Interview with Varda delle Stelle by Shadow by Varda delle Stelle, daughterofshadows  

Cloudyhymn's presentation The Design of Dragons and the Doom of the Dwarves posits dragons as a corruption of Dwarves, both sharing a connection to the earth but on opposing sides, similar to the relationship Tolkien sometimes described between Elves and Orcs. Varda delle Stelle, the SWG's assistant art editor, will be creating two paintings as the featured artist for cloudyhymn's presentation at Mereth Aderthad 2025. Shadow spoke with Varda about her own connections to the earth and concepts in cloudyhymn's presentation, her creative process, and her hopes for her Mereth Aderthad paintings.

Shadow: Hello Varda, thanks for chatting with me! You've chosen to create art for cloudyhymn's presentation "The Design of Dragons and the Doom of the Dwarves". What drew you to this presentation, specifically?

Varda: Hello Shadow! Well, in the exact moment that I read the title and the summary of the presentation I immediately felt that it was meant for me and I already knew what I wanted to paint: it was like the idea had already sprung into my mind, fully formed, like Athena came out of Zeus's head, adult and ready.

This winter at University I took two classes that are linked to this topic: the first one was Germanic Philology, more specifically on the Old Norse language and a bit of Viking culture and I totally fell in love with this theme; the second one was about “the wonderful and fantastic in medieval French literature” and I’ve learned that two very important sources for this are the Celtic and Norse mythology, so the course gave me the perfect opportunity to start reading about these mythologies. It has also led me to re-read the Mists of Avalon, a saga that I link a lot to this sense of Kinship with the Earth and Mysteries that I feel a lot when reading Tolkien’s works.

So … when I read the title of the presentation I just knew that it was meant for me, the topic chose me!

Shadow: That sounds like a match made in heaven indeed! It's wonderful when you find something that just speaks to you!

Would you be willing to let us into your creative process? What goes through your mind while making art? Is there an aspect of the piece that you are especially proud of?

Varda: I would say that my creative process is a dialogue with the painting itself and everything is deeply rooted in my feelings: if I don't connect with the energy of the artwork then I won't know what to paint, but if there is this inspiration then it's the drawing itself that will come to me and be like, "Hello, yes it's me that you were searching for! Let's get started!" and from there it's all a dialogue about, “Is there someone else that is meant to be here?” or “Could you all move a bit so that I can fit everyone into the page?!”

Regarding my artwork for the presentation I'm very happy about the proportion of the various pieces of the art when put all together, because there is more than one scene: my original inspiration was that I wanted to recreate for the observer the feeling of being intertwined with the Earth, to feel her Might and to feel connected with all the creatures that are linked to Her, such as dragons, mountains, and Dwarves, so I took inspiration from the structure of a tapestry where multiple designs are woven together and everything just has its rightful place.

And still about listening and dialoguing with the artwork: in my original idea I wanted to put a frame around the dragons that I drew ... but once I had finished them there was no way they could be moved and so I ended up starting a second piece.

Shadow: That is a wonderful way of working on art. My own approach to writing can be rather similar, though usually the stories require a bit more gentle coaxing!

What do you like most about Tolkien? Is it related to what you like to paint the most?

Varda: What I really enjoy about Middle-earth is that feeling of Freedom and Magic that there is in the air. Every time I start reading I can taste it and it's wonderful: those endless forests and landscape, the sea, the stars, that particular tune that the Elves have with Arda is something that resonate so deeply within me, and every time that I immerse myself into this world I fall more and more in love.

My name here is Varda delle Stelle, which means "of the Stars", and one of the first memories that I have of reading The Silmarillion is about Varda Elentari lighting the starry vault and I really saw the Elves across the Belegaer sea and all over the Beleriand looking up for the first time and being enchanted by the Beauty that they saw ... it was like I saw the Stars for the first time too and I fell in love with them from the deepest part of my soul. Since I can remember I have always loved the Stars, and now that I paint, they are often my inspiration and subjects, and when I look at what I have created, I have this feeling that I’m boundless and that I can explore the whole sky, it’s like I'm almost a Star too.

So, I can say that I really understand the love that the Elves have for the stars and when I think about Tolkien I feel Magic, Adventure, and Freedom.

Shadow: I totally get that. Reading how Tolkien describes nature especially makes you feel like you are standing right there, and as someone who is also deeply in love with the stars, I completely understand the Elves in Cuiviénen looking up at the sky and falling in love, too.

There is something deeply magical about the night sky.

For those who are curious about your art now and don't want to wait until July to see the Mereth Aderthad piece, where can we find your previous works? Feel free to highlight any that are especially close to your heart!

Varda: All of my work can be found on the Silmarillion Writers' Guild site and on my Tumblr page.

There are few pieces that are particularly close to my heart: The Light of the Trees of Valinor where I have painted the Two Trees on the side of a lantern so that, when I light it, the Trees shine with their Light; my portrait of Varda delle Stelle: I painted the Queen of the Stars and then I took a bunch of photos with different backgrounds, first behind another one of my paintings and then with my beloved table that I have in the backyard ... it's so beautiful that it deserves a photo of its own!

And then there are the artworks Floating through the Forest River that is my replica of Tolkien's watercolor, and what can I say ... I love this one so, so much! It took me the whole 2023 summer to finish it, but it was totally worth it. I have it on my desk so that, very often, I look at it mesmerized, because I really feel pulled into the scene ... it's like I'm floating on the river too! And then my Maedhros portrait: Maedhros has a special place in my heart and I made this one as a replica of an amazing cosplay that I've seen of him. The lyrics are from “Yalúme”, a song of one of my favourite singer ever, Oonagh! She has released two whole albums dedicated just to The Silmarillion! But I loved her long before discovering what The Silmarillion was, so when I landed into Tolkien’s world and I understood that she had made two whole albums just for The Silmarillion, I was overjoyed!

Shadow: (Note: Varda was kind enough to show me quite a few photographs of her work directly, but if you haven't seen her works yet, you should absolutely check them out, because they're amazing!) Oh, these are gorgeous! Absolutely stunning pieces! I love how you play with lighting! So incredibly pretty!

And you play with so many different mediums too! Do you have a favourite to work with?

Varda: Most of the time I work with coloured pencils and tempere, sometimes also watercolour!

For the majority of my art I work with tempere because I have more creative freedom: when I use them I don't need to sketch beforehand so it's just me, the colours, and the inspiration from the painting! I work with layers so, once the background colour is dry, the painting subject will say to me, “My turn to be painted!” I also use coloured pencils but I find them to be much slower because first I have to sketch and when I colour I work with sections, so it can take me even a couple of months to finish it! I use them especially when I see another artwork that I would like to try to recreate. Sometimes I also use watercolours but I'm still learning how to use them!

Shadow: That sounds like a lot of fun and good luck on your journey with the watercolours! Learning new techniques and media can be super enjoyable, and I hope that is how it will continue to be for you!

I have one last question, if you don't mind, and then I will let you go.

Mereth Aderthad is above all, a celebration of our community and the fandom we all love. Looking back at the time you've spent in this fandom, what are some of your favourite moments across the years?

Varda: Well, I have many fond memories of my time in this community: the very first one was finding the group and landing here on Discord. I remember that I thought, "Oh my God, there are so many other people with the same interest, we are so many!! This is gonna be awesome!" because nobody in my immediate family and friends shared this Silmarillion and Lord of the Rings passion with the same intensity as me. Finding this place was really a blessing, and with it, I have also discovered that hey, there are so many people much more knowledgeable than me! I can learn so much! 

I remember I was particularly happy also in the moment in which I had received my first stamp and postcard in the mailbox (it was for the Manwe's Mailbag challenge); I really loved the Spies in the Shadow game for B2MEM 2022, I had so much fun playing it that at the end I had even involved my friends at school to play!

And now I particularly like working with Anérea as co-art editor because I love rifling and looking at all the fanart, secondly because it's such a joy working with her and Dawn, and thirdly because I like doing my little part for this amazing community!

Shadow: Oh yes, Spies in the Shadows was a lot of fun! And I'm also very proud of my very first stamp that I received for a SWG challenge! There's just something really special and satisfying about seeing that stamp page fill up and tracking at the same time how long you've been in this community and how much you've done.

And I absolutely agree, being a social media manager and now a Discord moderator for the SWG, that working with Dawn and the others is a joy and a pleasure and I'm so happy to be able to give back to the community that means so much to me!

Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me about your art and everything else, too! It's been a pleasure to be your interviewer!

Varda: Thank you Shadow! It's been a pleasure for me to talk with you!