Deer, in Culture and in My Collage for LMAC #174
Magical Realm
The collage below isn't finished. I had an idea about the deer blend into the forest, but I ran out of time. Still I wanted to show the picture.
Camouflage
The template photo offered by @shaka in this week's LMAC Collage contest was beautiful.
The Template
It seemed wrong to change that picture. But this is our challenge as collagists, so I started to play around. I had already reviewed many entries into the contest and noticed that just about everyone was inspired by the deer. This is hardly surprising. Deer have been featured in mythologies across the world. I looked up a few of these representations.
Deer in China.
(From La Gazette Drouot) Deer represent longevity,wealth and nobility in Chinese culture. Representations of deer in artifacts and art can be found all the way back to the Han Dynasty. These representations may be found in every day objects, such as mirrors and incense burners. They are also present in fine art. The deer may appear singly, or in groups.
Qing Dynasty (19th Century) Scroll
Credit: Unknown author. Public domain
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In India.
Ancient Indian texts mention deer. According to hinduscriptures.com, "Deer is the divine vehicle of Lord Vayu Bhagavan, and it serves him faithfully for several millions of years." It is believed that the sage Jadabharata lived in the form of a deer in one of his incarnations.
Credit: Unknown author, 1916. Public domain. The Sage saving a fawn. The doe has been killed by a lion. The sage was gifted with awareness of former life when he became a deer. Public domain
It is against the law to kill or hurt deer in India.
Deer in Norse mythology
(From forgedinvalhalla.com) Deer have an important role in Norse mythology. Four deer, Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór, were said to live in the Great Tree of Life.
The Tree of Life (Yggdrasil), with Four Deer at the Top
Credit: W. g. Collingwood (1854-1932). From the title page of the book, The Elder or Poetic Edda, illustrated by Collingwood. Public domain
These four were symbols of the four seasons. When they chewed on the tree's leaves, it was believed that they caused the tree to suffer pain.
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In Japanese mythology
(From the incidental naturalist.com)
Deer wander freely in the city of Nara.
Sika Deer in Nara, With a Friendly Human
Credit: Savannah Rivka, 2012. Used under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
It is said that the Shinto god Takemikazuchi-no-mikoto rode into the city on the back of a white deer more than a thousand years ago. The tradition has been passed down through the generations that the Sika deer are sent to watch over the city. There was a time when the Sika deer was considered sacred and harming the animal was punishable by death. Today the animal is protected as a national treasure, but no one is put to death anymore because of harming it :)
One of my sources was Pixabay:
12019
van Gogh scene Pixabay
All the rest of my sources were from LIL, the LMAC Image Gallery. Thank you, Hive colleagues, for contributing these wonderful images.
orange plant
@yaziris
Orange plant
@borjan
Lacewing (flying insect)
And three images I contributed to LIL
@agmoore
Magical deer statue
Bare tree
Leafless tree
Here are a few steps that show my process for the first collage (the background is a painting by van Gogh, from Pixabay):
(I used the Lunapic van Gogh filter for the animals)
I used from the template the deer, leaves and grass patches.
In my second collage I used the template and two bare trees (listed above). Here is a picture of the deer, with tree branches for antlers and legs (ready to be inserted in the scene).
Every week I look forward to discovering the template photo that will be the basis for the community's collages. Each of us in the LMAC community meets that challenge in a different way. Please check out the LMAC curation feed to learn how creative insight offered unique perspectives on this week's template.
Selecting finalists for the ultimate part of the contest is never easy. Everyone who competes is a winner (I don't compete), but the Hive community selects the official winners. This week's roster of winners may be viewed here. Would the winner have been your choice? All of Hive can vote in the contest.
Tomorrow a new template will be published. Make a collage and join in the fun.
You can see that LIL, the LMAC Image Library, was an essential part of my collage creating process this week. Everyone on Hive can contribute to the library and everyone can borrow from the library. Learn about the procedure here.
I wish all my readers peace and health.
All of them are beautiful images. They look so soothing to the eyes
Thank you! Animal posts are my favorite to write.
Wow, how great, I never imagined that this little animal was very special and protected. =)
That's a lovely story,isn't it? Nice to think of them wandering around in safety.
i like that when you present us a collage it is always filled with meaning!
Thank you @malos. I like to learn, and share. I'm glad you find the information interesting.
There are a herd of deer in Phoenix Park in Dublin since I was a child and they're quite the visitor attraction. There's many the Sunday I'd cycle up to the park to watch them and I was quite dismayed when I found out recently that there's a sniper employed to carry out an annual cull.
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Here's a little pic I took one Sunday in the days when I was half woman half bike.
You can see my trusty steed in the foreground.
😡
They are beautiful!
(Just eat what?😄)
Well Ms. Eagle-eye, 'Just Eat' is a food delivery company that sponsored the Dublin Bike Scheme. There were 2 bike stations right outside my apartment, so far handier for me to rent a bike than own one.
😊
Wao all these collage pictures looks so beautiful and amazing. The way we see that you have put a lot of effort into changing the pictures in the same way.
Thank you, @djbravo. Making the collages is a relaxing exercise for me. Well worth the time and effort.
Most welcome.
The deer is such a cute little animal, they are so innocent and adorable.
Yes, they are, aren't they? Thanks for stopping by, @innfauno12
You clearly have a good understanding of how to make collages and how to manipulate pictures to make them even more beautiful ;)
That is very kind of you. I appreciate your comment. Thanks for stopping by my blog.
I love the message the pictures virtually communicated
I appreciate that. The message is important to me, also. Thanks for stopping by!
Good morning A.G. I love all the interesting facts on the beautiful deer. As a,ways, your collage is wonderful and your hand lends a delicate touch to the drawings.
Have a great day, my friend and thanks for including my lil image. 😊
I hope the smoke from the wildfires in Nova Scotia and Quebec hasn’t affected you. I heard on the news smoke had reached the Hudson Valley and New York.
Thank you. Fun working with animals in our pictures, isn't it?
But the smoke!! Heavens, yesterday it looked like an eclipse. We had (according to the news) the worst air in the world for part of the day. Well, I guess we all live on the same planet and there is no way to really wall off problems, even if some politicians think we can.
I love your images. It's like you have your own LIL library :)
Hope the smoke and fires stay away from you, my friend @redheadpei. Be well.
Hi @agmoore.
You've fitted it all beautifully into Van Gogh's little forest. And the result is a new fantastic work giving an interesting cultural message.
Wonderful work, @agmoore. 👍
And as always, I like the education part of your post very much.
It really is very interesting how important the deer is in different cultures common spiritual awareness. But what I find even more interesting is that in Indian, Nordic, Japanese and also in the Celtic culture, the deer is seen as a being that wanders between the worlds. That is very impressive, given the geographical distance of all these cultures from each other.
But I can imagine the origin of that... I often walked through forests early in the morning and not seldom met deer, which then disappeared elegantly and almost silently from my sight into the morning mist.
Such an experience really feels a bit other-worldly. And it might seem to a spiritual person as if the animal has escaped into another world.
Happy weekend to you. 👋🙂
Hello my friend @quantumg,
It is a pleasure when you stop by my blog. And it is always gratifying when you think I've done a good job. I did enjoy 'borrowing' van Gogh to exercise my imagination. What better place?
I love animals, as you know, and I love history. So, this topic was a great combination for me. It was an education for me, and maybe my readers :) I'm not sure everyone has the patience to read the blogs, but they probably do look at the pictures, so that is important, also.
It's interesting that some subspecies of the Sika deer are endangered, but in Japan the population is 'abundant'.
I like your 'spirit' theory about deer. They are so graceful, like wisps when they run.
Thanks again for visiting and for your kind words. Have a wonderful weekend🌈 🌞
Lovely scene, Indeed a magical land where the animals are protected. No deer on PEI. There were deer kept in the Buffaloland park some years ago but not anymore. They had cut their tendons on the legs to keep the, from jumping the fence but they still managed to escape, especially in winter when the snow was piled high,
Thanks for including my lil image, 😊
We are a grotesque species, aren't we? That is an amazing statement. What we are willing to do for our own entertainment. The Danes slaughter giraffes. We imprison whales and make them into circus clowns.
Thanks for your kind words, my friend. Have fun with your furry neighbors.