Stankiewicz (@st.kamila)
Probably Południca (Lady Midday) was an often choice for this theme. No wonder, she fits perfectly.
Another Slavic demon. A woman who died as a bride, or soon after the wedding had a great chance to get the job. Her responsibilities was: showing up in the summer, in the middle of the day, choking resting harvesters, kidnapping children and using a sickle from others (macabre) reasons than a harvest.
👻If you are right person for the job please contact the non-existing Slavic Mythology Restoration Institute ;).

by Joanna Strutynksa Illustrator (@joannaillustrations)

by Eleonora Asparuhova (@elleasparuhova)
 ‘Harvest’ was inspired by the village where my great grandparents were from - Gorotsvet, Bulgaria. A place I visit every time I return to Bulgaria.

by Alanna Did That Illustration (@alanna_did_that)
Folktale week day 6 progress piece: #harvest ... “The Ant and the Grasshopper”

by Kath Waxman (@kathwaxman)
Prompt : Harvest -- Illustration: Guising
.A soul cake: a soul-cake! Please good Missis, a soul cake!
An apple, a pear or a cherry
Any good thing to make us all merry
One for Peter,
Two for Paul
Three for Him, who made us all.
Samhain is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the “dark half” of the year. Akin to our All-Hallow’s Eve or Halloween tradition, the celebration of Samhain and other similar holidays that honor the dead were popular pagan rituals during Shakespeare’s time. It was a time when the normal order of the universe was upended or suspended. The world of the gods was made visible to mortals on earth, and supernatural forces prevailed. Sounds spooky, huh? Many of Shakespeare’s plays dealt with ghosts and feature other mischievous spirits and fairies including Hamlet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

by Katia Hinic (@katia.hinic)
Day 6 Harvest 🌿 STORY - POEM? - TIME! He sings, he dances, he's clad in twigs, grasses and birch tree branches! He goes house to house, every year, bringing good harvest, fortune and cheer! Ah, he brings them spring and people sing 'Došel je, došel Zeleni Jurij!' 'Here he comes, here comes Green George!' (or Jorge and Georges! Or Jürgen, Girgis and Jiří!)   -He also happens to look suspiciously like my dog Viggo, who brings me just as much joy as the Zeleni Jurij does to us all! 🌿

by Bella Park (@crown_bellflower)
The legend of rabbits living on the moon is a common legend that exists in Korea, China and Japan.
Korea’s moon rabbit story is more focused on Korean harvest festival. That the bunnies are making rice cakes on the moon.

by Ruth Burrows (@ruthburrowsillustration)
I am looking to Lincolnshire Folklore to inspire my work this week and today’s illustration is brought you by the Farmer and the Bogart! -- Fighting over piece of land, the farmer and the Bogart agree to share the harvest. The farmer taking what grows beneath the land, the Bogart taking what grows above. -- "Very well," says the farmer, "wilt thou tek what grows above ground, or what grows beneath ground? Only, moind, thou mun stick to what thou sattles; oi doant want no back-reckunnings after.” -- The farmer is cunning and plants potatoes (‘tates’) the first year, leaving the Bogart with useless potato tops. Next year they decide to swap, the Bogart taking what grows beneath the earth. Again the farmer is clever and grows wheat, leaving the bogart with just the stubble! -- "Ye may tek t' mucky owd land an' all 'ats on it; I wean't hev no more to do wi' it." -- Source: Lincolnshire Folk Tales by Maureen James

by Sam Rudd Design (@samrudddesign)
It was tradition after harvest to make a corn dolly and keep it until next spring to ensure a good crop the next year. Sometimes a corn hare was made.

Late entries for Day 5: DEATH

by Ana Salvador (@anasalvadorbaron)
A young man was heading to the church on All Saints’ day. He was keen to look at the girls rather than the church itself. In the middle of the way he found a skull. He kicked it challenging: I invite you skull, to join for dinner. And as a heaven miracle, the skull replied: I give you my word.  -- The young man was worried until night came. As soon as it got dark someone knocked on the door, so strong that the whole house shaked.
The young man said to his servant: Go quickly and see who is knocking because I feel each knock hitting in my heart. -- When the servant opened the door, the Skull was there.  Go and ask your master if he remembers what was said. Many dishes were served, but the Skull didn’t eat any. Wine was poured, the Skull didn’t try it either. I didn’t come to eat either drink, it said. I just came to keep my promise. -- And so the Skull took the young man with it and both vanished in the mist. -- After that day nobody saw the young man again. -- And the legend ends saying that this is a warning for all young people. They must have respect for death.

by Anna Tenenbaum Illustrator (@pearpiecrumbs)
Have you seen where in the world Are you a young princess? I am her fiancé. " - "Wait, the stormy wind answers, There, beyond the quiet river There is a high mountain There is a deep hole in it; In that hole, in the sad darkness, The coffin is swinging crystal On chains between the pillars. See no trace of anyone Around that empty space; In that coffin is your bride. "

by Shelley Aldrich (@shelleyaldrichminimuseum)
THE MIRROR OF MATSUYAMA - Matsuyama lived happily with her mother and father in the countryside. One day after a trip to the city, the father brought back a beautiful mirror for his wife. The wife, having never seen a mirror believed it was another person looking back at her, until her husband explained that it was her reflection. - Many years later, Matsuyama’s mother become ill. Before she passed she explained to Matsuyama that whenever she felt alone, she could look into the mirror to see her. Matsuyama faithfully looked into the mirror each day for comfort, never knowing that she was speaking to her own reflection. - There is more to the story, but the beauty of the tale is that our parents stay with us even after they have left this world. Their influence, memories, and love become a part of who we are and we are a reflection of them.

#FolktaleWeek2020 - Day 5 Picks: Death

by Lesley Smitheringale Studio
My series of illustrations are from a North American folk story about a raven and a peacock which I fell in love with. (Lesley is using the prompts to create sequential illustrations for one story this week. It's a great way to think outside the box for the net scene for, example, a picture book!)

 Day five's prompt is DEATH.

(We were thrilled to see a wide range of responses to this prompt. While some are sad, or violent, others have a completely different take. Enjoy.)

by Cynthia Cliff (@ceecliff_art)
In folktales and in fairytales often the endings are not happy and sometimes there is even death. It comes in many forms—by a dragon or an evil potion, and occasionally by a broken heart. In some tales it is a permanent condition and once in a while, in the land of storytelling, it is not. Which will this one be?

by Eleanora Asparuhova (@elleasparuhova)
‘Once upon a time there was a man who wanted to run away from Death. But Death was everywhere - in the wind, in the branches of the trees, in the wild berries...’

by Victoria Fomina (@victoria_fomina_art)

by Maxine Lee Mackie (@maxineleemackie)
A #bluebeard #inkdrawing for today's prompt - #death

by Jürgen V. Blankenhagen (@Skizzig)

The blacksmith from Rumpelbach (translated via Google Translate) Because a blacksmith in Nussdorf am Inn once took in St. Peter, he granted him three wishes. His first wish was that no one could get down from his pear tree unless he explicitly allowed it. So the blacksmith was finally able to outsmart death. He then locked the devil in his coal cellar and when he finally got tired of his life, he threw his hat into paradise, because where his hat was, his home was also. So he tricked Death the devil and Peter and felt very clever piggy in paradise.

by CapEllis Designs
Today's theme is Death. This illustration is inspired by the Philippine folktale, The Datto Somacuel.

by Green Rain Art by Anya Kopotilova
“The Death of the wicked sorcerer can be found on the tip of the needle, which is hidden in the egg, which is hidden in a duck, which is hidden in a hare, who runs in the darkest forest”

by Bee Dixon
She danced where the dead don’t dance. A shadowy place where angels of darkness shriek and wail, “May your precious red shoes dance you until you fade into a ghostly dusk.”

by Scott Keenan Illustration
“Snow White craved the perfect looking apple, and as she watched the farmer’s wife taste it, she could no longer resist. She held out her hand and took the poisoned half.”

by MartaPilosio_Illustration
Day 5 of #folktaleweek with the prompt: Death. This couldn’t be anything but Arthur’s death and his slow flowing towards Avalon.

by Sabine Waldmann-Brun
She enjoyed the beauty of the bird's dance and song, but then to her grief had to realize it burn and die. Zabiba knelt at the side of the dead body and her tears fell on the burnt breast feathers. 

by Joanna Illustrations
Do you consider death as something bad, good or maybe neutral?

by Soni Speight (@sonispeight)
 If anyone came looking for the child and meant her harm they were met with death, so many ghosts roamed the trees

by 

óóChechula!

@chechulalala
Death...so here is Godmother Death from that creepy brothers Grimm's fairytale

by Katrin Dreiling (@dreiling_katrin)
‘Death’ - this is a Brothers Grimm folktale in which Death proofs to his godson that he can’t be tricked.

by Imogen Joy (@imogenjoy_illustration)
DAY 5: “CORVELLO & THE BIRD QUEEN” (Written and Illustrated by Imogen Joy) -- DAY 5: PROMPT ~ DEATH -- And so the Bird Queen went on, tormenting village after village until the whole land was bathed in darkness. Then she gleefully ordered her bewitched flock to fly to the last village, the one in which Corvello’s bereft mother lived. The flock flew towards the village. Just as they had almost reached its edge, suddenly with an almighty surge, every single bird in the flock soared higher and higher into the sky... further and further away from the village, and the land, until they were high above the ocean. -- Furiously their wings flapped, bewildering the sorceress who screeched “You are my servants! Do as I command you!” ... then through the deafening flap of wings came Corvello’s calm and commanding voice “Too long have we been at your mercy. Now you must feel what it is to be powerless” and beating their wings ever more furiously the flock dropped the Bird Queen into the sea below. Her screeching faded to silence as she and her darkness were swallowed by the hungry crashing waves.

by Sarah Ekström (@sarahek.illustration)
Death would always be there and show himself to him, and it should be to him for a sure token if he saw Death at the foot of the bed that he could cure the sick with a draught from the keg; but if he sat by the pillow, there was no healing nor medicine, for then the sick belonged to Death. -- Folktale week, day 5: Death -- This Norwegian folktale is called « Death and the Doctor ». A man on a journey has a keg of Yule-al and wants to drink it with someone. He meets Death and decides to share it with him. Death enjoys the drink so much that he wants to bless the man. He turned the Yule-al into a healing drink so that the man could make the sick whole again, better than any doctor. And when the man should come into the sick man’s room Death would show himself, if he saw Death at the foot of the bed, the sick would be cured by drinking the Yule-al. On the other hand, if he saw Death by the pillow, no medicine would help and the sick belonged to Death. -- The man got famous with his healing powers and helped many to health again. One day he was called into a king’s daughter, she was so dangerously ill no doctor thought she could be saved. When the man stepped into her room, he saw Death by the pillow. Then he decided to fool Death so that the princess would live. Do you think he succeeded?

by Kath Waxman (@kathwaxman)
(focusing on Shakespeare stories and folktales as a theme for the week) Death -- The Black Plague -- Shakespeare lived his entire life in the shadow of the bubonic plague, and his collected works were littered with references to the Black Death. Outbreaks raged on and off for years during the 16th century, and it was terrifyingly contagious. Numerous preventative measures were put in place to stave off the disease--from the use of various leaves and spices to ward off the effects of the disease and clear the air of infection, to early social distancing guidelines in London’s theater district, to radical new procedures in the realm of medicine. The period, while known for its tremendous suffering and incredible death toll, was also a period of remarkable change, rebirth and innovation. The Renaissance was marked by new thoughts, beliefs, creativity, and imagination. These are the same traits that inspired us to create Wee Will Shaxbard, and we hope will inspire young readers as well.

by Elin Manon Illustration
Bedd Branwen / Branwen’s grave - In North Wales on the Isle of Anglesey there is a ring cairn which is said to be the grave of Branwen daughter of Llŷr, whose story you can find in the second branch of The Mabinogi. After coming back to Wales following the events in Ireland, it is said that Branwen died of a broken heart. When excavating the site, cremation urns were found as well as a jet necklace and three vessels containing the detached ear bones of children

by Deborah Stein (@deborah.j.stein)
Folktale Week Day 5 is Death. -- I worked on this in a chair in my mother’s room the night before she died as she slept. I made so many images born from the magical thinking that if I can no longer protect her, there was something else that would. In those moments I was hoping they were making themselves known as she was passing. -- Then the best rabbi I have ever encountered (he is the fourth) from hospice told me that in Jewish thought, when we die, we are united with all of those who have loved us and those we have loved. We are united with the universe and are protected as we protect and when I went on to finish this one this week, I felt all of this. -- Beliefs and even origin stories are a different older animal than folktales but I found great comfort in the conjuring of all these mournful meditations, more talisman than anything else. So many artists meditating on this today is a beautiful day on Instagram.

by Joanna Allen (@joannaallenstudio)
Lucretia Atropos is a forest witch. She is feeling restless and slightly light-headed, as she delicately sips her evening psychoactive tisane. She has skillfully concocted this thick, dark brew from over-ripened belladonna berries. -- She is waiting impatiently for the full moon to rise and the potion to take its effect so she may take an exhilarating night flight with her Death's Head Hawk Moth familiars. -- If she should ever invite you into her quaint home for a cup of tea, decline politely, and whatever you do, don't look into her deep black eyes.

by Imogen (@imogenfoxell)
Death for day 5 of #folktaleweek2020 - gambling Hansel tricks Death into getting stuck in a tree, so that he can go right on gambling. St Peter and the devil are getting pretty worried that no one is dying any more.

by Kristina Kister (@nichtlicht)

by Freya Hartas (@freyahartas)
This piece was inspired by William Allingham's wonderfully dark poem 'The Fairies'. Read an extract below:
They stole little Bridget
For seven years long;
When she came down again
Her friends were all gone.
They took her lightly back,
Between the night and morrow,
They thought that she was fast asleep,
But she was dead with sorrow.
They have kept her ever since
Deep within the lake,
On a bed of fig-leaves,
Watching till she wake

by Heidi Griffiths (Aheidi_griffiths_art)
Thumbelina (Blossom) finds a swallow, cold on the ground and presumed dead. Mouse and mole laugh at the stupidity of the swallow, and how he has not flown south before the snow.
Blossom has empathy for the frozen bird and weaves a blanket of reeds and lay flowers at his graveside. (There is a happy ending to this I promise )To her surprise, the swallow wakes up by the warmth of her kindness and is revived. - ‘Oh great swallow, the world shall miss you dearly, may you fly in the warmth of the eternal sun’

by Marta Dorado (@martadorado)
(5/7 of an original tale) DEATH: One night, after being rejected once again by the princess, the evil advisor, maddened with hatred, tried to take her by force. But he hadn't realized that it was the shortest night of the year. -- "You can't end me, I am the only one whom can reverse the spell. If I die, you will remain a beast forever!" He cried in terror at the great grey wolf... And the last thing he ever heard was a howl of victory.

by Laure Allain (@laure_illustrations)
While she is waiting for her much dreaded wedding day, Thumbelina finds a bird that has frozen to death. She loves birds and thanks him for singing to her during the previous summer. Then she covers the poor creature to try and warm him. After a while, the impossible happens and she hears the swallow’s heartbeat

by Debra Styer (@debrastyer)
Today's illustration was inspired by the Swedish folktale, "The Ghost of Fjelkinge". In this story, the brave widowed Madame Barkenow stays at a haunted inn. Unlike, the past visitors that see the ghost and run away, she stays, fixes his wounds and listens to his story. The next day she helps solve the mystery of the ghosts death and saves the day! I thought it was a very unusual ghost story and really fun to draw.

by Sojung Kim-McCarthy (@creativesojung)
Baridegi: Abandoned Princess A king had 6 daughters and no son. When his 7th baby turned out to be another girl, the king got so mad he threw out the newborn baby. Baridegi(Thrown-away Thing) was raised by an old woman without knowing her identity. As she walked into her father’s castle, Bari met the king’s funeral procession. She touched his dead body with the flowers and moistened his lips with the elixir. The king came back to life & Bari became the goddess of the underworld to guide the dead.

Some late entries worth seeing:

RITUAL

by elitsa nedyalkova (@elitsa_nn)

(original story - text above) This is taking place on the day of St Lazarus, the Saturday before Palm Sunday (in the week before Easter). Maidens wear wreaths or crowns of flowers and willow (though willow is mostly used on Palm Sunday, known as Flower Day in Bulgaria) and sing, almost a form of caroling. Like Christmas caroling, they visit people's houses for good luck and sing a song dedicated to each family member with wishes specifically aimed at them and their (expected) role in society and the family. Girls will also weave separate wreaths of flowers and float them in a river, having a sort of race. The winner can expect to be the first to marry that year. Some say that a girl who hasn't celebrated the day of St Lazarus can/should not marry. I don't know if there's any folk belief associated with a sinking wreath (I'm assuming it's not particularly uncommon), so that's just me doing my own thing with it.

COURTSHIP

by Joy+Noelle
Day 3 ~ Courtship. “Not again,” Rusalka muttered to herself. It seemed every time she fancied someone, they ended up drowned. Another 3 months of courting wasted as her garden of expired boyfriends grew ever larger. -- In Slavic folklore, a Rusalka is the spirit of a woman who drowned, either accidentally or on purpose. She enchants foolish men, luring them to their watery graves. We played with the idea that she’s still getting used to this new power.

by Marta Dorado (@martadorado)

(4/7 of an original story) COURTSHIP: …When the princess reached the age of marriage, rejected as she was and feared by all, the adviser began to woo her. "I am her only suitor, she can't reject me. When I marry her, I will finally become king and I will lock my queen in a cage!" But to his surprise, the princess dismissed his courtship over, and over and over again, until he could no longer bear the humiliation…

SOLSTICE

by 

Emily Ursä

@emilyursa_
I decided to illustrate something a bit closer to home this time, with an old Portuguese tradition - 
It is said that on St John's eve - the summer solstice, water has great healing powers.
Just before dawn, children and cattle were sent out to bathe in rivers and dew to ensure
good health and strength.