Virginia Woolf's "Orlando"
Virginia Woolf's "Orlando" has always inspired me. Orlando journeys through centuries, changing roles, identities, and even gender, yet remains the same soul. I believe many women today long for a similar inner journey—not to become someone else, but to discover the many forgotten parts of themselves and consciously become the author of their own life.
For many years I felt small and almost invisible, like Tom Thumb from Grimm's fairy tale. So I asked myself: "If I wanted to grow a new identity, how could I do it symbolically?"
For many years I felt small and almost invisible, like Tom Thumb from Grimm's fairy tale. So I asked myself: "If I wanted to grow a new identity, how could I do it symbolically?"
I chose the "Page of Swords" from the Tarot Court Cards.
The Page of Swords represents a young person whose mind is always alert. He overthinks, anticipates danger, and tries to prepare for every possible challenge because he does not yet fully trust his own strength.
I began by painting him as a close-up portrait. Children naturally come close to people—they break formalities and connect without fear—so I wanted the viewer to meet him from that intimate distance.
Then I painted the landscape of his mind. Behind him, thoughts flowed through different centuries and historical epochs, inspired by *Orlando*. It became a panorama of identities, memories, and possibilities moving through his consciousness.
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Finally, I took another sheet of paper and painted him again—but this time I let him grow taller.
I added a stork beside him. In European folklore, the stork brings new life into the world. For me, it became the symbol of a new inner self being born.
This was not simply a painting of the Page of Swords.
It was the symbolic birth of a new role within myself—one that was no longer small or invisible, but growing, standing tall, and ready to meet the world.
That is how symbolic painting works for me. It is not about illustrating Tarot. It is about giving form to inner transformation so that our psyche can finally see, recognize, and embody the person we are becoming.
✨ Have you ever felt that one part of you was ready to grow, but didn't yet know how to express itself?
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