The curse has come upon me

Hello lovelies! The next companion  illustration for my upcoming book Wounds: New Openings Into Old Stories.  

I said in my clue post that it was a mythical creature associated with the moon and blood.  Well done if you said werewolf.

In many ways puberty for girls is like becoming a werewolf.  Not just because you sprout hair everywhere and are affected by the moon, but because starting your period is often referred to as getting "the curse."

I did some research about period art and there is some fascinating artwork out there where women use their own menstrual blood to paint. I wanted to figure out a way to replicate this in fabric. I did think briefly about  splattering paint. I wanted to try to create something menstrual as well as something like a horror film. I found this great open weave burgundy fabric which gave a bubbly splatter effect as well as being more the colour of menstrual blood as opposed to murder blood.


The title of the story is The Curse Has Come Upon Me Cried.  It is a play on a line from a famous poem. Can you name the poem?

The next illustration is a bit fiddly so may take until the weekend.