Owl Land

Last updated on: March 18, 2014 at 9:26 am by Fred Sanders

Owl Land 2014-03-18T09:26:29-07:00 Fred Sanders

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

C.S. Lewis once wrote a poem with the title Impenitence. What did he refuse to repent of? Man-like beasts. Anthropomorphic animals, especially the homey civilized ones from Beatrix Potter and Kenneth Grahame. Here are the first two stanzas of his poem:

All the world’s wiseacres in arms against them
Shan’t detach my heart for a single moment
From the man-like beasts of the earthy stories–
Badger or Moly.

Rat the oarsman, neat Mrs. Tiggy Winkle,
Benjamin, pert Nutkin, or (ages older)
Henryson’s shrill Mouse, or the Mice the Frogs once
Fought with in Homer.

There is a great literary lineage: Lewis names not just the moderns but also Robert Henryson’s fables, and even Homer. He could also have named Aesop, of course, and we could add Narnia, or the Lewis juvenilia published as Boxen. Richard Scarry’s busytown is also not to be despised.

The artist known as Freddy Age 12 has sketched out his fair share of animal societies, but in the last year or so he has devoted a lot of attention to a territory known as Owl Land. The sketchbooks are filling up, and the loose sheets are piling up, and it’s high time to share some of this material.

I don’t know much about Owl Land, but it’s some sort of constitutional monarchy whose citizens take pride in their traditions. Some of these drawings were made in England under the influence of a trip to the Tower of London.

Here we see owl workers preparing the crown jewels and other regal objects. A mix of miners and smiths here, setting the finest jewels:

Their work complete, a procession of nobles and guards bring the crown jewels to the king. Beside the throne is a real, but small, dragon.

…the procession continues, with the crown itself appearing.

A shot that stitches together both halves of the procession:

The king, in full regalia now, presides over a meeting of Parliment (sp?). Yes, it’s a Parliment of owls, apologies to Chaucer:

Their working day over, the whole crew hits the cafeteria. The guards are obviously modeled on Beefeaters, but they are in fact more likely to eat mice. One places his order while others wait in line, two are seated at table, and one more comes through the entry door.

Meanwhile outside the palace, the mounted guards maintain their vigil. Horses in Owl Land tend to stick their tongues out a lot, and they might all be ponies judging from their proportions.

The king dines alone, and takes on himself the burden of choosing a meal from a comically long menu. As usual, he will end up ordering mice soup.

Owl Land has, oddly, no real air force. But the navy!

The nation maintains friendly relations with neighboring countries. Here is Owl Land receiving a royal delegation from Night Jar Land:

And a similar meeting with representatives from nearby Cat Land (guest drawn by Phoebe Age 10):

A vignette from the royal stables, where two beefeaters discuss yet another tongue-lolling pony.

A curious collection of ceremonial swords on display.

A guard fires the cannon:

And finally, a leisurely stroll through the modern art museum. Seems to be something expressionistic on the right, and something rather minimalist on the left.

Avant-Garde

Previous Post

November 8, 2012

Newman, Benedict, and Torrey

Next Post

November 20, 2012 God's Conduct

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Art Avant-Garde Blog Culture Education Education Literature Misc. Misc. On This Day Philosophy Podcasts Politics Theology Uncategorized

Select a Month March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

The night of the Passover what did Israel have to do so their firstborn wouldn't die?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Put blood around the door of their homes Go to Sleep Change Clothes Take a Bath