Skip to main content

Christmas Countdown Characters #24

As we come close to the end of the alphabet, and only a day from Christmas, it is also becoming obvious that the research for this year's Advent blog has uncovered some unusual, and dare I say, weird Christmas celebrities. 


Y is for Yani (the Kitten Angel ) 
Y is also for Yamal Iri. 

Let's tackle the heavenly Yani first.  Yani is a kitten angel who narrates "The True Story of Critter Angels"  and  explains the reasons for the existence of animal angels.  Perhaps cat lovers will relate to this? While Yani has a rather tentative link to Christmas, she is an angel whose existence is based on spreading love and peace in the world in the truest spirit of Christmas. While this book sounds very sweet and comforting, Yani could be classified as being a little too sentimental and at times, even schmaltzy, but never without the capacity to bring joy! 

if you’ve ever loved an animal, this book for adults and children alike will touch your heart. And if you’ve ever experienced the passing of a beloved animal, this book is a must. Anyone who has opened his or her heart to an animal knows an animal’s capacity for love, connection and devotion. Yani, a critter angel, shares the true story of critter angels, why they come into our lives and why they have to leave. Yani’s sweet story, accompanied by the charming and delightful illustrations of Yani and her critter angel friends, will make you smile and bring you comfort and understanding. (from Amazon. ) 




 While I am happy to report Yamal Iri  is a little more down to earth than Yani, his story is an interesting piece in the annals of Christmas myths. His unusual name, clothing and legend instils curiosity in people all over the world.The Yamal Peninsula is in Russia, and this particular region decided they wanted a Santa Claus of their own .The tourist organizations decided on a character based on  local children's art work. interpreting a folk hero. 

Wikipedia

.[There is]...   a legend of Terlei, who is the folk hero belonging to the Northern region of Russia. A Good Samaritan and an extensive traveller. Coming with a drum which drives away the evil spirits, Yamal Iri also spreads positive energy and happiness to the people who surround him. (  http://festivals.iloveindia.com )


Yamal Iri only came into existence in 2007, but strangely, he appears to be a Christmas celebrity from the past...   I like the idea that he is active throughout the whole year not only at Christmas, travelling extensively and always helping people to put things right.  Besides his staff decorated with runes, his  drum  has magic powers  to get  rid of all that is evil  in the world...  
Yamal Iri, bring on your drum this Christmas!  

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Fish and Sticks : Art Dolls

This week I've been working on fish and sticks ....  The sticks are the message stick art dolls which were very popular, attracting some attention and a few orders at the Wise Women exhibition. Each of the message stick dolls are from the Wise Women series, each with her own personality and  message of wisdom, handwritten on a handmade timber tag. I gather the sticks during my walks around my neighbourhood and the tags are made from special bits of timber, some collected by me or  my husband or from off cuts gifted to us  from another doll making friend whose husband makes bagpipes. These dolls start off very simply with a wrap around a stick, in the general shape of a body. 'Naked" message stick dolls - strips of wadding wrapped around found sticks.   Then I usually wrap other layers of fabric, wool, and/or fibres, over which I do some simple embroidery. I sculpt  or mould small face masks for these dolls. I really like using "sari ribbon" as w...

In the Pink

  At Tag Tuesday . Pinky O' Hagan is hosting a tag challenge which  asks for 'a bit of pink".... not so difficult if you like pink.  I don't use a lot of pink in my work, so it was quite a bit of a challenge when I thought only of pink - my thoughts went to pink roses, pink hearts, pink confectionery !!!  Then I referred to this week's colour prompts, #coloricombo by artists Este MacLeod.... pink with sap green, dark tea, and sea green. I'm not sure I got the colours in this palette exactly, but here is my tag, a stylised landscape  -  The collaged background of the tag has torn pieces of watercolour art rejects, painted magazine pages and a little bit of gift paper. The tree silhouette is decorated with paper  dots, cut with a hole puncher. 

STITCHED UP Exhibition

"Heartbroken" by Nancy Crawford ( Canada)  Stitched Up  is an exhibition featuring 24 contemporary international and national textile artists on show at  The Lock Up  from Friday 23 June 2017 until 6 August 2017. It coincides with the 150-year anniversary of The Newcastle Industrial School’s opening; and is resulting from a partnership between The Lock Up and Timeless Textiles galleries. Stitched Up is co-curated by Anne Kempton (Creative Director Timeless Textiles Gallery) and fibre artist Wilma Simmons, both from Newcastle NSW. .  This exhibition conceptually provides a  voice  for the 193 girls who attended the Newcastle Industrial School, translated into contemporary fibre art. "Memory Cloths " (193) by Anne Kempton, Australia  The title  Stitched Up  is very apt in two ways… Firstly, each of the artworks has been stitched – mostly by hand for many hours – capturing the story of ‘The Girls’. The artists hav...