Grimm Fabrications- Photo Credit- Of' Storms Creative Studios

Thursday 9 January 2014

Little Red Riding Hood

Illustration by Marija Jevtic
Red Riding Hood is one of the fairy tales that primarily inspired me to make things. In my first year of art school I created a reversible cloak. It was the red cloak of Little Red on one side; the grey fur of the wolf on the other. I'm always hoping for opportunities to make more, and I riff off the idea often. To see images, you can find it on my Etsy shop

The story of Red Riding Hood has always been one of my favourites. There are so many versions, each more gruesome than the last. I find it so captivating, and horrific. The tale makes me fall in love with it. I fall in love with it in a different way, each day that I wake up and breathe air. It has been adapted in so many ways, and it's beautiful. 

There are old photographs, countless illustrations, movies, comics, songs... Every possible material, means... And it all came from an age old fairy tale. There always whispers of deceit, blood, and loss of innocence and trust. Under the surface, the story is gruesome, and so many artists see that. Needless to say, it inspires me endlessly. 

Whenever I don't know what to do, or what direction to go, Little Red and that sharp-toothed beast slink into my mind, and envelope me in red cloth and ashen fur. My heart is sealed in wolf blood, holding stones and stitched together.

Not too long ago, I found a web comic called Redden. It is by an artist name Maya Kern. This comic is absolutely stunning. Her style is fantastic, and the story... It is pure brilliance. It is beauty. It is Red Riding Hood taken in a direction of north-bound fear and fable. A completely different direction, shifting the story in such a new way. I love it. Oh, how I yearn to be able to write stories like that, and draw such fantastic illustrations. Maybe if I actually worked at it...

What is your favourite version of Red Riding Hood? Have you ever fell in love with a story so much that you desire to make something of it in every way imaginable?

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