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Description
A little personal/family mythology: My paternal grandfather was Serbian and, as such, my father's side of the family observe Serbian Orthodox Christian customs and holidays, the Christmas for which falls on the 7th of January (in the Gregorian calendar, though it is still the 25th of December in the Julian calendar).

Growing up, my siblings my cousins and myself were all told by our family that the "Magic Horse" was the one bringing the presents. My cousins and I made our own horse costume (the horses head was paper mache on a wire frame which I was very proud of at the time) and put on a little show at Christmas for the family, the same way people dress up and pretend to be Santa Claus.

I thought it was the same for all other Serbian families, that the Magic Horse was their/our version of Santa Claus. It wasn't until I was in my teens that I found out it was something my granddad had come up with himself, and that the myth was a small family one.

This horse feels as "real" to me as a cultural icon as Santa, or any other widespread mythology/folklore character, and has taken on new life for me now as a sort of living memory of my granddad, who died a few years ago. So, I've created a few illustrations to go along with it. I've included one here, with some more to come.

Ink on Saunders Waterford. 4 x 4.5 inches.

Twitter: www.twitter.com/katrinasesum

Facebook: www.facebook.com/katrinasesum

Prints: www.etsy.com/shop/kaelycea

Description
A little personal/family mythology: My paternal grandfather was Serbian and, as such, my father's side of the family observe Serbian Orthodox Christian customs and holidays, the Christmas for which falls on the 7th of January (in the Gregorian calendar, though it is still the 25th of December in the Julian calendar).

Growing up, my siblings my cousins and myself were all told by our family that the "Magic Horse" was the one bringing the presents. My cousins and I made our own horse costume (the horses head was paper mache on a wire frame which I was very proud of at the time) and put on a little show at Christmas for the family, the same way people dress up and pretend to be Santa Claus.

I thought it was the same for all other Serbian families, that the Magic Horse was their/our version of Santa Claus. It wasn't until I was in my teens that I found out it was something my granddad had come up with himself, and that the myth was a small family one.

This horse feels as "real" to me as a cultural icon as Santa, or any other widespread mythology/folklore character, and has taken on new life for me now as a sort of living memory of my granddad, who died a few years ago. So, I've created a few illustrations to go along with it. I've included one here, with some more to come.

Ink on Saunders Waterford. 4 x 4.5 inches.

Twitter: www.twitter.com/katrinasesum

Facebook: www.facebook.com/katrinasesum

Prints: www.etsy.com/shop/kaelycea