Lest there be any confusion, I have looked up the various definitions of namesake, and it appears that all versions are acceptable. It can be confusing, but I think you'll get it in context. Obviously, a Welsh goddess/legendary figure wasn't named after me, but, rather, vice versa.
Yesterday, I gave an old friend a version of this pendant. When she asked me to tell her about the design, I smiled and said, “Well… It's me.”
That is to say, it's my interpretation of the figure from the Mabinogian from whom my parents took my name. At very least, it's safe to say that it's me-adjacent.
So, yes. I hope that you folks aren't tired of goddesses and other women of myths and legends. Today I'm going to be telling you about Arianrhod. Strictly going by her story in the fourth branch of the Mabinogian, one might find her character sympathetic, if not quite likable. She seems to be included as a way to show off Gwydion's cleverness. (I named my cat Gwydion. He was sweeter to me than his namesake was to mine.) She was humiliated and publically forced to give birth, and then she had a frought relationship with her children. In the unfolding of the story, though, she is shown to be strong, independent, powerful, magical, creative, and clever. Gwydion is just a bit more clever.
It is interesting, then, that she has become such a beloved goddess in the modern version of her pantheon. In no way do I mind this, of course. She is often depicted as maternal, protective, artistic, and generative. She is associated with the moon, the dawn, a constellation that looks like a crown, spinning, weaving, fate, the silver wheel of the year, and the cycle of life. Some of those associations have led me to the art that I find so fulfilling. In wanting to be closer to my namesake, I explored spinning and weaving, and I chose the moon and silver wheel as my personal symbols.
My parents took an entire week to name me. I might have been Artemis or Athena — and who knows where those names might have taken me — but I am Arian Rana, named after Arianrhod, and I love spinning, solitude, creation, the night sky, and cold dawns.
In looking back at old folk stories and mythologies as they were handed down after unknown periods of time as oral traditions, it's always deeply important to remember that each generation that passes down a story adds a little bit of itself to it. By the time the Mabinogian was written down, it had surely existed in some forms for hundreds of years. The compiler may have altered things, added new elements, or omitted things in order to make sense of the stories. Old stories are like that, and we don't necessarily need to see that as a bad thing. Old stories can connect us to the past to some extent, but a good story will connect with our shared humanity. A good story will be one that we want to make our own. Honestly, I think that that's how most old stories last as long as they do. They morph and evolve and are molded to fit the needs and views of the culture that is telling them at the time. While that can be frustrating for folks who are trying to pin down the history of or glean information about bygone cultures, I am happy to take it as it is. Think of a folk tale as an heirloom that needs mending over the years. Pieces may break off and need to be replaced. Cracks need to be filled in. Color fades and needs to be renewed. Eventually, the heirloom might no longer resemble the original artifact, but it has within it little gifts and fingerprints from all of the generations that have loved it before. It takes on new significance, and it's all the more special for the eccentricities.
Ultimately, I see that Arianrhod's story has come down to us through some deeply misogynist times in which other powerful female figures were reviled as witches, demons, harlots, or cautionary tales, and so I don't feel terribly bound to take the story as written and at face value. At best, some were changed into suffering saints, fairies, or faceless sporting characters, but most were still stripped of independent purpose. As with the Medusa story, it may be more interesting to shift the narrative and consider it from the maligned woman’s point of view.
As with Medusa, this story begins with an assault. Although I won't go into much detail, consider this a content warning for the rest of the story.
Of course, you can look around the internet and your local library to read other versions of this story, but here's mine…
Arianrhod was an independent woman and wanted to keep it that way. Her magic and art sustained her. She had her own identity. She had her own home. She already chafed at being hemmed in by her male relatives; the last thing that she wanted was a husband or children to dominate her life or take away her identity. When the king, Math ap Mathonwy, needed a new virgin to attend to him after the rape of the previous attendant, Gwydion proposed his sister as a replacement. In a virginity test that publically humiliated her, Arianrhod was forced to give birth to two entities. (It is not said who, if anyone, is the father, but I believe that she was not willingly with child.) Arianrhod was shamed and sent away from court. One child became a water guardian, bright and beautiful and strong and respected. The other was brought up in secret by Gwydion.
And bear in mind that I deviate from the Mabinogian when I tell you my version of the three tyngeds or “curses” that she set upon the child. Far from being malicious, I believe that these were a way for her to shape in important ways the destiny of a child that had been forced upon her, then taken away from her. She used her magic to ensure that she would be the only one to name and arm him — and she fashioned for him a bride more beautiful than any woman of any of the races then in existence. Her name gift came when she saw his beauty and skill, her weapon gift came in a time of need, and the bride she created for him was the living embodiment of spring flowers, bringing life and beauty and hope wherever she went.
While all of these gifts are framed as Gwydion cleverly overcoming his sister's curses, it's easy to imagine that being a way for a powerful woman's story to be twisted around by patriarchal storytellers over hundreds of years. Women's power and grace and agency have been stripped from folk stories all around the world, and that's a shame. By shifting perspective a little, we can imagine much more interesting and complex motivations behind folk stories and myths. Allowing all of the characters to be fuller, we make space to better connect with them in the course of our own human experiencing of life.
Having said all of that, it may seem strange that I'm only now starting to do art based on Arianrhod. Other than my logo — which I still need to refine — I've wanted to steer clear of her until I felt that my skills were good enough to do her justice. Having done an Inktober drawing of her among the stars, I finally decided to give it a try.
Outlines
Using my Injured piece from Inktober, I created an outline on tracing paper.
Transfer
I traced the back of the design and then used pressure to transfer the lines onto rolled out polymer clay.
Cut Away
Using the graphite lines as a guide, I cut away excess clay with a craft knife.
Contour
Using basic sculpting tools, I added depth to the design.
Refine
I added in details with fine tools and smoothed out the background.
Bake
I baked according to manufacturer's instructions and allowed to cool completely.
Mold
Using chalk pastels as a mold release, I made a mold, baked it, and let it cool.
Prep Clay
I conditioned clay in my base color and chose corresponding chalk pastel tones to use as a mold release and to enhance the oxidized copper effect.
Make a Pendant
I used a bit of natural sponge to press the clay into the mold and texturize the back. Then I carefully removed it from the mold and made a hole near the top. In this case, I also had to use some fine tools to add back detail that was lost.
Add Shine
I applied three shades of mica powders to complete the faux copper look.
This is, of course, the same method that I've been using for the last few months, so the same observations apply. It's relatively quick and inexpensive, it's fairly sturdy, and the results are pretty good. I need to add back details on all of them, but the copies only take about 20 minutes, rather than the 3 hours or so that it takes to make the original sculpts.
As Arianrhod is meant to be the Goddess of the Silver Wheel, I also made some versions in silver tones. I'm not as happy with them, but I think that that's a consequence of the darkness of the “silver” mica powders. I'm going to look into getting a pewter version made.
Also, for the first time, I made matching earrings by using only a portion of the mold.
Antique silver with touches of interference gold
The silver ones have hints of interference violet to make them more interesting.
By the way, I am a big fan of these swirls. Don't be surprised if you see a tutorial specifically on them in the near future. In the meantime, I hope that you'll explore your own symbolism and how it relates to your art.