Carousel
This series represents a magical group a dream like paintings inspired by the birth of my grandson, James. I found myself entering into a fantasy world of my own that involved magical creatures with magical abilities. I looked into pagan beliefs and counterpointed these with different Christian and Muslim beliefs. The unicorn and the flying horses brought ideas of an overwhelming presence of a carousel ride.
The modern carousel emerged from early jousting traditions in Europe and the Middle East. Knights would gallop in a circle while tossing balls from one to another; an activity that requires great skill and horsemanship. This game was introduced to Europe at the time of the Crusades and earlier Byzantine and Arab traditions. The word carousel originated from the Italian Carosella and Spanish Carosella (“little battle”, used by crusaders to describe a combat preparation exercise and game played by Turkish and Arabian horsemen in the 12th century).[3]