Kali...
So, I've finally finished this epic piece of digital art. O. MY. GOD!!!! *collapses*
I dare not think about how many hours work this has been haha. Bonnie I never want to see your blue face again I'm sick of looking at it ;P (Just kidding, love you really!)
At first I wasn't sure if I was going to like this piece or not, but now it's all done & come together (nearly) as I originally envisioned; I'm very pleased with the results ^_^ so yay!
Thank you to Bonnie for being such a awesome muse & for being so patient in waiting for this to be finished (we shot it months ago!) & thank you to Sam for helping out with the shoot too *hugs*.
This piece was collaboration between me & Bonnie where we were both inspired by the Hindu Goddess Kali (obviously). We wanted to do a modern take on her image & also relate it to Bonnie personally as opposed to just a direct depiction of Kali herself.
The name Kali derives from the Sanskrit word 'Kal' meaning 'time' so we wanted to create an image that conveyed this. We decided on a theme of using 6 different objects to be held in the multiple arms that represented the passage of time from birth to death & which also symbolised life & death in general. We chose a (live) snake, flower, egg, heart, (dead) crow & skull.
We were fascinated with using Kali's image for this project because both me & Bonnie both have a interest in this deity & we liked how she also tied in with the themes of a divine mother figure (Kali ma) & dead animals (Kali is said to carry away the spirits of slain animals). People who know Bonnie will know that she does taxidermy as a pastime; so all of this linked together nicely to create a personal piece for us both.
I'm looking forward to 09 being a bit less manic than 08 & having more time for art & projects... So whilst I'm in no hurry to tackle any photo project that requires this much shopping any time soon, I am looking forward to doing more photo projects in general that I've had on the back burner for ages. So many ideas, so little time.