Mother of Everything (art by kath_ballantyne- Molly, R)

[kath_ballantyne]

Title: Mother of everything
Artist: kath_ballantyne (wallflowergirl @ IJ)
Type: Art
Main character or Pairing: Molly Weasley
Rating: (Use G, PG, PG-13, R, or NC-17 please) R
Disclaimer: I'm borrowing the characters for non-comercial use
Warnings: NWS, Nudity
Summary: Molly embodies both the good and bad aspects of The Empress as Mother.
Cards Drawn: The Empress

Comments

[mrsquizzical]

i never really noticed the chair the other times i've seen this, but i really like it! i like the worn quality of it. but it's like... obviously good and strong and stable and will last a lot longer still.

still love the fabric in her shirt.

[kath_ballantyne]

Thankyou for checking this over for me before.
Most cards have the Empress in a throne of some kind and I felt that a worn but comfy chair would suit Molly. Thankyou for getting that *g*
Yeah, the pic was all about symbolism and I looked at the components usually used and found out what they mean and then substituted stuff from Molly's life that had the same meanings. Hence the rolling pin as a sceptre.

I wanted the fabric to represent leaves and growing things but I made it see through to show off the fertility of the Empress.

I'm glad this worked for you
*hugs*

[asnowyowl]

This is lovely! I would have never imagined Molly as the Empress, but now that I've seen your take on it, then why not? She's certainly been fruitful and we see in Book 7 that she's also fierce. I love her facial expression and the rich coloring. The rounded belly and thick ankles are so mother-like. Earth mother personified. Great job!

[kath_ballantyne]

Thankyou

[leochi]

That's a very lovely pic! I especially liked the two owl, they're so cute and well painted. :-)))
Lol for the rolling pin as scepter ;-).

[kath_ballantyne]

Thankyou.
I had a lot of fun painting the owls. Pig (on the left) is a Scops Owl and Errol is a Great Grey Owl. Pig was fairly easy and I found plenty of reference pictures of gorgeous Scops Owls but Errol was difficult. It was hard to find a good pic of a Great Grey and they are funny looking things so it was hard to make him realistic. I'm glad you like them

The pic was all about symbolism and I looked at the components usually used and found out what they mean and then substituted stuff from Molly's life that had the same meanings. Hence the rolling pin as a sceptre, it's a symbol of Molly's control and creativity.
The flowers, herbs and fruit show the fertility along with her physical traits such as the rounded belly, her curves, her sagging breasts.
The worn arm chair instead of a stone thrown also represents her personality and her life/The Burrow. It is old and worn but serviceable, comfortable and strong.

[venturous1]

eeee! she is wonderful!
the perfect Goddess of abundant fertility and nurturing. The garden, the fruit is really lovely, the border makes it just right, and I love her unusual intelligent face, and her prominant belly.

**inspired to work on my card, The World**

[kath_ballantyne]

Thankyou so much.
I had a lot of fun planning out this card. I love working with symbolism in pictures and this was full of it.
Molly just wanted to be drawn for this prompt. I got the idea pretty early on and had a bit of trouble getting the anatomy and colouring right though with some great concrit I managed to get this.
I liked using the herbs as part of the garden as I've always had an affinity with herbs. Umm that sounds odd but I love growing them, I love fragrant plants and ones that are useful for cooking and healing. The fruit was a last minute thing, I wanted to have a fruit platter like an offering, symbolising the fertility again but I wasn't sure what to draw. I spent a good couple of hours just painting the fruit.

The border was a lot of fun. Thankyou for mentioning it. I wanted something inspired by Celtic design but also spoke of growing things.

Can't wait to see your card.

[venturous1]

I've always had an affinity with herbs.
doesnt sound odd to me at all -- I have always felt the life and magic of plants. once i studied with an herbalist, and was amazed by two things: one, that common 'weeds' are remarkable healing plants, and two: that you can actually commune with plants and let them 'speak' to you about what they are for...

the pomoegranate is just love, btw.

[kath_ballantyne]

*hugs* Thankyou so much for your concrit. It really made the difference to this pic. I ran out of time to fix the foot properly though.
Yes!
As I read various interpretations of the Empress the theme as mother, as the womb, fertility and generosity kept coming up. I think Molly personifies this. Apart from the 7 children she also seems to 'mother' anyone else who needs it, Harry, Hermione, Remus and Tonks on occasion. She will take on anything and everything to protect her babies if she feels they are threatened.
She does how ever often slip into the flip side of the mother. Smothering, jealous, not knowing when to let go.

I wanted to make the whole picture symbolic so I had to put a fair bit into the background. It took me ages though *snort* Damn tree.

yes! yes. Make art *nods*
*hugs* thanks for the help and the lovely comments