ElynAviva@fiberalchemy.com

RavenLord with Cape

Approximately  34” tall; current wingspan, 24”.
Materials and techniques: Internal structure is flexible wire armature, covered with fabric “skin” stuffed with wool batting. Exterior: black wool roving is needle-felted over fabric “skin”; silk feathers are individually glued on top. Head is a Styrofoam egg-shape, covered with air-drying clay, paint, and feathers; beak is painted, air-drying clay. Claws are yarn-wrapped wire. RavenLord’s black Devore silk- velvet cape is closed with a twig; a pendant hangs from his neck.

THE INSPIRATION AND INTENTION:
Ravens have been coming to me in nature, in dream, in vision ever since visiting Ireland in fall 2007. Ravens are intelligent animals—they can be taught to talk and have learned to use tools. The only difference between a raven and a crow is the size—the raven is larger and more intelligent!

In Celtic traditions, Raven symbolizes apparent opposites of protection, changes in consciousness, and death and destruction. But the contradiction is only apparent: the death of one thing is often necessary to bring about the birth of something new. The shape-shifting Morrigan in Celtic mythology were triplet battle goddesses of war, death, and slaughter, changing into ravens and eating carrion on the battlefield. Strong, powerful goddesses of transformation, clearly!
The first fiberalchemy I made was the RavenLady, but then I felt the need to make another one, one more clearly Raven. Although I thought this figure would be female—after all, it’s a Morrigan, isn’t it?—as it manifested it became quite masculine. Maybe the Celts—like the Northwest Coast natives—were right in not quite trusting Raven. Maybe this Raven is a trickster figure who tricked me into creating it! In Native American mythology, the raven is a fierce and crafty bird that widely figures as a mischief maker—equal parts good and bad. A valued guardian spirit, Raven can help people become excellent hunters. Once again, the carrion connection. Raven is also a creator figure, bringing light to the planet and salmon to the waters. He is a catalyst of change—some of it beneficial, some not. A tricky, not-quite-trustworthy being, but one who definitely keeps things interesting!

Questions and thoughts: What is the interplay between destruction and creation? Compost heaps decay in order to become fertilizer for new growth. Without breaking down old, no-longer-useful patterns and behaviors, we can’t establish new ways of being…. What in your life needs to be “transformed”?