Ina Mittal
“Forethought”
Leather bag 4x7”
 
"Forethought is a full-grain vintage leather belt bag that I freehand handtooled that tells the tale of Prometheus, a titan that is credited in Greek Mythology to have created man out of clay and also stolen fire from the gods to give it back to man. This reflects the concept of metamorphosis due to the transformation of clay to man.
 
In this piece the underneath the top flap in the front, Prometheus is tied to a rock and an eagle sent by Zues is plucking his liver as punishment for stealing fire from the Gods to give to man in an eternal cycle as his liver would grow back the next day and the eagle would return. I depicted the boulder he is tied to as transforming into earth into the right side, as rocks are from earth and so is the clay that humans were formed from, and Gaia the mother of Prometheus’s mother Themis. On the right side of Gaia Athena is breathing life into a clay man Prometheus has created. 
 
In the top flap there is a bonfire representing the fire that Prometheus stole to bring to man and it is surrounded by eagle feathers to represent his punishment for his act of love for his creations. The fire has eyes to represent the Gods watching and also is a play on “enlightenment” of his creation. This is because besides fire Prometheus also taught his human creations the arts and sciences, therefore enlightening them while “enlightening” them. 
 
Overall the connection to mental health in the sense of how we as humans pursue enlightenment and how we arise from our “darker” path and state of mind and the further we get and the more questions we have the more we become more whole and more human aka gaining possession of that fire/enlightenment."
 
$650
@i.diiiya
https://eyediya.wixsite.com/eyediya