Writing and Serendipity
I find that in both writing and painting, being open to serendipitous events is really important, and can have a huge impact on the work.
In On The Sickle’s Edge, I decided that it was important for one of my characters, a young girl, to be taken to the library in Moscow just after the Russian Revolution. I went online to ensure historical accuracy and found that there was a library open to the public at that time. I could have left it there, but I was curious and decided to explore further.
The first public library in Moscow was established in 1862, when Count Nikolai Petrovich Rumyantsev donated his art collection and library to the Russian people. For the opening of The Rumiantsev Library, Tsar Alexander II donated a painting– Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov’s The Appearance of Christ before the People. When I accessed the website, Ivanov’s huge painting, which took him thirty years to complete, filled the screen. It’s an awe-inspiring work—and I realized that when my character entered the building, she would have had to walk past the painting in the museum vestibule in order to get to the library.
From inside my young character’s mind, I wondered what her response would be to the painting. And from there, it was only a short journey to including the painting in my novel and making it an important part of this character’s life.
Photo: The Apparition of Christ to the People (The Apparition of the Messiah)/ Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov