PDF of the research catalog
https://courses.ecuad.ca/pluginfile.php/435080/mod_data/content/36224/illus%20401%20-%20Google%20Docs.pdf
https://courses.ecuad.ca/pluginfile.php/435080/mod_data/content/36224/thumbcc.jpg
For my project, I chose the Bird Maiden. I want to go with the Chinese version of the story based on the bird maiden's clothes being taken away from a poor farmer, Dong Yong, because their bull is a trickster fairy in disguise told him to take the clothes away. The maiden , Yunue can't become a bird to fly away with her sisters. So she is stuck on earth. The poor farmer sold himself off to service to pay for his father's funeral, and the maiden falls in love with the farmer marries him, in order to pay off his debt, she weaves 10 pieces of brocade them and pay off the debt When they finally can be together, the Jade Emperor, (the father of the maiden) is taken away and only on the 7th evening can the couple be reunited at the milky way.
After reading so many different versions of the story, I noticed there is a common theme, that the woman is always helping the man by a) becoming their wife, b) aiding them in their adventure/journey or c) just being an object of desire. I don't like this, and so I've changed the story to suit my own tastes and to make it more contemporary. This is my version of the Bird Maiden:
The poor farmer, Dong Yong, again takes the bird maiden's feather cloak dress because of the bull. The Bird Maiden can't leave, but she is not ashamed of being seen naked. She walks up to Dong Yong and demands he also strip down to his naked self, for that is only fair. Dong Yong also takes off his clothes, for he isn't very bright, and Yunue then steals his clothes for herself and wears them. She takes off to the market, and becomes a famous and rich fabric saleswoman. Dong Yong doesn't know what to do, so he wears the feather cloak dress and then flies to the skies to meet and live with Yunue's bird sisters, and he learns how to embroider, sew, and also sing and dance like a proper lady. They live their own lives separately, but sometimes Yunue's bird sister's come down and tell her how the farmer is doing, and Yunue quite likes her own independence as a human.
My version is a more contemporary way of showing how a woman can also not need any man or partner to fulfill her dreams, and is confident in her way of living can change any situation. It's a parody of the original.