The Drowning of Marzanna

Work in progress. The pagan-originated spring equinox folk custom of Poland called The Drowning of Marzanna. Marzanna is the Polish incarnation of the old Slavic goddess of winter, plague and death. The effigy is built of straw and dressed in clothes, ribbons, and flowers. Marzanna is taken to the nearest riverbank and thrown to her watery grave as the children sing: As the spring sun rises in the sky of blue, in this swollen river we are drowning you.

 At the end of the year, I will be ending this blog. Followers of my work will be able to see my works in progress on Instagram instead! I just can't keep so many sites going. I'd rather be painting.  @mygoodbabushka

The Drowning of Marzanna

The pagan-originated spring equinox folk custom of Poland called The Drowning of Marzanna. Marzanna is the Polish incarnation of the old Slavic goddess of winter, plague and death. The effigy is built of straw and dressed in clothes, ribbons, and flowers. Marzanna is taken to the nearest riverbank and thrown to her watery grave as the children sing: As the spring sun rises in the sky of blue, in this swollen river we are drowning you.

The Boy Who Drowned

The Drowned Boy. Original 8" x 10" acrylic on heavy paper painting by Julie Kwiatkowski Schuler.
Inspired by the folk belief that one born with a blue vein on the side of one's nose was destined to be drowned. I've given my drowned boy an octopus, and some puffer fish friends.

Painting does not contain the black bars on the sides, nor the "My Good Babushka" watermark, which were included here for formatting and security purposes.

The Boy Who Will Be Drowned

Work in progress. I'm giving him a puffer fish friend.

The Boy Who Will Drown

Inspired by the superstition that one born with a blue vein on the side of one's nose was destined to be drowned.

The Boy Who Will Drown

I read somewhere that if one was born with a prominent blue vein on the side of one’s nose, it meant that one was destined to be drowned. I can’t remember exactly where I read it. I think it was probably W.C. Hazlitt’s Dictionary of Faiths and Folklore. It’s been my go-to volume for the past year.
Today I’ve started a painting using this theme. This is to be my drowned boy.

D is for Drowning. E is for Exsanguination

Hand embroidered piece- D is for Drowning is now finished, so I'm moving on to E is for Exsanguination.

D is for Drowning

 Filling in the background stitches on D is for Drowning. Lots of work left.

Also making a scarf in this neat two-tone ladder stitch.

D is for Drowning

D is for Drowning, embroidery in progress. Also a sketch for the next one. E is for Exsanguination.

Drawing and Embroidery

I started a drawing. I continued some embroidery. D is for Drowning. I sketched out my next embroidery: E is for Exsanguination.

D is for Drowning.

 D is for Drowning in progress

And also a two-tone scarf.

D is for Drowning and Some Knitting

Still working on D is for Drowning in my Abecedarian of Demise. Also knitting some scarves.

D is for Drowning

Some embroidery in progress.

Search Party

 

This is an original painting, 8" x 10" acrylic on acid-free paper. It was inspired by English folklore and the superstition that candles set adrift on the river wouldn't cross a drowned body. Here is my little worried search party out on the darkening river. It may also resonate with anyone who knows the nursery rhyme: Rub a dub dub, three men in a tub. It must have been handy to have a candlestick-maker in your tub, if you were going out to find a drowned victim. This painting is signed by Julie Kwiatkowski Schuler, and is a one of a kind piece. You can see The Search Party at My Good Babushka.

Some Knitting and a Search Party

 Here is the back of a long cardigan I'm knitting.

I've done a bunch of sketches inspired by the folk belief that candles set adrift on water won't cross a drowned body. The focus of the sketches has shifted from the drowned body to the search party.