Once upon a time in a kingdom far, far away, a fortunate young couple laid plans for a lifetime of love and happiness. The groom-to-be puzzled and puzzled over the appropriate gift for his betrothed, but she insisted that no gift could match the enormity of their love, and so their promise alone would be enough. “I will fly like Icarus into the night sky and capture the moon so that it can be set in a beautiful ring and it will shine like our love.” “No”, she replied, “The moon is wild and free and must remain so, and it will light our nights through all of our years.” “Well then”, he said, “I will negotiate with a prince of the East for a hoard of rubies to make into magnificent jewels, and you will be warmed by their glow through all of our winters.” Again she replied, “We must not seek to gain the jewels of other kingdoms, the only jewel we need is the love we already have.” The wedding grew close and still, every gift he suggested was deemed unnecessary. Soon the wedding day was imminent and guests began to arrive from many lands to begin the celebration. On the wedding morn, the vexed groom woke with the breaking day, still determined to solve this riddle. The sun’s rays reached across the room, and in the first light of dawn he saw below his very own window the most magnificent beast ever beheld by human eyes. Instantly, he knew this was his perfect gift, but how to capture the wild thing without raising the protests of his sensitive mate? Carefully he opened the court yard door, and with armloads of leaves, twigs, shoots, & vines (along with a few apples for good measure), the animal was quickly bewitched by his kindness and they made fast friends. Slowly he led his exotic companion to the village forge, enticing him with treats all the way. Here he begged the local artisan to make a portrait of this never-before creature to be hung on the castle wall as a memory forever of the dawning of this day. The artisan cautiously agreed and set to work immediately, with a big stack of apples on hand for the unusual model. The day proceeded, perfect in every way. The sun made it’s journey across the sky as the guests were bathed in it’s enchanted light and continued the celebration deep into the night. Exhausted, the guests began to depart, and the couple slowly made their way home. Upon arriving, the groom threw open the castle door, and glowing in the candlelight over the stone mantle was the artisan’s portrayal of a creature unlike anything the bride had ever beheld. Catching a glint of something in the corner of his eye, he ushered his beloved out onto the balcony. Below them, in the moonlight at the back of the yard where the wood meets the grassy lawn, stood the enormous stag a with rack of antlers alive in themselves, growing and reaching for the moon before their very eyes. The creature looked up and shook his mighty head as if to display it’s magnificence. He took a slow turn across the grassy clearing, and then, in an instant, turned tail and vanished deep into the dark wood, never to be seen again by the eyes of humankind. Ever since that day, the benevolent glance of the buck’s portrait reminds them of that most special guest, on their most special day... and some visitors claim to have seen a gleam in his steely eye as the moon rises on a starlit night.
This tale is a work of fiction by yours truly, inspired by the work of a very talented artist. The artist, however, is quite real. Shae Freeman of
CitizenObjects is making magic out of the everyday, and the work she has shared with us is evidence of a narrative all her own. From a small token to this magnificent creature, we are enthralled. So when the extraordinary is required, may we suggest you visit
Shae.
