Ferdinand Series

"Ferdinand's Valencia"
"Ferdinand's Mariposa"

"Ferdinand's Maria"

"Ferdinand's Madrid"

"Ferdinand's Isabella"

"Ferdinand's Contessa"

"Ferdinand's Carmela"

Well, I was having a "flower block" at the beginning of the season, and while I pearled over the deep, ruddy colors of Autumn over and over again, I could not find a vehicle for them. I needed to complete the deadline for the shop, but I just couldn't find that common thread. I was in a tangled and foggy state of mind (a frequent state of mind of one who suffers winters in the Great Northwest, but I was suffering it in the wrong season). Then, on one of those otherwise useless Sundays, my husband swept me off downtown to do a bit of bibliomancy (a lovely way to find the path out of the deep dark woods otherwise known as "mental block"). With the wind howling at our ears, and fresh smell of sea brine lacing the tall buildings of downtown Seattle, we ducked into a little shop but a block from Elliot Bay Book Store. A dense little shop of antique and specially collected books, I perused, though with little hope. The shop owner had just told me that books on historical costume were rare and very pricy. He had none, and I wasn't even likely to find one at the local behemouth down the street. Where, then, was I to find context for flowers worn on the person?

Well, then, I was lost, resigned to suffer the creative block with color and texture alone. As is always my literary preference, I wandered on over to the childrens' books to try to find something for my son.... On my last ounce of hope, I stumbled across an old icon, Robert Lawson's illustrated cover of "The Story of Ferdinand," by Munro Leaf. I thought that it would be a great read for my little boy, and while I indulged in the memories of those sublime illustrations, I met the page, "...And all the lovely ladies wore flowers in their hair."

Eureka!

There they were, those beautiful senoritas, peeking demurely over their fans, with dense clusters of flowers crowning their raven black hair. And, it was these flowers that became the hero of the story! It was because Ferdinand was so taken by the aroma of the countless flowers in the stadium worn by the fashionable maidens, that he passively sat there, the opposite of "Ferdinand the Fierce," enraging the Picadores, Banderilleros, and Matador by offering no show at all. All those lovely flowers saved the sweet bull's life!

And so, there was my vehicle. A successful bit of bibliomancy and a bowlful of rich ribbon, and I had my Series: "Ferdinand."