The First Prints

Isis

I have been interested in ancient Egypt for as long as I can remember and my favourite Egyptian deity has always been the goddess Isis. I will not go on an long educational rant on what she embodies (just Google her), but the reason she speaks to my imagination is because she represents love, healing and motherhood. In this print she is is shown wearing the cow horns with the sun disk that is also often associated with the goddess Hathor, with whom Isis shares some roles in ancient Egyptian religion and tradition. There is a wonderful, yet somewhat horrific myth surrounding Isis and her role in the resurrection of her husband Osiris that was first recorded in the Pyramid Texts and that is described in full, and very graphic, detail in Wilbur Smith's book River God. Go check out that book if you are interested in ancient Egypt and love reading ;)

The name Isis is engraved on my wedding ring and her symbol is tattooed on my shoulder, so to me this print is the most obvious choice for the first print to put up in my shop. I even use her name in my email address. However, whenever someone asks me for my email address today I always feel the need to explain to them that it is 'Isis' as in the Egyptian goddess, not as in that extremist militant group...

Still, I am going to stay true to my goddess and I will never change my email address ;) 

Cultivate Above All Things a Taste for Reading

I love books!! I love reading them, I love touching them, smelling them, collecting them and talking about them.

As a child, and even as a young teen, I did not like reading that much and I think that is because I did not enjoy the books we had to read in school. I did enjoy books by Dr. Seuss, but then again I think all children, and many adults, like Dr. Seuss. I also enjoyed books by the German author Otfried Preussler, because they are very imaginative and mysterious. However, as a child I did not read much and spent a lot of time drawing and going on all sorts of adventures in my imagination; not a bad way to spend one's childhood actually ;)

In my late teens I discovered novels by  Anne Rice and Morgan Llewellyn and that is when I became a book worm, nay a book dragon! Now I read all sorts of books and bookshops are my favourite shops in the world. Art supply shops are a very close second!

I think that it is very important to cultivate a taste for reading, and I wish I had discovered my love for reading a bit earlier in life. Reading opens your mind and broadens your horizon, it enables you to explore the world when you are stuck at home and it can even turn you into a time traveller. Reading introduces you to different cultures and ideas, different universes and a multitude of different people from very diverse backgrounds. Reading also helps you to escape reality whenever you want to, so this quote by Robert Lowe is very dear to my heart and that is why this print just had be one of the first prints in my shop as well.