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This is probably the piece I show have submitted first instead of http://www.furaffinity.net/view/134.....1/#cid:9507618 . This is Shahree who is a professional bottle dancer in the fictional/ dreamscape northeast african city-state of Andur. She is one of the first characters I met there and I've know her for several years.
This piece is intersting in that it is oldest, and most dated style-wise, in regular my print catalog that we take to conventions, but everytime we remove it from the catalog we get people requesting and buying it again. So it remains an evergreen in the inventory. While there are aspects about the piece that I'm still very proud like the satin fabric and the reflective surfaces on the glass and metal. The foliage I can do much better on now and the stonework and sky leave a lot to desire by my standards today. Medium color pencil with some gouache, marker and micron pen. Image size 12"x 16" done on cold-press bristol board.
This piece is intersting in that it is oldest, and most dated style-wise, in regular my print catalog that we take to conventions, but everytime we remove it from the catalog we get people requesting and buying it again. So it remains an evergreen in the inventory. While there are aspects about the piece that I'm still very proud like the satin fabric and the reflective surfaces on the glass and metal. The foliage I can do much better on now and the stonework and sky leave a lot to desire by my standards today. Medium color pencil with some gouache, marker and micron pen. Image size 12"x 16" done on cold-press bristol board.
Category All / All
Species Mouse
Size 507 x 694px
File Size 119.5 kB
Being an amateur sociologist, I have to wonder what the social status of mice are in this world. While I do not doubt that bottle dancing is probably very beautiful to behold and a multifaceted art form unto itself, I can't shake some rather dark implications. The idea of keeping beauty, especially that of an intelligent creature, in a bottle for one's pleasure has a bit of a slave/master dynamic to it, even if it's not explicitly expressed as such. I'm not sure what time frame this particular scene takes place, but I can imagine modern-day practitioners trying to distance their art from its seemingly more barbaric origins.
Heh, that was a particularly dark and unpleasant interpretation, but this doesn't reflect on your work. I really enjoy art that causes me to think about the underlying stories in the piece, and this is no exception. Excellent work, and I hope to hear more about these worlds. Very rarely do we hear about such aspects of fictional culture.
Heh, that was a particularly dark and unpleasant interpretation, but this doesn't reflect on your work. I really enjoy art that causes me to think about the underlying stories in the piece, and this is no exception. Excellent work, and I hope to hear more about these worlds. Very rarely do we hear about such aspects of fictional culture.
I do believe that the mice of this world (stop me if I'm wrong) are among the most magical of the inhabitants. Plus the base of the bottles are securely seated to the table to prevent anyone from harassing the dancers by shaking or trying to make off with them without taking the table as well.
Though yes, there would be those who'd take advantage of someone's smaller stature. But other than for looks, and some teasing, what would be the benefit of having a mouse slave? Cleaning? A full sized person can mop/dust/sweep/beat carpets/laundry/cook a larger area and more easily than someone less than a foot tall.
They'd probably be at best, decorations. Just buying the tiny clothes would be the snafu. Feeding someone so small would be the easiest part.
So yes, public dancing seems to be a suitable job for the little ones. You just lean in, and let perspective give you a close-up look...
I wonder if Baron would think about getting some miniature figures done?
Though yes, there would be those who'd take advantage of someone's smaller stature. But other than for looks, and some teasing, what would be the benefit of having a mouse slave? Cleaning? A full sized person can mop/dust/sweep/beat carpets/laundry/cook a larger area and more easily than someone less than a foot tall.
They'd probably be at best, decorations. Just buying the tiny clothes would be the snafu. Feeding someone so small would be the easiest part.
So yes, public dancing seems to be a suitable job for the little ones. You just lean in, and let perspective give you a close-up look...
I wonder if Baron would think about getting some miniature figures done?
Those are valid questions you've raised about the general problem that can arraise when radically different sized individuals come into contact, and the possiblility for exploitation of such small individuals has and does occur in both Andur and in the modern world. There are a several things that help work against it.
First as Corwyn pointed mice were the best at magic in fact they are generally credited with discovering and harnessing that power. In fact many physicans and physicists insist while the magic has apparently gone away in modern times some must still exist since it is the only they way they can explain several facets of mouse anatomy. Several theories have been offered but one in particular is that magic potential is relative to intelligence and body size. the smaller the size the more magic potential they could have. Also this might explain there great strength to body size although Petina does blow the curve http://www.furaffinity.net/view/862172/ . In fact in this universe mice often play the same role as leprechauns, brownies, and fey folk played in our mythologies. Powerful little folk that you shouldn't meddle in their affairs, and if you do not break your promise.
In fact in Andur the fear of many bigums is not that there are poor little mice being held against their will by evil bigum, but that there are bigums that are possessed and ruled by powerful mice mages.
Andur was originally called Malakakar in which much of the bigum population was kept under control by Theocracy of powerful mouse mages who developed the ability to possess the bodies and minds of their bigum slaves and use them for various religous sacrafices. The bigums lived above ground and the mice lived underground About 1,200 years before I showed up in Andur the above ground city was devestated in a very Old Testament kind of way. To this day the old below-ground part of Malakakar still exists and the mice still call it their domain, although there parts of it that even they forgotten or have decided to put behind them.
As the magic began to fade mice became the great pushers for scientific and ecomonic development. The modern banking system and the concept credit are mouse developed ideas. Since mice do not have great body size and strength they have always put their efforts into intelligence and organization. Only by being smarter and better organized have they not only kept their independence but have become a force to be respected and sometimes feared. Screw one mouse in a business transaction and you suddenly might find it hard to get a loan from a bank. kidnap and murder some mouse child and you better hope it is the bigum police who find you! Since they've always been heavily involved in sciences this has made mice some of the best poisoners in the world. In fact it this organizational power and the abuses that have occurred on occassion that have led to various conspiracy theorist to claim that mice really rule the world in much the same the Jews or Gnomes of Zurich supposedly do in ours.
The final thing that seems to exist in this world is a pheromone of some type that make people accept whoever is the dominate person in a situation no matter what their size. Where in our world a perosn might completely ignore a human boss only 9" tall in this world a people a more likely to give that person the respect that their position holds. It is not perfect and of course there are lots of exceptions, but hey perfect worlds are BORING! Sorry this post is a bit long.
First as Corwyn pointed mice were the best at magic in fact they are generally credited with discovering and harnessing that power. In fact many physicans and physicists insist while the magic has apparently gone away in modern times some must still exist since it is the only they way they can explain several facets of mouse anatomy. Several theories have been offered but one in particular is that magic potential is relative to intelligence and body size. the smaller the size the more magic potential they could have. Also this might explain there great strength to body size although Petina does blow the curve http://www.furaffinity.net/view/862172/ . In fact in this universe mice often play the same role as leprechauns, brownies, and fey folk played in our mythologies. Powerful little folk that you shouldn't meddle in their affairs, and if you do not break your promise.
In fact in Andur the fear of many bigums is not that there are poor little mice being held against their will by evil bigum, but that there are bigums that are possessed and ruled by powerful mice mages.
Andur was originally called Malakakar in which much of the bigum population was kept under control by Theocracy of powerful mouse mages who developed the ability to possess the bodies and minds of their bigum slaves and use them for various religous sacrafices. The bigums lived above ground and the mice lived underground About 1,200 years before I showed up in Andur the above ground city was devestated in a very Old Testament kind of way. To this day the old below-ground part of Malakakar still exists and the mice still call it their domain, although there parts of it that even they forgotten or have decided to put behind them.
As the magic began to fade mice became the great pushers for scientific and ecomonic development. The modern banking system and the concept credit are mouse developed ideas. Since mice do not have great body size and strength they have always put their efforts into intelligence and organization. Only by being smarter and better organized have they not only kept their independence but have become a force to be respected and sometimes feared. Screw one mouse in a business transaction and you suddenly might find it hard to get a loan from a bank. kidnap and murder some mouse child and you better hope it is the bigum police who find you! Since they've always been heavily involved in sciences this has made mice some of the best poisoners in the world. In fact it this organizational power and the abuses that have occurred on occassion that have led to various conspiracy theorist to claim that mice really rule the world in much the same the Jews or Gnomes of Zurich supposedly do in ours.
The final thing that seems to exist in this world is a pheromone of some type that make people accept whoever is the dominate person in a situation no matter what their size. Where in our world a perosn might completely ignore a human boss only 9" tall in this world a people a more likely to give that person the respect that their position holds. It is not perfect and of course there are lots of exceptions, but hey perfect worlds are BORING! Sorry this post is a bit long.
No worries about the length of the post, I enjoy reading about these sorts of things. Quite a fascinating history, to be sure.
It appears that my theory was a bit off the mark, as it seems that the balance of power tilts both ways. It would seem then that bottle dancing might perhaps be an art form with rather innocent origins, though potential for it to be degrading still exists, much like with many things. But as the history you told me clearly shows, it is not always the small ones that need fear for their freedom. Quite an interesting dynamic between the species of this world. Thanks for sharing :)
It appears that my theory was a bit off the mark, as it seems that the balance of power tilts both ways. It would seem then that bottle dancing might perhaps be an art form with rather innocent origins, though potential for it to be degrading still exists, much like with many things. But as the history you told me clearly shows, it is not always the small ones that need fear for their freedom. Quite an interesting dynamic between the species of this world. Thanks for sharing :)
No problem! FYI. Their is a whole genre of horror fiction and movies that revolves around mice being captured and tormented by bigum captors. I mean just think abot all the Mad Scientist films that could be made on the subject! Of course there is also a whole genre of Gulliver Travels-like stories with a more dark and sinster angle to them to.
As a general rules the world seem to exist with very little of racial discrimination that is found in our world. Now it is far from a utopia but it seems that people are more willing to to kill you for memes than for your genes in this world.
As a general rules the world seem to exist with very little of racial discrimination that is found in our world. Now it is far from a utopia but it seems that people are more willing to to kill you for memes than for your genes in this world.
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