Spring has almost sprung, and top on my list of things to do this spring, is see a hare. My fella’s Pa saw one on the top field near our house, so I have a good chance of seeing one if I head out at dawn or dusk, keep down wind, hide behind a bush, be very quite, and don’t move. If I’m very lucky, I may even see them boxing, as it will be breeding season, and to fight off unwanted male attention, the females give the fellas a clip around the ears, quite right too!
Hares have become one of the central elements in my paintings, and the more I learn about them, the more they rightly deserve that place. There are currently 4 visual elements in the work that I am trying to weave together: Water, Bones, Lace and Hares. There are also two conceptual elements: Pain and Receptivity.
The Manx word for hare is cleaysh liauyr – which means good listener (also: slow to answer, forbearing person, long-eared). I love this meaning associated with the hare, and would like to incorporate it in my paintings somehow.
Hares are a very important animal in Manx folklore. They are associated with witches/wise women, or “they that have the charms” (as my Manx family do). Hares are also thought to be inhabited by the souls of old women. For this reason, as in other Celtic lands, hares are not to be eaten.
Here is a delightful recording of Johnny Crellin talking about Manx folklore regarding hares.
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