100 DRAWINGS IN 100 DAYS - BLYTHE ATHENA

100 DRAWINGS IN 100 DAYS - BLYTHE ATHENA

BLYTHE (JAMMING AS ATHENA IN THE REALM OF WAR GODDESS AND HER LITTLE PET OWL...)

while we are on the topic of classical mythological goddesses, we can't forget how important Athena was. her roman counterpart, Minerva, possessed very similar attributes and traits as Athena, mainly being the Goddess of War. some of the others were the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, warfare, strength, strategy, female arts, crafts, justice, and skill, to name but a few. and interestingly enough, Athena was the polar opposite of her brother Ares, who was always up for a battle, whereas Athena was more interested in resolving the disputes in a more civilized manner, which is how most of the Goddesses conducted themselves.

the story of her birth is one that is quite obviously a fable, and is fantastical, while at the same time quite intriguing. her father, Zeus, the Supreme God and ruler of Olympus bore Athena from his forehead, and she emerged ready for battle. there are numerous versions of this story, but this is the more common:
'Zeus lay with Metis, the goddess of crafty thought and wisdom, but he immediately feared the consequences. It had been prophesied that Metis would bear children more powerful than the sire, even Zeus himself. In order to forestall these dire consequences, after lying with Metis, Zeus "put her away inside his own belly," he "swallowed her down all of a sudden." He was too late: Metis had already conceived. Eventually Zeus experienced an enormous headache; Ares cleaved Zeus's head with the double-headed Minoan axe, the labrys. Athena leaped from Zeus's head, fully grown and armed, with a shout and pealed to the broad sky her clarion cry of war'.*

and that is the story of Athena, who is also the patron saint of Athens, Greece. what a woman!


* courtesy wikipedia

100 DRAWINGS IN 100 DAYS - EASTERN GODDESS BLYTHE

BLYTHE (IS DIGGIN' THE BLING THAT GOES ALONG
WITH BEING A BODHISATTVA...)

allow me, if you will, to take you on a journey... actually a few journeys. i am delving into "sets" of drawings at the moment (it all started with alice...). i have already explored the Virgin Mary, and the Immaculate Heart images, and now i am heading further east, to the Buddhist countries and their Buddhas and (the female version) the Bodhisattvas.

now, there are so many different goddesses and gods, that i couldn't even begin to name them, for they are just too numerous, and they all hold different qualities. i have done a Mrs.  Potato Head, and actually taken bits and pieces from a few different Bodhisattvas to create my very own... (hope that's ok with the universe that i did that!) i have combined two in particular: Tara and Kwan Yin.

Both these Bodhisattvas embody compassion and Samsara (continuous suffering), and each of them have their trademark symbols: kwan yin with her 1000 arms and 1000 eyes because she is omnipresent (but usually portrayed with eyes in the palms of her hands), and usually holding or sitting on a lotus flower - a sign of purity; and tara with her calm and sympathetic expression because she is the goddess of longevity and healing. for the sake of simplicity and clarity, i preferred not to draw the 1000 arms (i would have run out of ink as well...), and only one eye besides the normal two on her face. but the story behind this goddess kwan yin is a must read, and for that matter so is tara's. they both have beautiful anecdotal qualities, which is why i was so attracted to them. 

when i lived in Oklahoma City, i attended a buddhist temple on sundays, and our primary focus was on the various Bodhisattvas, of which i had previously no experience. and so naturally i thoroughly enjoyed making up my own image of "Her".