Early next year I will be in a gallery show based on the theme of The Wizard of Oz. At first I was tempted to draw flying monkeys, but in the end, who isn’t. Even James Jean drew flying monkeys for Fables a few years ago. Instead, I decided to design a character not yet depicted aside from interior illustrations within the original books; The Wicked Witch of the East. While we all know the story, appearance and conclusion to The Wicked Witch of the West (I should know, my mom was her for Halloween one year), we aren’t as familiar with the story and appearance of the East’s, besides she wore striped socks, oddly bright shoes and was found dead below Dorothy’s house. And what was it even, that distracted her long enough to allow for an entire house to crush her?
For this piece, I decided to answer a few questions of my own and raise a few new ones. I for one assume she was leaning down for some loose change because she was most likely greedy and attracted to small shiny objects (aren’t we all?). Also, I thought since she was the sister of The Wicked Witch of the West, she too would have green skin, if not a bit lighter. And maybe instead of a broom she just had a staff with a bell on it. Certainly her cloak is much more billowy and less dry cleaned, but who’s to say? These are just my thoughts.
The gallery will be from Feb. 8th - 17th / Reception is Feb. 15th :
301 Gallery Building (301 Cabot Street)
Beverly, MA 01915
