Raven
Amy Izat
“What I see”
This image shows a detailed hyper-realistic drawing of a raven standing in grass, looking to the left. The left and lower side of the raven’s body have been erased to represent the area of her vision that Amy no longer sees when she looks directly into the raven’s eye. In this area there is a faint impression of the original drawing.
Inspiration behind the artwork
Life is full of wonderful moments but also difficult ones. Moments when a darkness creeps up on us caused by the fear that comes from having to adjust to so much so quickly. Fear of waiting for the next let-down, fear of not knowing if you are going to survive, fear of loneliness and fear of losing something that we rely on—in my case, my sight. I was scared of not having control over my body, of not knowing if I was going to wake up from an operation with my eyesight, of not being able to become the artist I longed to be. Letting go of the darkness that surrounds us releases us from those imprisoning fears. The jet black of a raven’s plumage, their menacing black eyes and their croaking calls are so dominant at times, that it is hard to hear the delicate tweeting of the other birds and the lightness that comes with it. Yet out of the darkest of times, light can always be found. The French poet, Rene Char said, “If you can dwell in one moment, you will discover eternity”. Each moment in our lives, no matter how dark it can be is a chance for us to make peace with our life and to find the light things amongst the dark ones because they are always there.