The wife looked down at the key and saw it was stained with blood. Horrified, she used the skirt of her gown to wipe it clean, but the blood prevailed…
The wife hid the tiny key in her pocked and ran to the cook’s kitchen. When she arrived, her white dress was stained red from pocket to hem, for the key was slowing weeping drops of dark red blood…
He threw open her wardrobe and the little key on the top shelf had bled blood red down all the beautiful silks of her gown hanging there.1
Here we have the aftermath of using the key. It causes her – it became stained with blood and leaks all over her dress and hands. No matter how she tries to clean it (horse hair?! Ash!?), the key does not come clean. In a fit of fear, she decides she will hide the key in her closet, saying to herself that this is all a bad dream and will be fine.
I can assure you it does not end up being fine!
This spread took the longest. I really struggled here and am not satisfied. I kept trying to make it a two page spread because the others were. I got frustrated because I felt that it was taking too long (perfectionism! Too long by whose standards?! It’s a personal project!) I pushed myself to do this thought because I felt I was putting it off for more reasons of perfectionism – it most definitely was not going to look like what was in my head!
I did work on other things in between and this is where having multiple projects can be a good thing. Sometimes things do take time and it’s good to take a break and let your brain work on the problem in the background – which it will.
What I Was Thinking
I wanted to show the key, the blood staining the dress she had on as well as the dresses in the wardrobe that were contaminated by the blood from the key. I kept the theme of the flowers but now all of the flowers around her are not real and some gilded and shiny which shows his influence. I liked the flower that looked like it was sketched and void of color. To me, this is what has been happening to her. She is losing her natural essence and so the flower is becoming stained with the blood.
The Collage Elements
The same Anthropologie model in yet another perfect pose and also the perfect key!
The dresses I found I do like. One is a wedding gown and one has flowers and animals on it which continues that theme of flowers. The flowers on the dress appear more wild and natural which is the part of her she is losing.
The Look and Feel
Finish Notes
I did love the pose of the model and wrapping her in tissue paper that I had painted/stained a brown red color. It felt like making paper dolls when I was a little girl.
Working Notes
The dripping red/blood is a little dramatic but I chose to go for it since I wasn’t in love with the spread really anyway.
Lace is difficult to use glue with for obvious reasons – it gets all over your fingers and sticks to you instead of the page!
The Bluebeard Series
- Bluebeard – Beginning Again
- Spread 1 – The Ensnaring “Romance”
- Spread 2 – The Search for the Forbidden Door
- Spread 3 – The Bloody Key (you are here!)
- Spread 4 – Do You See Our Brothers?
- Spread 5 – The Gruesome End (spoiler alert)
1 – Quote is from
Pinkoles Este, Ph.D., Clarissa. “Stalking the Intruder: The Beginning Initiation”. Women Who Run With The Wolves, Ballantine Books, 1992, pp. 42-43. (affiliate link)
