My First Blog Post....ever! Why Screaming Owl Studio?

Hey there!  So this is my first blog post ever.  I know, not a big deal to most but it is to me!  So to start off, thanks for looking and reading.  This year is going to be my most creative and productive year ever, I can just feel it!

 You may be wondering, why Screaming Owl Studio?  Well, I've always loved owls, they were my Granny Rhew's favorite animal.  She had them everywhere; cute ones, serious ones, abstracted ones, every kind and size you could think of.  I guess it grew from there. Now they are perched on shelves throughout my house, all kinds...14 just in my living room to be precise!  She was a wonderfully creative and wise woman, my great grandmother; I looked up to her and felt a kindred spirit in her....and the owls!

Owls are very symbolic creatures in almost all cultures and mythologies. One of the most well known is probably from Greek mythology, and the goddess Athena; she was the goddess of knowledge and foresight.  One of the myths I have read said that Athena revered the owl as being wise and having an inner light which allowed them to see at night.  I like that idea of an inner light.  As an artist I feel that creativity is my inner light that I'm trying to let out as brightly and as often as possible.

This is an image of a Roman coin with Athena's image on one side and an owl on the other. 

In other mythologies owls have been associated with death.  Sometimes they were signals that one was about to die, or that they were protected from death, or after death that their souls would be carried by the owl to the afterlife.  Others link owls to witches, wizards and demons.  We can still see that in our Halloween decorations today and even Harry Potter!

When I think of owls I do associate them as a symbol for wisdom but also something more than that.  Owls are keen observers, they notice things going on around them, things that many other creatures don't.  They are beautiful but can be very dangerous, they are predators after all.  They live most of their lives unseen but still heard, when they want to be.  Owls are a truly mysterious creature.  I enjoy that mystery, that independence, intuition even; and those eyes!  Those eyes that glow and see so much, when most of the world is asleep.  I definitely feel a kindred spirit with owls and like the idea of my art and studio being linked to those attributes.  I want my studio to be a place of mystery and intuition, independence and beauty, glowing eyes and observation; quietly working at night but ready to scream when I'm ready for it to be heard.