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Sabrina - The Ink Witch
Written and compiled by George Knowles
Sabrina Underwood
is a well-known and respected Pagan Artist better known as “Sabrina - The Ink
Witch”. As a practising
eclectic witch of Irish decent, Sabrina has been living the craft and crafting
her Art for over 30 years.
Her distinctive “Old Style” - Pen & Ink drawings have been
published in magazines all over the world, and have appeared in several
published books, including her own wonderfully illustrated books:
“The Ink Witch Book of Shadows” and “The Grimoire”. Born in Blount County, Tennessee in late July 1959 (a Cancer/Leo), Sabrina first started drawing at the age
of 3 years, shortly after the death of her father.
While still very young, she missed her father very much and for a long
time after his death went without speaking.
Instead she retreated into her own fantasy world of drawing pictures.
Fortunately her mother and grandmother were on hand with a steady supply
of pens, pencils and paper to keep her occupied and help her heal.
One of her fondest memories is walking with her grandmother in “Cades
Cove”, located in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee, where she first heard
tales about “the little people” – fairies, gnomes, elves and other unseen
creatures. By the time she entered Maryville High School, Sabrina was
already accomplished at drawing, and regularly drew family pets, portraits
and homes etc. for her friends. At
school her teachers quickly noticed her artistic abilities, and unusually for
someone so young, she produced her first commissioned piece of Art when she was
just 14 years old. After graduating
from High School in 1976, Sabrina attended the Carson Newman College at the University of Tennessee with a full
Art Scholarship. She also took
classes at NYU, during which time she developed her own unique “Old
Style” of Pen and Ink drawings. After leaving College, Sabrina moved to Denver, Colorado, were she met her future husband and long time partner Jim. They were married in 1981 and while still living in Denver had three children, all girls – Kara, Katie and Kendra. Today, Kara is in the Army, Katie is a performer in a circus, and Kendra is studying at the University of Hartford, the Hartt School for performing arts. It was also in Denver that Sabrina became involved with the pagan community, and received her initial Gardnerian training from Luis Medina (sadly now passed on).
Perhaps inspired by
her Irish heritage, Sabrina studied hard to gain a connection to the mythologies
of the past, which led to the emergence of her Pagan inspired Artwork.
Initially she drew Goddess portraits for her friends in the pagan
community, but so many others contacted her to do private commissioned
pieces, she decided to make a website and go public, after which and her
commercial Art took off. The secret
to her success is her ability to
meditate and communicate with deity, which allows her to capture the Gods and
Goddesses in a way that other artists don’t generally seek.
She often leaves her artwork to lie on her altar until the images are
offered, and because she sees herself only as an instrument to what can be
offered, her favourite saying is: “I just work here.” Sabrina’s drawings can take 40 hours plus to complete, and each one is a special effort enchanted with magic and lore. She also paints with acrylics, oils, pastels and water colours, but her initial drawings are done with a pencil, which are then formalized using pen and ink. Some of her works remain in their basic drawing form, while others progress into the use of paint, pastels or ink. Sabrina describes her work as: “A manifestation of the human spirit...much like writing, cooking, singing, dancing or working with wood etc. Art is an expression of either the inner self or the influence of divine inspiration.” Sabrina was bequeathed her third degree as a trained High Priestess of the
Gardnerian tradition in 2000, but much of what she practices is mixed with
Folk-Craft and very informal. About
her practice Sabrina says: “The
basis of my own practice is Folk-Craft. I
therefore shoot from the hip and use my gut-witch methodology.
I find I can accomplish more and be far more effective if I retain the
ancient ways of practicing magick. The
Gardnerian practice of Wicca is more about religion to me than magick ... my
magick is unlike Wicca in many ways ... I dance, chant, mix and stir herbs ...
grind herbs, then set them to burn and allow their energies to be carried by the
wind ... capturing rain during a thunder storm and using it later in spell work
... making a candle flame rise and fall creating energy that’s absolutely
electric ... and then merely pointing a finger instead of a fancy wand ... so be
it done”. “The practice of Gardnerian Wicca and my Folk-Craft so often overlap that for me combining the two is not difficult, and because I have done so and teach accordingly, out of respect for those who follow the Gardnerian path more rigidly I, I now prefer to call myself an Eclectic Wiccan Witch.” Sabrina
now lives near Philadelphia in eastern Pennsylvania, USA, and when
not working on her art, likes nothing better than pottering about in the garden
of her home and looking after her two grandchildren.
When
inspiration calls her to work on a project, she will often draw and paint well into the small hours of the
night, but loves every moment she spends capturing the adventure of what she
calls: “my
path”.
She has no staff, does all her own mail and ships all
her own private orders. She
also runs a local coven group and teaches craft techniques to other groups in the Philadelphia
area. When travelling
around the US on assignments, book signings and giving workshops, her most
requested seminar is Poppet Magick. To sum up her life Sabrina say’s:
“I live a charmed and wonderfully blessed life…
I get to use my given gift and do what I love for a living.
I get to serve a pagan community so our ways and methods are recognized
and recorded. To be a part of this
great time in history when witchcraft is being better understood, revitalized
and respected, is to me a blessing.” End.The Grimoire
By
Sabrina -
The Ink
Witch
(Fill The
Pages & Bring it to Life...)
The front cover of the book is richly designed with deep, dark reds swirled into black etchings. Inside, each page is hand designed by graphic artist and author “Starrfire Price” and creates a journey as you turn each page. Sabrina’s own beautiful artwork and images can also be seen on the stylised lined pages, together with some special image manipulations that have never been seen before. The book has a special back reference section featuring:
New & Full Moon Phase Dates, Herbs and Crystals & Stones.
It also has a section called “Remember”, were you can record special
dates and events. The Grimoire is a large, heavy 8.5 x 11 hardback book with 458 pages of heavy, thick stock natural paper with parchment like etching on every page. The weight of the book is approximately 5 pounds and its thickness is near 1 1/2 inches. This Grimoire replaces Sabrina’s previously published journal “The Book of Shadows”, and is absolutely a one of a kind.
Sabrina’s latest project is to illustrate a new book by author “Nancy Arrowsmith” called: A Field Guide to the Little People: A Curious Journey Into the Hidden Realm of Elves, Faeries, Hobgoblins & Other Not-So-Mythical Creatures (Llewellyn - available October 2009).
Illustrated by
Sabrina the Ink Witch.
Llewellyn’s pre-publishing review
states: Welcome back one of the most revered introductions to the lineage, appearance, general characteristics, and case histories of seventy-nine elf folk, including White Ladies, Red Caps, Church Grims, Hobgoblins, English Fairies, Leprechauns, Sirens, Hey-Hey Men, and all of their strange and mythical kin. For many years, this charming illustrated guide has been as
elusive as a Will-o'-the-Wisp. This
is the first opportunity for elven fans to once again own an English language
edition—featuring more than eighty new illustrations by “Sabrina the Ink
Witch”. The New York Times review: “Rationalists, materialists, be forewarned: the ancient forces governing earthly incident and momentum lie neither in our heads nor our economics, but, rather, in the revelations from A Field Guide to the Little People.”
Sources:Sabrina's Web sites Sabrina’s website containing examples of her artwork can be found at: http://www.sabrinaart.com/ and http://www.theinkwitch.com/ Correspondence
with Sabrina herself. Written and
compiled on the 20th May 2009
Best wishes and Blessed Be
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