Little Red Riding Hood in “Folk Tales from Around the World”
Orpheus
Orpheus mourning
Sphynx
illustration for a fairy tale from Korea, A Clever Rabbit,
in Svetovne pravljice (World Fairy Tales) (Nova revija, 2004), B&W tempera on paper
My friend Manica Musil turned me on to the breathtaking work of Slovenian artist Alenka Sottler. The surreal landscapes in her fairytale illustrations have a dark undercurrent that resonates with the somber tone of the older fables where children get lost and body parts chopped off.
My favorite are her illustrations from Poem for Lyra published by Pivec, narrating the story of Orpheus and Eurydice in verse. In her native Slovenia Alenka is a superstar, but sadly her illustrated books are not currently available in English. Thank you Alenka.
For a fairy tale from Corsica, Tiny Little Finger Girl,
in Svetovne pravljice (World Fairy Tales) (Nova revija, 2004), W&W tempera on paper