Art Blog Entry #51

Cornucopia

When I think of Cornucopia I visualize Thanksgiving. This was the hardest latch hook rug I have ever made. It was not so much as how big it was but how many of the colors were so similar. When it came down to the colors tan, light brown, and beige I literally had to count one-by-one each of the yarn strings; just to be sure that I was going to use the correct color in the right area.

In the end it was well worth the project, it helped make the day go by much faster and kept me busy. Sadly this will most likely be the last latch hook rug I make from a kit...I'm becoming a big kid now and need to begin my own projects. It has not been decided yet, but I'm planning on creating a latch hook rug using an image that my mom recently bought on sale. Her framed picture is a Britto, very colorful and very hard to find (especially framed). Keep checking this art blog for it...in the mean time here's some information pertaining to Cornucopia.

"The cornucopia is a symbol of food and abundance dating back to the 5th century BC, also referred to as horn of plenty, Horn of Amalthea, and harvest cone.

In Greek mythology, Amalthea was a goat who raised Zeus on her breast milk. When her horn was accidentally broken off by Zeus while playing together, this changed Amalthea into a unicorn. The god Zeus, in remorse, gave her back her horn. The horn then had supernatural powers which would give the person in possession of it whatever he or she wished for. This gave rise to the legend of the cornucopia. The original depictions were of the goat's horn filled with fruits and flowers: deities, especially Fortuna, was depicted with the horn of plenty. The cornucopia was also a symbol for a woman's fertility.

Alternately, Amalthea may have been a nymph asked to nurse baby Zeus while he was being hidden from Cronus. Since she hid on Mount Aigaion, which means Mountain of the Goat, suppositions follow that she was either a goat nymph or a nymph who tended goats. Therefore, either her horn was broken or her goat's horn was broken while playing with Zeus. In recompense, the God Zeus created the cornucopia. Further evidence for this is that Amalthea is another name for the constellation Capricornus, the goat.

In modern depictions, the cornucopia is typically a hollow, horn-shaped wicker basket typically filled with various kinds of festive fruit and vegetables. In North America, the cornucopia has come to be associated with Thanksgiving and the harvest. Cornucopia is also the name of the annual November Wine and Food celebration in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. Two cornucopias are seen in the flag and state seal of Idaho. There is also One seen in the state seal of North Carolina, the state seal of New Jersey, the coat of arms of Colombia, Peru and Venezuela, and the Coat of Arms of the State of Victoria, Australia, symbolising Prosperity.

The horn of plenty is used on jewelery, as it is a symbol of fertility, fortune and abundance. Some evangelical Christians warn against wearing the symbol, or the similar Italian horn symbol of male fertility, saying it is actually demon infested or unlucky, and equating it to the "little horn", a figure described in the bible sometimes considered to be the Antichrist."

Found all this on Wikipedia.org.

Days To Finish: 9