THE STORY ABOUT ORPHEUS

Yes, I hear you say: But we all know the story of the charismatic Greek singer and poet Orpheus, and how he charmed with his lyre the gods, humans and animals, and how he gained through his wonderful play to Hades his wife Eurydice back from the underworld, and how he lost her again because he could not trust and obey.

But I have another story about Orpheus to tell, one that has a happy ending and is pleasant to listen to. About a year ago I came to know Sandy through a blogger friend. She has a lovely online shop at Etsy, where she sells beautiful artful things, all created from natural materials by herself and her husband Giannis. Yes, his name sounds Greek and Greek indeed he is, born at the Island of Lesvos, where they both live and work. Sandy is from Alaska, they met through the Internet and married after a long e-mail courtship. 

By the time I discovered their shop, they had this wonderful statue there, beautifully made by Sandy, and I just fell in love with it. You guessed right, it was Orpheus with his lyre. I offered her a bartering, one of my bags for Orpheus and she immediately and cheerfully agreed. So two parcels went on their way. Nothing can happen to a bag made from fabric and it arrived safely. 
Not so poor Orpheus, he came to me smashed into pieces. It was so bad, it really was beyond repair. I photographed the sad lot and sent the picture to Sandy, and I actually felt more sorry for her than for my own loss. She had invested so much time and heart and soul in this little statue, entirely created from pieces found at the beach, shells and driftwood and many more mysterious treasures.

She offered me to choose from her shop whatever I would like, but somehow I did not do it. I told her to keep the bag and enjoy it. She is such a lovely person, I really wanted this bag to stay with her.

Yesterday I had a note that something was waiting for me at the post office. It was a big tube, the kind you send rolled up posters and paintings in it. I did not understand. I was sure, I did not order anything. I took it home and opened it carefully. Imagine my surprise - inside was a fantastic, very large print of my Orpheus in superb quality. I truly am happy and I marvel in Sandy's wonderful character. She did not forget me and she made me feel even better about her. Orpheus will be framed and will again flatter with his charm - on one of our living room walls, to be enjoyed by us and our guests! Thank you Sandy!

Sandy's shop, called Aeolia, and her profile.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/Aeolia/about

https://www.etsy.com/people/aeolia?ref=owner_profile_leftnav

I took the photos from the beautiful print which is 24 x 18 inches in size, with a 2 inch white margin.

PS: To my delight I found out that Sandy actually started a blog in April of this year.
She left it to rest after several posts and she wrote me today about it: "A very neglected blog! I felt like I was floating all alone there in a distant corner of the blog sphere, so I kind of abandoned ship." What a pity, it is a wonderful blog, she writes with honesty, enthusiasm and enjoyment about her life and her surroundings, their work in the olive orchard, the wildflowers, the treasure hunts at the beach, her creativity. I wish she would continue, she has so much to tell, and her stories are a interesting and lovely read - we should urge her on - have a look:

http://aeolialesvos.blogspot.co.il/ 

From Sandra's blog I copied the "ingredients" of Orpheus:
"Orpheus the Wanderer, 2012 - Driftwood, pumice, haliotis tuberculotis, a sea urchin and its stoma, barnacles, monodonta shells, arca noae shell, and sea silk"