She Rests
Sarcophagus of Seianti Hanunia Tiesnansa
Final Project
Lesa Sears
December 14, 2022
The Sarcophagus of Seianti Hanunia Tlesnasa has made an impression on me. I submitted this piece as an addition to The Doctor Jones Institute of Lost Treasure for the Etruscan Art Wing. The sarcophagus is on display at the British Museum. (Sarcophagus, n.d.) When I was contemplating what artwork to create for my final project. I knew this was the one.
This beautiful terracotta sarcophagus from around 250 BC - 150 BC was excavated from Poggio Cantarello, Italy. The tomb was small, and the sarcophagus was buried alone, with her husband buried a few feet away in a different tomb.
What did she do to be buried alone? As I am going through a massive change in my life and leaving an abusive relationship, I wanted to give this mystery woman a better ending to her story.
I picture her as defiant. A glass ceiling breaker and one who challenged the patriarchy. She deserved better than to be buried in a small tomb. I decided to take her sarcophagus and place her in a beautiful Italian vineyard so she could enjoy the view and the wine! As a true Etruscan woman should. (Leave the husband in his tomb.)
I am a beginner at Procreate, but I wanted to see if I could use this app to recreate my vision. In many ways using this program is easier. There is no setup or cleanup; once you own the program, there is no cost. I have not taken a class on this program and have learned from youtube, trial, and error. My boy, who is Nine, likes to sit on the couch with me and learn this program together. He has his iPad, and I have mine. We watch the videos and follow along and create many beautiful projects.
My first attempt was not what I wanted. I thought it was the colors or the background was too busy. I copied the canvas and tried a different background, but again, it was not what I wanted, and I ran out of time. In the end, I scrapped it and used a different medium.
I am a landscape artist and usually use textured acrylic, but I still wanted to challenge myself. Five years ago, I took a watercolor class by Tom Nixon, a local artist here in Fairbanks. He was a fantastic teacher, and I learned an incredible amount in his class. One thing I discovered was I am not a watercolor fan. I have a love-hate relationship with this medium. I love how it looks, but I'm not too fond of painting and drying, painting and drying, over and over. I don’t have the time or patience for such a task. Acrylic is faster and more forgiving. I want to paint on a canvas and be done. The artwork is ruined by one drop of water on the watercolor piece. Acrylic, you can scrap it off or paint right over it with zero problems.
I am incredibly pleased with the outcome of this art piece. The soft pastel watercolor is a fantastic contrast to the original hard terracotta. I could not add the face features and detail because I am still new to this medium and didn’t want to ruin my work. I think the watercolor was a brilliant idea. Seianti Hanunia Tlesnasa will have a fabulous resting place in her beautiful Italian vineyard.
References
sarcophagus. (n.d.). British Museum. Retrieved December 14, 2022, from https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/G_1887-0402-1
