Medium: Watercolor
Dimensions: 14" x 20"
Date: April 2001

This nymph is elusive - her face is somewhat hidden in the ivy that encircles her. I initially had a hard time capturing the original picture - the original is so delicately painted that I was never satisfied with the print. After several attempts, however, I was able to achieve a print that was very close to the original. Many people have been vert taken with this picture. I couldn't decide on her name for awhile either. She struck me as Ivy Goddess, the Spirit of Ivy, the essence of ivy, the Green Goddess, and even as Daphne, although Daphne was transformed into a laurel tree, not ivy, after being pursued by Apollo.

About Nymphs:
Nymphs can be water nymphs, tree nymphs, mountain nymphs, basically any female spirit of nature believed to embed their essence into a part of the natural world. According to Barbara Walker, the word nymph comes from the "Greek nymphe, Latin nympha, a bride or a nubile young woman. The same word was applied to female-genital symbols like the lotus flower, water lilies, and certain shells. Nymphs served as priestesses in ancient temples of the Goddess...In medieval times the word nymph was applied to either a witch or a fairy, since both descended from the pre-Christian priestess."

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