The Dead Guard Our Seeds

The Dead Guard Our Seeds. Original painting 8" x 10" acrylic painting on prepared paper. By Julie Kwiatkowski Schuler.
Painting does not contain the black bars or the "My Good Babushka" watermark included here for formatting and security purposes.

In Poland, the dead were believed to lie in the earth guarding seeds. Ancient Poles, in the spring or fall, brought food to their ancestors' graves, so the dead would not grow angry and cause the earth to be barren. This painting is inspired by that story.

The Dead Guard Our Seeds

Work in progress today. Inspired by the pagan believe of Poland that the dead rest in the Earth guarding our seeds. In the spring and fall, food and gifts were brought to the graves of the ancestors to please them, to avoid suffering bad crops and barren soil.

The Drowning of Marzanna

The Drowning of Marzanna. Original 8" x 10" acrylic painting on acid-free paper by Julie Kwiatkowski Schuler.

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 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.