CHRIS BENNETT
      Artist

   It's so hard to put into words the feelings this time of year
   arouses in us. I received this card one Christmas; an utterly lovely
   image. Happy, because it is also reminding us of the opposite of
   good cheer, as these beautiful young women struggle against
   the cold and the terrible state of the world at the time their
   clothing and hairstyles seem to imply. I wrote what follows in
   response to it:

   Ice Maidens

   The bulky clothing and the snow in their hair, soon to melt and
   trickle down necks, speaks of this world. Yet glimpsed from
   beneath their coats the vulnerable, graceful limbs disappear
   into the skating boots, speaking of an ‘other’ world; a
   frictionless, almost weightless world of dancing enchantment.
   And the empty park bench speaks of when they are gone. How
   precious does that companionship of seven mortals seem, the
   freezing park’s loneliness thawed by the miracle of a glance and
   a smile.

   Chris Bennett 2008