Ethereal Visions: The Enchanting Lens of Cindy Hansen

Back in June, with assistance from my husband, we moved this fascinating rock using a hand truck from the backyard to the front and set it down onto a patch of moss where I captured photographs of it. The following three months were spent contemplating it, diving into research about Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Bruegel for inspiration, and pondering it even further. I aspired to create something substantial with numerous intricate details, each leading to the next in a surreal dreamscape. Bosch and Bruegel incorporated eggs, ladders, fish, demons, and skeletons to disturb the viewers of their art. What could work for me?

By September, I realized that I needed to “get moving.” I devoted time to it gradually, whenever I found an opportunity, incorporating any ideas that came to mind. Most of these were captured by me, while a few were sourced from free stock images, like the wings on the seahorse and the cat. Layer by layer, this dreamscape began to form.

That’s me depicted as the marionette, two halves assembled. Opposite to the act of sawing a woman in half. The upper portion derives from my jack-in-the-box portrait, while the lower half was taken recently in my basement studio. The lizard is from stock, but its wings came from a dragonfly I photographed years ago resting on a green leaf. The frog is stock as well, yet the eggshell is my photograph (as is the large whole egg). The legs are my own, snapped in my studio while donning whimsical leggings and black boots.

The hot air balloon was entirely crafted by me using an ornate wooden sphere acquired from a vintage shop, ribbons from my gift-wrapping collection, and a basket made by my husband’s grandmother. The image of me in the basket (without the acorn hat) was taken in a large handmade nest in an outdoor art display near Madison, WI.

Notice the fellow with the worm in his nose? His eyes are mine along with his teeth. The worm was photographed years ago while I was creating my Creepy Crawly Alphabet Book. The snail shell measures just 1cm tall, found in the garden. The one-eyed mouse above it was located on a large ash tree close to the garage.

You catch my drift.

Three months of assembling it all, connecting one element to another, adding shadows, gathering feedback, refining, altering, work work work until today.

Ta-Da!

What name should I assign it? I’ve been referring to it as Bosch Rock since it’s amusing to say, though it hardly resembles Bosch anymore. This is the latest creation by Cindy Hansen that requires a title.

Suggestions are encouraged in the comments!

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