The Crafting of Galadriel’s Mirror by Anérea

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Fanwork Notes

Inspired by The Writhen Pool by pandemonium_213. Mélamírë is pandë's creation who has kindly posed for me.

Fanwork Information

Description:

Portrait of Mélamírë, Master Smith of the Gwaith-i-Mírdain, crafting Galadriel’s Mirror.

Major Characters: Original Female Character(s)

Major Relationships:

Genre: Alternate Universe, General

Type: Character/Portrait, Drawing/Painting

Challenges:

Rating: General

Warnings:

Posted on 16 August 2022 Updated on 16 August 2022

The Master Smith

Mélamírë is one of my favourite OCs. Created by pandemonium_213 out of a need to link Robert J. Oppenheimer with his ancestors (according to the pandë!verse in Trinity (or listen to the podfic version read by the author) ), Mélamírë takes on a robust life of her own with a full-bodied personality and unique adventures.

Pandë’s writing creates such vivid imagery in my mind that I’m simultaneously inspired to paint them and also daunted that I’ll do her justice.

This illustration is from The Writhen Pool: Commissioned by Galadriel while in Ost-en-Edhil to create a scrying device that “flows with the very Currents of Time, a device by which the viewer can see not only what was, but also what is, and further, what will be, or at least the possibilities of the future”, Mélamírë crafts the vessel from a custom alloy while drawing on the “Threads of Vairë” to imbue it with the requisite properties. The one stipulated condition is that she makes it herself; Galadriel doesn’t want Aulendil—or Celebrimbor for that matter—laying their skilled-yet-dubious paws on it.

One of the aspects I enjoy so much in the Pandë!verse—other than excellent characterisations, engaging stories, and satisfyingly ‘blasphemous’ viewpoints (equally relevant to our Earth as to Arda)— is the scientifiction that pays homage to some of the fascinating (if not always quite so readily understandable) scientific theories of our age. 

(So I decorated Galadriel's mirror with some elvishised Feynman diagrams.)

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Click to view full screen, and again to enlarge
(I'm probably biased, but I'm proud of the detail in this one - and my elvishised Feynman diagram decoration around the bowl are only evident when zoomed in.)

Mélamírë The Master Smith

Comments

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Thank you Cuarthol!

Thearrogantemu's These Gifts You Have Given Me was the first fic I'd read that described the Gwaith-i-Mirdain in detail and it put a vivid image in my mind of their workshops. I originally was going to paint Celebrimbor but then I fell had over heels for the Pandë!verse, and was quite smitten with Mélamírë. I just loved the idea of her crafting the scrying device for Galadriel, and it all came together from there.

Have you read any of Pandemonium_213's fics? I think you'll really enjoy them.