JEN OTEY
Wytheville, Virginia | cottageartandmusic@gmail.com
Jen Otey is the Chair of the Board of Directors for Forge Appalachia and the owner of Rose Cottage School of Art and MOONbow ARTworks. She is Inspired by the environment of the place where she lives. What she sees, feels, & experiences with the land & the indigenous flora & fauna, are reflected in what she makes. The subjects in her paintings and pottery are often the physical and sometimes spiritual reflections recalled from her time spent in the mountains of Southwest Virginia. Her work is connected to her rural Appalachian heritage. Growing up here, she learned from her parents and grandparents the importance of stewarding the land, by hunting, gathering, and growing their food. This deep connection to basic resources is something that is ingrained in the mountain culture and way of life. Her strong ties to the earth and its creatures, as well as how important it is to protect, conserve, and nurture these wild places and creatures and our heritage for future generations are evident in her artwork.
ABOUT THE PIECE
I have always loved the story of White Bear Whittington. My dad used to tell me that story when I was a little girl. It is an Appalachian story, somewhat similar to Beauty and the Beast. the beast is a bear by day and a man by night, named White Bear Whittington. He takes the daughter from a man who stole a basket full of white roses. On the way to his house she cries so much three drops of blood are shed from her nose on his back. They fall in love and have three children. She eventually convinces White Bear Whittington to let her take the children back to meet there grandfather on the agreement that she cannot tell anyone his name. If she does he will forget who she is and leave their home, never to return. Well, she tells his name to her father and the bear/man leaves. She tracks him by the falling of three feathers from a white dove. each feather contains a drop of blood. On the third day she meets an old wise woman in the woods and helps here process wool over three days. Each day she receives a golden nut as payment for her help. A golden chinquapin, a gold hickory nut, and a golden walnut. On the third day after receiving payment she is told to use those nuts in only a dire situation. She finds her husband sitting in a river surrounded by three women trying to wash the blood out of his shirt. Whoever washes the three drops of blood out of the shirt will marry her husband. She, of course, washes it out, just in time to have another woman trick her and steal the shirt and turn it in as her own work. The man leaves with the woman. The wife follows them home and over the course of three days and the trading of the three gold nuts to the 2nd wife gets him back.
Artist Collection Presented by Bull Mountain Arts and Pickle & Ash
Bull Mountain Arts is a 501(c)(3), non-profit. All artists & art enthusiasts are welcome to join! Let’s grow our creative community!
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