The origins of Arcadian Dreams, Parte the Seconde

So, Arcadian!

The beliefs and lore and etymology surrounding this word could be spun out into a skein long enough to knit the next Doctor's scarf. We don't have time for that, so I will keep it shortish and hopefully nobody will feel they have to clean the erasers after class.

Arcadia is a paradox; it was an isolated region in ancient Greece reknowned for peaceful pastoral scenes... but also was reputed to be the primary seat of Pan worship. Goats! Sheep! Orgies! Pipes, hooves, horns! The juxtaposition of utter tranquility next to the purest savagery and wildness appeals to me on a fundamental level.

My art is like that. I can't for the life of me produce anything pretty. It is all wild and twisted and fierce in some way; my roses all have thorns, my flowers all look vaguely tentacular and most of my animals have a dangerous gleam in their eyes... even the hedgehogs. So, as you can imagine, the cheerful dissonance of Pan's Arcadia suits me just fine.

As for the unicorn motif... in my world, unicorns are more goatlike than horselike, so that's my tip of the hat to Ol' Goatface packaged in a good-business-don't-offend-the-straights sort of way. With the deepest respect intended, of course. :)

Hooves, horns and hagiology: The origins of Arcadian Dreams, part I

Gather 'round the fireplace, welcome guests, and I will spin you a tale of macaroni and mythology.

I was blessed with the certainty from a very young age that I wanted to make jewellery; while my peers were still scratching their pre-beards and debating their futures, I was steadfastly threading gold spray-painted macaroni on yarn and tying it around my poor, sweet dog's neck (he was a Schipperke, and a very cranky one at that, but he tolerated my haberdashery with the kind of martyred patience only very good dogs have).

But not just any jewellery! No no! Specifically, I wanted to make jewellery for princes and princesses, Kings and Queens; jewellery that would be found in a Dragon's hoard or a leprechaun's treasure chest; necklaces and haircombs for mermaids and nixies of all sorts. I wanted to make things that the Grimms and Edith Hamilton both would approve of.

Over the next few years, I collected all the old costume jewellery I could beg from family and family friends, taking it apart and restringing it or cannibalizing the components for completely new things. I did my first craft show when I was 13 (I made $80 after the show fees, which blew my little mind with the expansive lucre! Eighty whole dollars!) and decided that this was definitely the life for me. I even chose my business name and "mascot" then... and Arcadian Dreams with its wee unicorn was born.

Next installment: But what the heck does "Arcadian Dreams" mean? (Hint: It really has nothing to do with Street Fighter and pinball machines... honest. :) )