Rapunzel (Delivered by Art)

Hey there, Puddlers!  It's another installment of "Delivered by Art."  Here is yet more art that has traveled coast-to-coast, from foggy San Francisco to stinky New Jersey through the US Postal Service, which is concerning, because how much time left does the USPS have?  If you haven't been reading up on all the layoffs and mail processing plant closures, what we know as the Snail Mail, the semi-private, semi-government agency started here in the US by Ben Franklin is in dire trouble.  How many more postcard works of art will I be able to send and receive?  It troubles me.

"Rapunzel" postcard, pen and ink on paper, by James Webner

Recently, I have been posting Fairy Tale influenced sketches on my Tumblr site http://sketches.inkpuddle.com. I have the permanent link to the site on the right hand side of this blog.  Anyway, taking a page out of The Brothers Grimm's book, Jim Webner has been doing a seven (7) postcard series on Rapunzel, or what he calls "The Most Lamentable Tragedy of Rapunzel or How Children Will Ruin Your Life Everytime."  Re-examining fairy tales* without the saccharine sweet frosting of the Disney Company slathered all over them can be quite enjoyable and an eye-opening experience.  In my own sketches, I have been returning to the source material for ideas but I also like to think about the popular conception of fairy tale and either turning that notion on its head or taking it in a new direction.  Essentially, this is a never-ending cycle shared by story tellers of all media.  There has recently been a trend to re-interpret and re-introduce elements of folk and fairy tales into popular culture with TV shows like Grimm and Once Upon a Time.  To read translations of the stories the Grimms compiled, click HERE.

I include the back of this postcard only to show that this piece of paper did, in fact, travel coast-to-coast (notice the San Francisco postmark).  Here is postcard #2.

Second "Rapunzel" postcard, pen and ink on paper

Does this sound like the story of Rapunzel you remember?  Again, try to forget any cartoon versions you saw as a kid, and once again, I refer you to the source material (the link is above).  So, check back here on Ink Puddle to see more of Jim's "Rapunzel" postcards.

Have a favorite fairy tale you remember as a kid?  Send me an e-mail, and I will try to sketch it.  inkpuddle@hotmail.com  And in the meantime, check out some of my "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" and "Little Red Riding Hood" sketches at my Tumblr sketch blog.

*I am using the phrase "fairy tale" in the general sense of folk tales (usually with a cautionary or fable aspect to it) from any number of cultures from around the world.  For a more in-depth look at fairies or faeries or the fay, you can click HERE.