Thursday 27 November 2008

Hiding the Hedgehog & Other Stories


ANOTHER WICKED flu has had me cast down these last few days which is the very last thing we could do with right now. There simply was not time to get ill! But I had to give in to the sofa as my body and head felt quite entirely drained of life. Today I am upright again tho on the phone I still sound like an old horse who has smoked 80 fags a day all his life.
I have been finishing off a drawing this afternoon which I had started some weeks ago. Here it is above, Hiding the Hedgehog ... I have not the faintest idea what it's about ... I'll leave you to imagine a tale around it! This drawing, along with two other recent pencil doodlings, The Spoon-Eared Child and The Coffeepot, are being offered as prints in my shop in honour of a sort of One-More-Week-To-Go-Sale ... in fact it isn't really a sale at all, since everything's still the same price but I can't think of another word! Basically, I have decided to temporarily close the shop when we head off to give me a little breather while we embark on our grand journey and anyway, the last post date for those of you Over The Sea is looming too.
So all that is a round about way of saying Roll Up! Roll Up! Last chance to grab Christmas presents in the Hermitage Etsy Shop!
The blinds will be pulled down over the frosted windows of my emporium on Friday 5th December.. so .. quick!
I will of course be opening it up again come the new year, hopefully with some new drawings therein.
Meanwhile I'll leave you wondering why on earth that hedgehog needs to be hidden...

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

I hope you're back to full fighting strength soon Rima. Hubby's been down with it - it's a vicious strength sapper.

Anonymous said...

Aw, what terrible timing for you to fall victim to the flu again Rima! It's probably that you never completley got over it before. Well I hope you get well soon.

I love the hedgehog. Perhaps he was kidnapped by a gang of naughty hedgehogs, and is being rescued! xx

Kim said...

I hope you feel better soon, Rima, and can get back to full strength. A couple of days of rest will help you to heal quicker, so don't overdo it.

I think the hedgehog pooped by the back door one time too many!

Kim x

tui said...

This is a really beautiful and tender piece of work Rima, I must get some pennies out of that dusty jacket pocket to buy a print before you leave !
Oh! I am going with you, silly me :)

x

Ciara Brehony said...

Oh Rima, this is just so lovely. You know, I think I do love your pencil drawings the most.

Hope you are feeling better by the day.

C x

Ellen-Mary said...

"Meanwhile I'll leave you wondering why on earth that hedgehog needs to be hidden..."

From the owls, of course.

I like the way she is rolled up like a hedgehog to protect the little guy.

Griffin said...

"I have not the faintest idea what it's about ... I'll leave you to imagine a tale around it!"

Ok, now you're just teasing me!! I'll think something up and email it to you.

Warm honey and lemon for you and snoozing with cats... that should do it. Also, serve the flu an eviction notice. It's trespassing and you'll have the law on it if it doesn't leave at once!

Possibly all that dashing about like a mad thing has given the flu a chance to get you. Death to the Lurgi! Vivat Rima Regina!

Gretel said...

Sod's law. You've proably been over doing it and need to take it easy...that lastest is just begging to be carved into a netsuke.

Anonymous said...

Nature has it's own way of forcing us to slow down and to take stock. After saying that I do hope you make a massive recovery now that the day is looming. We'll miss you dreadfully but it'll be all the merrier when you return! These drawings really are the most exquisite. love Jess x

Griffin said...

PG is right, it would make a great netsuke. I love the blanket stitch on the hem of her coat too.

Rima - aren't you going to keep the Spoon-eared Child for a tale? Imagine this... a tale around those three images, the S-E Child, the Coffeepot and the Hidden Hedgepig... Go on Rima, imagine it... and then write it when you're better... on bits of rapscallion paper that come to hand.

If not you... then who? Eh? Who, I esk ya?

A.Smith said...

Of course one must hide a hedgehog.
Particularly if some wicked witch turns a handsome forest fellow into one because she had unrequited love and his actions were rather prickly toward her, and she could not figure how to make him her own love. So...

Now the question is, while she could hide the hedgehog under her arm to bring him into her wicked home without suspicions by the rest of the village, how was she to return him to his earthly form?
And would he change his prickly ways or...

Take care of that cold. You don't want to be sick while launching the HM Wheeled Palace into the wonderful seas of adventure. I am thinking of you and I will send the Tres Deseos translation this weekend.

laughingwolf said...

gotta hide it from the vicious hedgenappers, they want to add it to their stew pot :(

copious amounts of vitamin c should help, along with warmth and rest

look forward to the re-opening of your shop in the new year

merry xmas to you and yours....

BT said...

Oh poor you, Rima. I do hope you recover really quickly. Hedgehogs are me so I've had to go and order a print from Etsy! Plus that lovely one you used to have at the top of your blog. My step daughter is just about to have a baby and I thought it would look wonderful on her nursery wall.

We'll miss you Rima.

She had to hide the hedgehog from me or I would have stolen it away!

BT

Shelley Noble said...

Pla-ease! When you are well, hopefully very soon, won't you please write the story of hiding the hedgehog? And illustrate it? And become rich(er) from the sales of you books?

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

Something to read whilst you're ill. Do feel better soon, Rima!


There once was a hedgehog in possession of amazing magical talents. Some said he could conjure candy floss from thin air, others that he had once stared several minutes at a mouse who then suddenly transformed into a golden horse who went on to win the Grand National. He could make it rain. He could make it stop raining. Naturally, his unusual powers earned him great acclaim thoughout his homeland and he was most sought after to perform various and sundry feats at all hours of the day or night. This continued for many years until the poor hedgehog - who really wanted nothing more than to be left alone to munch carrots and listen to Bach in the solitude and comfort of his own home, for he was in fact a most solitary soul - decided to renounce magic forever and disappear. Plotting his escape in minute detail for several months, he eventually stowed away on a ocean liner bound for Greece., Having read about the famed beauty of the Greek Islands, he thought the climate would suit him, and the food sounded especially interesting. Also, no one knew him there so, as long as he kept his strange and wonderful abilities secret, he could live in quiet and peace, which was his greatest desire. So, off to Greece he sailed. Upon landing, however,, he began to encounter some difficulty. So many people crowding around, he knew it would be impossible to get out to the countryside without one last magical spell. So, sighing, he scrunched up his little face, thought really hard, in colour, and ...poof...he found himself in a most idyllic setting, by the blue-green Grecian sea, with the sun shining softly down on his furry little face. Then he heard a wee gasp and turned around. A small, shy girl was standing directly behind him. “Where did you come from?”, she inquired, more amused than shocked. The hedgehog knew he had to think fast, or months and months of careful planning would be for naught, but try as he might, he couldn’t thing of any explanation that sounded the least bit plausible. The little girl continued to stare at him in a most quizzical fashion. Then slowly she spoke...”Are you a magical hedgehog??”. Our little friend’s heart nearly stopped. Suddenly they heard voices coming up the hill behind them. “Quickly”, said the child, “get beside me and I’ll hide you until they pass. Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.” And so they ducked inside the tall grasses and waited. Soon they.........

Koldo Barroso said...

Lovely drawing, Rima. I like the look in the eyes the msot.

Crista Noel Smith said...

Oh, oh oh! I go and get stuck down in my little hole, and when I finally pop my head out again you've posted so many lovely things!

I hope you are feeling very, very much better. How exciting about your impending trip! Do feel well, and best of luck with the t crossing and i dotting.

Crista x

d. moll, l.ac. said...

Bon Voyage, Rima and Tui.
XX
Diana

tlchang said...

Hope you are well on your way to being fully recovered.

How fun to be able to draw images without knowing their 'story' (that's difficult for me - I want to know *everything* about them!).

Mysteries are good.

Happy travels.

Gail said...

Hope you are feeling better now Rima, as you say not good timing ... do take care of yourself.

I love your latest drawing with the hedgehog tucked snuggly under someone's arm ... safe from harm and the cold snap of winter ...

Take care of yourself Rima ... enjoy the journey ... ;-)
-Gail X

Solvay said...

Well, whatever reason for hiding, I would like to be as safely ensconced as this hedgehog is - nestled, held, safe. I love this picture. So loving.

Again, I hope you are all recovered by now - flu has a way of coming back at you for round two. At least you've got both rounds out of your system before departure!

Thanks, as always.
Solveg

Yoli said...

Rima feel better soon! You poor thing you have been from one cold to another.

Qucik question: Do you ever sell originals of your pencil drawings?

Rima Staines said...

Yoli... thank you :) Yes I do sell pencil drawing originals from time to time... watch this space ;) x

Curious Art said...

I'm sorry you were hit with the flu at such an inopportune time! (Though is there ever really a good time for the flu?) I'm in the midst of a cruddy chest cold myself.

I know you're too busy to respond right now, but nonetheless,
I've tagged you on my blog. Hope you don't mind.

http://leahpalmerpreisscuriousart.blogspot.com/2008/12/show-tell.html

Griffin said...

Rima, o precious one, I have the three prints... I have the beginnings of a tale and will try and work it up over Crimbo. Then all that remains is getting it to you.

I tell you wot, I'll let you know when it's ready and you send an owl for it, ok?

Hope you are out of the flu and into the warmth. Our boiler went kaput so we've had a week of no hot water or heating either. I don't want to get out of bed until the house is a good deal warmer!