Sunday, October 9, 2011

Childlike Empress Pearl Headpiece


Seeing as Halloween is swiftly approaching, I decided to make a tribute to the Childlike Empress this year.

I adore Michael Ende's The Neverending Story not only for its fantastic elements, but also for its exploration of what it truly means to wish. When Bastian reads the enscription on the AURYN, "do what you wish," at first he thinks it is an easy task, but the lion Grograman knows otherwise. The Many-Colored Death warns that a wish is our "deepest secret," and the journey to it the most perilous of all because it demands both the "greatest honesty" as well as "vigilance" (p.238) And why? Because the journey in which we follow our wishes can also become the easiest path to lose ourselves.

As I destroy drafts, renew ink and throw all I am into syllable for the sake of a single wish (WRITE), I am growing to understand the AURYN's message. "Do what you wish" is no idler's whim, but a banner unfurling from the most fragile and defiant part of the soul.

2 comments:

  1. Wow you sure are incredibly poetic. I want that headpiece! Where did you get it?

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    1. Thanks! I made it. I strung four wires with pearls and then attached them to the pin's bar. The only problem is that the strings shift on the pin, so I had to use a clip in the back to hold them in place. Sorry for the late reply.

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