Edward Okuń - Ave Maria (1902)

I knew something was wrong

the day I tried to pick up a

small piece of sunlight

and it slithered through my fingers,

not wanting to take shape.

Everything else stayed the same—

the chairs and the carpet

and all the corners

where the waiting continued.

-Dorothea Grossman

John Bauer (Swedish, 1882-1918)

Tre svanor kommo flygande med susande vingslag

mezzotint

by nicoles_moments

The Knotted Mind

This piece symbolizes the struggles artists face—be it financial, emotional, or spiritual. Yet, despite this emptiness, his mind burns with an unstoppable force, representing inspiration, obsession, and the compulsion to create.

Hairy

Heima glaðr gumi, ok við gesti reifr, sviðr skal um sik vera. Minnigr ok málugr, ef hann vill margfróðr vera, opt skal góðs geta.

'If you want to be very wise, be happy at home, and cheerful with guests. Cultivate wisdom, a good memory and eloquence, and speak kind words often.'

-- Hávamál 103, tr. Jackson Crawford.

Kostir ro betri heldr en at klökkva sé, hveim er fúss er fara; einu dægri mér var aldr of skapaðr of allt líf of lagit.

'There is always a better choise than cowardice, if you have an issue to handle; one day, long ago, my life was already shaped, and my fate was fixed.'

-- Skírnismál, st. 13

I have a new favorite genre of troll tale. Translations are in the alt text. There's about a dozen more of these in book 1 of Evald Tang Kristensen's "Danske Sagn" :D

by Rebecca Moss