Photo Credit:
Miriadna Aesthetic Gallery - Enchanted Forest - Watching Deer

As an artist, many people ask questions about what inspires me, but another question I get quite often is why I chose a deer (hart) for my logo. My short answer is that since my early childhood I had a very impacting experience with deer and have loved them ever since!

When I was a little girl I was a very quiet but deeply curious child who would read everything all the time, but my favourite place in the whole world was the expansive forest surrounding the home I grew up in very high in the northern mountains. I spent my days picking flowers and berries, climbing trees, playing in the stream and watching the animals who became my favourite friends. After my chores were done, all of my free time was spent in the forest, even in the winter snow there was a quiet sanctuary under the cluster of pines and a certain reassurance of daily visiting the animals who grew quite accepting of my presence over the years and always seemed happily curious to see me as they went about their busy little days.

One fateful day I was riding my bike on the winding country road that passed by the home, as I rounded the bend a flash of something light caught my eye and brought me to a sudden stop… there on the steep hillside to my right, nestled deep in the forest but just visible enough from the road were two white deer!

Slowly I got off of my bike and gingerly approached them, barely believing they were real! The male stomped his hoof and flared his nostrils at me but the doe was resting and looked up at him as if to reassure him she knew that I meant no harm. She seemed not the least bit threatened by me and he slowly became calmer. Carefully, I settled beside her in the moss and leaves, her beautiful creamy white fur just barely a few inches away but I dare not touch her, I was worried she would be frightened if I petted her but she was very peaceful, her eyes blinking slowly as she resumed her sleepy reverie next to me.

After some time, the buck tolerantly appeared to accept me. Perhaps I looked like a funny little fawn to him, or maybe he had never seen a child before, but I began to notice something extraordinary… he continued on with his vigilant guard. This grand white fallow buck with magnificent antlers was vigilantly guarding both his doe and me with noble strength and grace. He kept keen watch, every noise he heard would cause his ears to twitch and he would flare his nostrils and stomp his hoof keeping any who would dare bother us at bay, we stayed like this for hours. The dappled warm sunshine through the treetops started to get dimmer and the air was cooling but I stayed quietly beside them and was awestruck but felt accepted and safe.

Unbeknownst to me, at the bottom of our mountain hill, there were fertile farmlands below and the creek that ran through had been designated as State preserve land and a fallow deer herd was brought in to roam. They were often kept in a large pen corral for feeding but the herd had somehow escaped the day before and all of the herd were gathered up except for these two deer who were wandering up in the nearby forests. After a few hours of resting with the deer, a truck passed on the road below and then later the game warden and the man who owned the farm preserve both came by. They motioned me down to them, but I didn’t want to leave. They tranquilized the deer and transported them home. The man who owned the preserve was astonished and asked how I managed to even approach them, he said this deer couple were always the shyest in the herd and would rarely even allow him to approach even though he fed them every day! He said I could visit them any time and the rest of the herd. Unfortunately, I was only able to visit or watch them with the deer at the preserve for a little while because about a month later I was moved away, but the deer forever remain so deep in my heart.

Growing up over the years, I had seen many deer in the forest and other little creatures, but the encounter with the fallow deer that day showed me there is much peace and blessing in having a spirit of gentleness. This experience has stayed with me for my entire life bringing me comfort and impacted greatly, from that afternoon I felt like God had shown me his love, protection, and care through the deer and that He would always be with me.

Deer are a symbol of gentleness, peace, comfort, grace, light, protection, surefootedness, nobleness, and strength, and white deer have been highly regarded as a spiritual or holy sign in many cultures… to me, they are always a comfort and precious reminder from God of his love, protection and care. The Bible talks about deer many times even comparing the love of a wife to a loving doe, deer seeking water as one seeks after God, and of the surefooted doe whose feet are set in high places by the Lord.

Now, I have my own warm loving home and beautiful family and have achieved my degree and work very hard with my illumination to be where I am today, but, the beloved northern forests of my childhood are such treasured memories for me and where much of my inspiration still comes from. The deer remain such precious creatures to me and represent so many things, for this reason, they adorn the pendant around my neck, and I have several deer items in my home. Much to my delight and surprise, after heavily researching my family tree for years trying to understand my heritage, I found several of my ancestors were Nobles and one had actually been granted a coat of arms with three deer on it!

The afternoon with the white fallow deer remains as my most cherished memory from childhood, and the magnificent deer that stood protectively over me that day in the forest as a little girl is now the enduring noble symbol for my art and is a reminder to have faith and resilience and give thanks to God in all things. 💛

"As the deer panteth for the water so my soul longeth after Thee" Psalm 42:1

* More blog articles continued below, see "Golden Beginnings"