Iโve had a fair number of sketches similar to the image I created for my Captain Ahab piece, โOde to Obsessionโ, for years. Iโve been intending to make a Captain Ahab portrait and actually read Herman Melvilleโs โMoby Dickโ for years. Recently Iโve finally read the book and crafted a Moby Dick inspired art doll, but itโs telling that I was able to make an image that gets the theme of Moby Dick and Ahabโs disastrous pursuit of the white whale across without ever having read the book- most of us know this story without having ever read it! Thatโs the power of Melvilleโs Captain Ahab: he is THE archetype of when passion and drive crosses-over into self-destructive obsession and ruin. Heโs transcended the pages of the novel and become the cliche, the shorthand of the thing he represents.
Watch the Captain Ahab Art Doll Being Crafted
Designing a Moby Dick Art Doll
When creating the Moby Dick art doll, Melville describes Capt. Ahab, aside from his iconic whalebone peg leg, as having a scorched face, grey hair, and a scar that runs the length of his face and body, which I wanted to capture in my interpretation. Iโve seen other interpretations of Ahab that make him look hardy and vigorous, but when I imagine him, I always see him as this hard-angled, hollowed-out sinewy character. I really liked this idea of Ahab solemnly looking out and being tangled-up in his harpoon line and though itโs kind of subtle, he has a noose cast about his neck, foretelling the doom that he seeks and the prophesy of hempen rope being his end.
St. Ahab: Patron Saint of Creatives
I find myself thinking of Ahab as a patron saint of creatives or anyone that has a passion, a drive for what they do but the path is unclear and even perilous. Many artists find themselves making emotional, relationship, and financial sacrifices to chase that white whale of earning a livelihood doing the things that they love. And since we donโt only have an effect on our own life, we impact the liveโs of those around us, the pull of our creative pursuits could also take a toll on our loved-ones as surely as it did Ahabโs crew. The ups and downs of a creative life can be harrowing and itโs often trying to even know if youโre heading toward your white whale or if the risks and the inner turmoil will pan-out and be worth it in the end. The only thing you know for certainโs as scary as all of this has been, is, and will be, looking back and regretting not even attempting the pursuit wouldโve been infinitely worse.
I do want to pull this back from the bleakness a bit and say that we right now live in the best times to try to be a creative! The fact that you can attempt to put your art in front of thousands of people across social media and various websites, the only thing it costs you is time, and find-out if anyone cares- thatโs such an opportunity that all of us creators shouldnโt take for granted. This opportunity simply wasnโt there for creators that were trying to put themselves on their career path and previously only a few people at publishing companies were the ones to decide whether your art was โgood enoughโ. Now if you figure-out how to market your work and amass only a few thousand dedicated fans that you workโs for them, you can have a sustainable career and life, just getting there is full of headwinds and crashing waves. And for that I think itโs worth risking the venture!
Prints of โOde to Obsessionโ are available through my store here:
Limited Edition: https://www.thedreamsyndarts.com/thedreamsyndstore/ode-to-obsession-captain-ahab-portrait
Open Edition: https://www.thedreamsyndarts.com/thedreamsyndstore/ode-to-obsession-captain-ahab-portrait-cwas5
Here is the finished Capt. Ahab illustration! If you would like a print, it is available as a Limited Edition and for a limited time, as an Open Edition Print.
Thanks for joining me so far and hereโs to the adventures we have in future! To be the first to know when I launch new polymer clay art videos, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and hit the bell icon. Catch all of my videos here: https://www.youtube.com/thedreamsyndicatearts. You can also find many of the supplies I use in crafting here: https://www.thedreamsyndarts.com/supplies-gear/. And sign-up for my newsletter (in the sidebar) to get the latest studio goings-on! Thanks so much for joining me on this journey and until next time: Make. Believe!