Often times she cried at night

Hello lovelies! It has taken me all week, but I finally finished my artwork to accompany my version of the nursery rhyme Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater.

Have you ever wondered what the line "He put her in a pumpkin shell" means? Historically the word pumpkin shell referred to a chastity belt.  I have chosen to make my poem about a younger abused wife and her older domineering husband. 

This is one that the photograph doesn't do it justice. I chose the busy background fabric partly due to the autumn colours and partly as I wanted the busyness of the designs to represent the complexity of her life. I wanted to make her a "melon brain" as that's how her husband sees her and I thought a literal Jack-o-lantern for a head would be perfect to represent her powerlessness and the way he abused her. I wanted the words "Often times she cried at night" to be on a twisty vine that grew out of her head. Its harder to read in the photo but much clearer in person. Some of this may be due to me taking the photo at 9pm . I would highly recommend clicking on the photo to enlarge it so you can see it properly. 

Stay tuned for my next illustration which I hope (if all goes well) will be done on Wednesday.