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Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott" is probably my favorite poem because to me it is about the struggle of artists and whether tis nobler to create things that are "shadows" of what the world is like, or to live in the "real world." I have always wanted to do a piece depicting her weaving at her mirror, but I never could get her reflection quite right. Then I saw Elandria's beautiful mirror stock a few months ago, and I finally had a reference with the perfect pose.

I decided for some unknown reason to do her in a sort Art Nouveau/ Alphonse Mucha style, which actually works, because then her hair style reinforces the poem's theme of weaving.

In the mirror, you can see Lancelot riding to Camelot, and the boat she sails in underneath a weeping willow with some nearby water-lilies. Everything but the highlights in the mirror was pixeled, as was the mirror frame, but unfortunately the colors fell a bit flat when I saved the file. Oh wells.

OH! Her weaving is actually a tribute to Waterhouse's painting of the Lady in her boat, probably the most famous painting depiction of the Lady. If you realized that with out me having to tell you, you win the cool kid award.

Basically, if you do not know the story of the poem, The Lady of Shalott "weaves by night and day" trapped in her tower on the island of Shalott. She is isolated, and can only look at the world through the reflection of a mirror for if she looks down to Camelot some unknown curse will befall her. She weaves the things she sees in the mirror, funerals, knights, and passing lovers, into her tapestries, resisting the temptation to look to Camelot. But one day, she sees Sir Lancelot pass by in the mirror, and if you know your mythology at all, you know that Lancelot was quite the dish, so she turns around and looks out her window at him. The mirror cracks, her tapestry flies away, and she says, "The curse has come upon me!" She leaves her tower, finds a boat under a willow tree, and floats to Camelot. She dies singing her song, before she reaches the castle. All the knights and ladies at Camelot look surround her little boat, and fall silent at the sight of her corpse. Lancelot however, tries to lighten the mood and merely says, "She has a lovely face."

8/21/08 Wow! Another DD. Thank you very much for all your comments and favs, and of course a special thanks to ShoneGold for featuring her. What a great way to kick off the school year.