SF&F Picture 45 out of 91 by Elizabeth Bartlett.

SciFi and Fantasy Art: The Delight Song of Tsoai-talee

From my final project for Seminar, based on this Native American poem: “The Delight Song of Tsoai-talee” by Scott Momaday...

"I am a feather on the bright sky
I am the blue horse that runs in the plain
I am the fish that rolls, shining, in the water
I am the shadow that follows a child
I am the evening light, the luster of meadows
I am an eagle playing with the wind
I am a cluster of bright beads
I am the farthest star
I am the cold of dawn
I am the roaring of rain
I am the glitter on the crust of the snow
I am the long track of the moon in a lake
I am a flame of four colors
I am a deer standing away in the dusk
I am a field of sumac and pomme blanche
I am an angle of geese in the winter sky
I am the hunger of a young wolf
I am the whole dream of these things
You see, I am alive, I am alive
I stand in good relation to the earth
I stand in good relation to the gods
I stand in good relation to all that is beautiful
I stand in good relation to the daughter of Tsen-tainte
You see, I am alive, I am alive."

This piece took a very long time to complete, mostly because I didn’t want to leave anything out. Every single image in the poem that begins with “I am” is included in the piece, and I combined several of the images. For example, I coalesced the highlighted images above to create a mystical likeness of a sort of dreamcatcher. I thought it odd that those highlighted phrases are equally interspersed throughout the poem, and I wonder if Momaday was intentionally trying to portray the idea of a dreamcatcher. I also took some liberty with the shadow, for everyone knows that shadows follow on the ground. However, nothing is quite normal about this fantastic environment created by the poem. The “I stand in good relation to” phrases are more implied by the piece rather than directly pictured. The sumac and pomme blanche plants are based on pictures as well, because I had never seen either before, and were created on my computer from scratch. And as you can see, this creation of art is indeed alive. Wheeeee, so much detail lost....::sigh:: Oh well. Very proud if this one, took me forever! Ballpoint pen and Photoshop.


	Categories: [Dream Imagery] [Mythical Creatures & Assorted Monsters] Techniques: [Ballpoint Pen] [Computer Program] Inspirations: [Other Author]

Date	Name	Comment
5 Nov 2005	Erin E. Johnston	Loading... first comment highland fling It totally rocks! I love the dream-catcher sun, and the ocean. Awesome O_O Elizabeth Bartlett replies: "Thanks!! Yeah, the dreamcatcher was one of the most fun parts. ^_^"

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'The Delight Song of Tsoai-talee'

SciFi and Fantasy Art: The Delight Song of Tsoai-talee