Monday, January 23, 2012

Wynken, Blynken & Nod

Almost two years ago, I had a show called Winter Wonderland at the Gateway Mall Children's Museum. I don't think I ever actually showed details of too many of the pieces. I think by the time the show was over, I was exhausted. The other day, I did a piece for a friend that I had sold at that show to another friend. It's so adorable. Have any of you ever heard of the Wynken, Blynken and Nod poem? This is my take on how it might look.



If you've never read the poem, here it is:

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod (Dutch Lullaby)
by Eugene Field (1850-1895)

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
Sailed off in a wooden shoe---
Sailed on a river of crystal light,
Into a sea of dew.
"Where are you going, and what do you wish?"
The old moon asked the three.
"We have come to fish for the herring fish
That live in this beautiful sea;
Nets of silver and gold have we!"
Said Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

The old moon laughed and sang a song,
As they rocked in the wooden shoe,
And the wind that sped them all night long
Ruffled the waves of dew.
The little stars were the herring fish
That lived in that beautiful sea---
"Now cast your nets wherever you wish---
Never afeard are we";
So cried the stars to the fishermen three:
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

All night long their nets they threw
To the stars in the twinkling foam---
Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,
Bringing the fishermen home;
'T was all so pretty a sail it seemed
As if it could not be,
And some folks thought 't was a dream they 'd dreamed
Of sailing that beautiful sea---
But I shall name you the fishermen three:
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
And Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
Is a wee one's trundle-bed.
So shut your eyes while mother sings
Of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
As you rock in the misty sea,
Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

8 comments:

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

My favorite Nursery Rhyme! Love this piece!

liz j said...

I had never heard that poem before. It is fabulous and I LOVE your interpretation.

Snippety Gibbet said...

Very sweet. You should illustrate a book of children's poems.

Heather said...

I love this with the poem! Would you considering selling one in your etsy shop?

Diane said...

Beautiful!! The stars all caught in the net are really neat and yes, I know the poem well. I agree with Snippety. Your work would make be great for a child's book

buy rift account said...

WoW! such a wonderful masterpiece indeed.=D

xiaohui said...

i love the net! Do you think you could provide a template tuesday with this? :))

MG said...

I've just looked at 119 "Wynken, Blynken & Nod" illustrations, and yours is absolutely the best. All the necessary elements are there -- Moon, Shoe-boat, Net, Stars, the three fisherfolk -- and everything extraneous is gone. The composition is beautiful. And given the nature of your work, the race of the fisherfolk could be anything a doting grandparent needs it to be.