I want you to let your creativity flow. When Elena read that sentence, she restrained a very unladylike groan. You will be creating an art piece. More forms of art existed than that which could be so easily displayed, she wanted to argue this to Ms. Eliana O'Lair. Her own form of art took a flowing expression through ten lines, eight spaces, two clefs, and dozens upon dozens of black dots with lines as well as squat top hats and lightning bolt squiggles. The lack of ability to display it in perpetuity without a recorder did not make it any less of an art. Unfortunately, that instruction to allow her creativity to flow seemed to Elena more restrictive than any other instruction Ms. O'Lair could have given.

She also knew that if her project would be chosen, it would bring extra attention that she wanted nothing to do with. However, Elena also knew, atop all the other considerations, that if she chose to skip this assignment, it would seem as though she had no desire to try here, and for whatever inane reason... That bothered her. It bothered her quite a lot that the king might think her motivations so untoward that she outright refused the first assignment. It bothered her quite a lot that the king might think her character to be other than what it was.

So it was with much sighing and rolling of her eyes that Elena set out to the art room with a blank canvas and a palate of paints. Although she knew her music could not present itself in such a way as to fulfill the assignment, her mother's visually artistic abilities might. While Mamá took in more laundry than artwork commissions these days, Elena could hear her mother's patient voice as she worked with her visual masterpieces. The reason, she thought, that she had chosen music over paint involved the simple expedient of vision. She lacked the ability to transfer a mental vision to a physical one. But, she figured, she could try, and if it appeared abysmal, it was an effort to show that she had, indeed, tried.

❝ Here they come again to jack my style. ❞

An orb. A Latin-style orb. That was how her sketch began. As Elena continued, however, she decided to spur the background with the slightest touches.

❝ But that's alright. ❞

As she fleshed out the background, putting more detail into the overlay than the orb itself as the centerpiece, Elena could not help but nod. Yes, the vision appeared to be melding quite nicely.

❝ I found a martyr in my bed tonight. ❞

As if the orb had not been enough, Elena found her brushstrokes growing with a life of their own until a replica of the Irenican flag graced the treble and bass clefs she had so carefully lettered. The thought gave her yet another idea.

❝ It stops my bones from wonderin' just who I am. ❞

As the final piece emerged onto the canvas, Elena could not help but allow herself a smile, and it was the final piece which she draped in muslin and carried back to her room.

❝ Oh, who am I? ❞

The final project, an 8" x 10" canvas, sat in the corner of her room for several days until she determined what to say about it and how it told the story she wanted it to tell. When she finished writing up an abstract description, much as Mamá had done before their Papá had died, Elena folded the notebook paper, inserted both it and the canvas into a long yellow envelope, and submitted it to Ms. O'Lair with the title, her name, and the word FRAGILE emblazoned on the front.

Then, she settled back to wait.

❝ This is it, that is all. ❞

The Monarchial Majesty of Music

Submitted by
Elena Castellanos of Ashpoint

This piece, a debut oil print by Elena Castellanos of Ashpoint, combines the progressive spirit of Irenica's people through the ages with the timelessness of its magisterial authority. Its small size reminds us that small does not mean weak, while the faded golden and silver tones lend themselves to an aged but regal quality, much like the Kingdom of Irenica itself.

The subject of the artwork, a metal orb, sits as the centerpiece. Long known as the primary symbol of monarchial strength, it presents itself as boldly, proudly, and staunchly as the ruler who wields it. Its spherical shape symbolizes the sovereign power of globalized leadership and the beauty behind the blended culture such leadership brings. The forging of the physical orb's metals, much like the coalescing of the oil paints comprising the metaphysical representation here, also recognizes the cultural clashes and individual struggles during such a process of unification.

When placed beneath a magnifying glass, the fine prints of impressions and indentations upon the orb itself reveal themselves as thinly lettered names that, upon further inspection, spell out carefully cursive names of the Irenican monarchy. The patriarchal line of rulers may be traced from left to right and spiraling downward from each tip, intertwined in even more delicate print with the names of their wives as the queens and life partners. The center section reserves exclusively for our current monarch, King Jaxon Richards Irenica, and framed by his mother, Queen Paisley Irenica, as well as his sister, Princess Irene Adalynn Irenica. Their names and titles of their late husband and father link around the three, binding them together as they hold their kingdom.

When the eye grows weary of scrutinizing beneath the glass, it may direct itself to the faded background instead. Upon first pass, it reads as a striped representation of our kingdom's flag, a symbol in itself. Upon closer inspection, it reveals a multicolored pattern of fine-tip lyrics to three songs of Irenica's history. The national anthem makes an appearance near the top, a reminder of where our kingdom first began, followed closely by a folk song of the people to the north mixed with a folk song of the people to the south, both of which represent the lives led and stories told by the individuals who comprise our nation. These songs, taken together, demonstrate that as the monarch leads, the people follow, but the content of the lyricism reminds of the dichotomy between the two lives.

Taken as a whole, this piece tells a tale of our kingdom's noble history in leadership and in song, and, much as that history reads through this print, it contains multiple layers, aspects, and perspectives of story. The orb leaves one final thought: as a sphere has no end, neither does the Kingdom of Irenica. Its people's story, told through music, shall continue beneath the steady hand of its monarchial majesty for many years to come.