Winter Re-done: A Junior Experimental Project by Laurel Haspert (2013)

I explored the feeling of fear that comes when one is faced with power and corruption. My idea was a sort of twist on the tale of Persephone and the Pomegranate. In the traditional story Persephone is tricked into eating a pomegranate and because of the 6 seeds she ate while in the underworld she has to return there for six months every year, thus creating winter. The idea behind my piece is littler Persephone is knowingly reaching for the pomegranate that will keep her from leaving the underworld. She’s making the choice to become corrupted and to corrupt everyone else.

I downloaded a couple texture brushes for Photoshop created the background through layering as well as playing with the dodge and burn tools. I then saved the image and loaded it into Illustrator where I then draw the silhouette of the tree and the little girl. I wanted the subjects to be very minimalist and the background very chaotic to isolate her and make her decision the focus. While the world is moving quickly around her all she knows is herself and the fruit. I made the Evil pomegranate a brighter red to make sure everyone knew it was different than the others, then added the face to hint at it’s evil intentions.