I used to tell my art history students that many of the earliest sculptures in the history of art are actually winged guardian figures. Archeologists have discovered them all over the world.  Some are found standing in a field, and others at the gates of a long-lost city. Many appear to be hybrid creatures carved on totem poles, buried in caves, concealed in pyramids, or buried near ancient grave sites. One might conclude that since the beginning of time humans have needed to believe someone or something is protecting us. I'm not embarrassed to say, I still do.

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I also believe that handmade objects reflect the soul of the maker. Engel is handmade and given as a gift where as the new angel is made in a factory and purchased at a store. I created this dynamic to give the reader pause as to what Christmas is really about. 

 

 

​In the process of writing the story of Engel, I had to determine where her story would begin. For over twenty years I conducted art classes in the McBee House, located on the campus of the Ashley Hall School for Girls in Charleston, South Carolina. One day, I came across a little book that was written by the daughter of the former owner of the house, Laura Witte Waring. As soon as I read her "recollections from 1877-1975" I knew I had found my Engel a home.

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The setting was always going to be Charleston, South Carolina because the old city is magical and abounds with history.  And the post war reconstruction period was a time period I always wanted to learn more about. But for a history lover like me, reading about the members of Laura's family was stunning! 

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Laura's dad, Charles Otto Witte, immigrated to America from Germany, and her mom, Charlotte Sophia Reeves was a young woman of French descent. There was something unprecedented in the way they raised their six daughters to be highly literate despite the times. One daughter, Beatrice attended Harvard while Laura and Alice married newspaper editors. And the fact that they housed so many unusual pets made their home the perfect place to launch Engel out into the wild.

 

 

To bring a bit of fun to the opening illustration, I chose to greet the viewer with an image I photographed from Saint Micheal's steeple located on Broad and Meeting Street. The illustrated view from the Palladian attic window in chapter one is actually the western view from Saint Micheals' Church steep. If you click on the thumbnails, you will ascend the church stairs, past the church bells, and step outside to see an area of the peninsula called, South of Broad.  I know you will agree, it's a heavenly view. 

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Did you know the depiction of winged figures goes back to ancient times  ?

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https://www.historytoday.com/archive/history-matters/how-angels-found-their-wings

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