Last week I attended the Atlanta Gift Market where I met with companies about licensing my art and visited the showrooms currently using my art on their products. Someone mentioned that the faces of my angels looked a little like me. That's not surprising because I often use my daughters as models and they, of course, bare a striking resemblance to their mama.
A batch of my newest angels available now at https://www.etsy.com/shop/SherryCookArt?ref=hdr_shop_menu
This got me thinking about my studio full of predominantly Caucasian, dark haired angels. It was a quick jump from there to memories of Sunday school where the portraits of Jesus hanging on the walls and in the weekly lesson materials featured a Jesus with light skin and long flowing brown hair shimmering with blond highlights. You can be darn sure he was never portrayed as the swarthy middle eastern man he must have been!
Yesterday Mattel released its new and updated Barbies who now come in a variety of body types including petite, tall and curvy. Now finally there's a full figured Barbie just like me! The news clips featuring Mattel’s new Barbie collection showed gazillions of hair, skin and body type combinations. I couldn't help thinking it was going to be a merchant's nightmare keeping the shelves stocked with all the different sized outfits. Hats off to Mattel.
That would be my Barbie slap dab in the middle...isn't she a doll;-)!
When I was a girl, Barbie and Midge could share the same wardrobe which moved things along quickly at the beginning of playtime when my sister and I divided up the dolls and outfits. Of course Skipper, Barbie’s little sister, came out in 1964 and with her flat chest and shapeless legs couldn't share outfits with her older sis who'd gone through puberty in a BIG way! I never cared much for Skipper, not because of her shape mind you, and she never had a big role in my play scenarios, making only an occasional appearance in the backseat of the big plastic convertible to pester Ken and Barbie on their dates.
Oh my how I've digressed from angel faces...
So, just like Mattel realized that eyes, skin tone, and hair color come in many varieties, it occurred to me that I needed to rethink my angels.
I want my angels to really bring a little love and peace to the places where they land and it seems that in this day and age it is particularly important to remember that the angels of the world aren’t relegated to one race or religion. Of course I hope my angels will appeal to many different people, but more importantly, I made these in hopes that people would choose to have angels who's faces were a little different from their own. Surely my Asian angels will show up in more than just Asian homes and maybe black or middle eastern angels will appear on a few 'white walls'.
Angels take many forms and certainly their skin color doesn't determine their protective capabilities. As I go through my days, I pray there will be host of angels along my path watching over me as I stumble through life. Heaven knows I need all the help I can get and if God wants to send an Asian, black, Hispanic or middle eastern angel, bring um' on. I'm grateful for all the help I can get.
You can find the new angels for sale at my Etsy Shop. If you don't see the one you want, drop me a note and I'll make one up for you.
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