{"product_id":"root-baby-artwork-by-andrew-thornton-6","title":"Root Baby Artwork by Andrew Thornton","description":"\u003cp\u003eOriginal Art by Andrew Thornton.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMaterial: Acrylic on Hand-Made Paper.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eApproximate Size: 4.0\" x 6.0\"  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSigned and dated on the back by Andrew.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paper used in creating these paintings was also created by hand by Andrew using plants from our yard. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom Andrew:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePeople often ask me, “What is a root baby?” Basically they are nature spirits. When I was little, my grandma (on my dad’s side, who was from the Ozark mountains) would tell us that babies came out of knots in trees or if someone passed, to tell it to the bees. She had a series of anthropomorphic fruit and vegetable chalkware plaques in her kitchen. While she was a good, Southern Christian woman, she always had stories connected to the land and her agrarian roots.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy mom, who is from the Philippines, frequently told us stories about how spirits lived in trees and how you had to ask permission before cutting one down or risk getting cursed. She told us stories of little hairy people who lived in the trees in the mountainous region and how they’d sell amulets in the night market. One time my dad rejected an amulet and was cursed by one of them and had night terrors until he went back to make an offering. She still talks to her plants and coaxes them to bloom. One time she found a pair of very human-shaped carrots at the flea market and decided to use it as a teaching moment to discuss human anatomy. 🥕🥕 It is no wonder why I spent my childhood looking for faces in the trees or in rocks. They call that “pareidolia”.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLater, I became familiar with mandrakes and American ginseng and other plants depicted as having human characteristics. I loved the botanical illustrations from illuminated manuscripts. I was smitten with the slightly odd vintage postcard illustrations of carrots with faces doing everyday tasks. I like to imagine little creatures playing and getting up to no good. They are little reminders to be whimsical and to look for the magic that is all around us.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Allegory Gallery","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51974593380568,"sku":"RootBaby-7","price":57.48,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0362\/4262\/0548\/files\/IMG_1600.jpg?v=1783723581","url":"https:\/\/www.allegorygallery.com\/en-ca\/products\/root-baby-artwork-by-andrew-thornton-6","provider":"Allegory Gallery","version":"1.0","type":"link"}