Raven Destroys the Tooth Fairy

The Tooth Fairy
Unlike Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, there are few details of the tooth fairy's appearance that are based on myth. Today most people believe the tooth fairy to be female like a Tinkerbell-type tooth fairy with wings, a wand, and leaving money under a child's pillow. 

Other people think of the tooth fairy as a man, a bunny rabbit, or a mouse.  Belief in the tooth fairy is viewed in two very different ways. On the one hand, children's believing is part of the trusting nature of childhood. On the other, belief in the tooth fairy is frequently used to label adults as being too trusting and gullible.

Origin

During the Middle Ages superstitions arose surrounding children's teeth. In England, children were instructed to burn their baby teeth to save the child from hardship in the afterlife. Children who didn't commit their baby teeth to the fire would spend eternity searching for them in the afterlife. The Vikings, paid children for their teeth. In the Norse culture, children's teeth and other articles belonging to children were said to bring good luck in battle, and Scandinavian warriors hung children's teeth on a string around their necks. Fear of witches was another reason to bury or burn teeth. In medieval Europe, it was thought that if a witch were to get hold of one's teeth, it could lead to them having total power over him or her.

In parts of Asia, when a child loses a tooth, it is customary to throw it onto the roof if it came from the lower jaw, or into the space beneath the floor if it came from the upper jaw.  The child shouts a request for the tooth to be replaced with the tooth of a mouse. This tradition is based on the fact that the teeth of mice grow for their entire lives. In India, children bury their teeth in the soil near big trees. In Japan, a different variation calls for lost upper teeth to be thrown straight down to the ground and lower teeth straight up into the air; the idea is that incoming teeth will grow straight. In Middle Eastern countries, there is a tradition of throwing a baby tooth up into the sky to the sun or to Allah. This tradition originates to pre-Islamic times.

WAITING FOR THE TOOTH FAIRY versions

original ink drawing for Tooth Fairy 2011 version.

My original drawing for this print was done in pen and ink, it was done as an illustration for a book that was never published. I liked the image and the concept and decided to redo it as an etching.

 

Raven stands over his bait pile 2020 version.

 Raven is a "trickster" in stories and myths; he is sometimes a hero, a troublemaker, a glutton, a buffoon, a destroyer, or a creator. The Trickster alternately scandalizes, disgusts, amuses, disrupts, chastises, and humiliates (or is humiliated by) humans.
Raven is extremely jealous of anything that Human Beings hold in high regard. Raven always wants to be the center of attention. Over the centuries, he has created doubt in the minds of Humans about Mythic Beings such as the Easter Bunny, Leprechauns, Gnomes, Mermaids, Elves, Pixies, and Santa Claus. And he has destroyed Ancient Gods one by one. But the one Mythic Being that is the most persistent problem is the Tooth Fairy. It shows up at all times of the year and Raven has no control over this annoying sprite appearance’.
Raven hatched a scheme to rid the world of the Tooth Fairy. Raven has hoarded Human teeth and is waiting with a fly swatter to put a swift end to this pest.
In this instance, Raven is a troublemaker.

WAITING FOR THE TOOTH FAIRY
intaglio etching, 5 -inch by 7-inch, 2023 version