Happy Faeries Day to you all. Get outside and do something wonderful with nature and the fairies today!!

Sitting at my sculpting table last week, I realized I was surrounded by more polymer clay leaves than I had a pile of in my back yard.  After time spent of mixing clay, imprinting leaves, and curing them I had a pretty substantial array…and yet, no motivation to do anything with them.  Uh oh, creative block !!!

When life gets in the way (and head) of an artist, that finely tuned thing we refer to as creativity, muse, or inspiration will often grind to a screeching halt.  “Things” had gotten into the way of my “flow” as I like to call it. Family responsibilities, employment woes, you name it, I allowed it all to overwhelm me and each time I sat down to work all I could see were my problems.

Fortunate to have a place to retreat to away from everything, I packed up some clothes, clay, sundry crafty bits, and high tailed it to the mountains of Maine

For two days I sat on the screened porch that overlook the mountains and listened to nothing more than the whisper of wind through the trees and birds who were ever busy at the feeders in the yard. I was an observer to the busy forest life that went on around me as if I were invisible. There are so few places nowadays where you can witness the rhythm of nature uninterrupted like this, and here it’s a magical thing.

Birds tending to their young, deer coming to the lake to drink, the whimsical otter that busily swims back and forth searching for a tasty mussel, the whippoorwill who sings as the last light of day disappears.

Mountain storms blow throw with a fierceness that is scary at times, and the wind howls like a freight train through the forest, and yet if I were not here it would still go on. I am just honored to share the experience...an observer.

I thought about the birds particularly after a fierce mountain storm the other night. All during the day they were at the feeders with their young, back and forth and as the storm approached they slowly disappeared to take shelter. The forest became quiet and as the wind came through, and then the rain, I wondered how they fared. When the storm had passed and the rain subsided slowly, you could hear the symphony start up again and within minutes they were back at the feeders as if it had never rained at all. And I realized that to the birds the storm was an inconvenience, nothing more, and they stayed right on track with what they had been doing before.

So I sat down to my table I have set up here and began to create once again. My muse was back. This time taking it in stride that I’ll run into a metaphoric mountain storm now and then, but maybe this time I’ll view it as an inconvenience and continue down the path I’m traveling in Nature’s stride.

Thanks for visiting!

Spring has been a busy time here in the woods.  Much time has been spent outdoors getting the yard ready for summer.  Planting, raking, and just enjoying the birds and my pet chickens keeps me pretty busy.

I do hope you are all well and enjoying the "rollercoaster" weather patterns that Mother Nature has had us on.

It's obvious that I love being near the woods and all things that have to do with trees, nature and fantasy. Here are a few pieces I've created that are currently in my Etsy shop. Enjoy and Brightest Blessings.

Woodland Frolic is a whimsical walk in the woods!  Sculpted toadstools, whimsical owls, chunks of turquoise, a fairy leaf focal pendant.

Another nature spirit ornament. This is a sugar maple leaf and the dryad's face is done in a slight bas relief.

We daren 't go a-hunting    

So, the next time you lose your keys,  the lights go out, or toys go missing,  blame it on the faeries... you'll feel better and your children will love the stories.  Use your imagination!  

I can't begin to tell you how many times I am asked that question.  As a fantasy artist I live and create in a world of make believe, folk lore, and the everyday magic that is nature.

A better asked question might be, "who wouldn't want to believe in times like these?"

Recent weather catastrophes, war, financial crisis's, drugs, violence, and the downfall of the "hero" in our society has left us bereft and adrift in a sea of disillusion and uncertainty.  As children we looked up to sports legends, movie stars, and presidents until it become glaringly obvious that they missed the mark, fell or were toppled off their pedestals by their actions or misdeeds.  After all they're only human, right?

Faeries on the other hand are known to be duplicitous, tricks-y, pranksters, who depending on their type are pretty straight forward.  Most  fairy fall into one of three categories, Neutral, the Seelie, and the Unseelie. The neutral fairies are just that, neither aligned with the good or bad, and the Seelie are generally considered to be light (mainly positive) fairies while the Unseelie are quite the opposite.  With faerie you know where you stand.

We were brought up believing in the Tooth fairy, Santa Claus,  Easter Bunny, and faeries.  Early memories of scouting fields behind our home for dew covered spider webs on the ground with the hope of discovering  fairy balls still going on.

 Mushroom rings, dark hidey holes in trees, fallen logs, dense underbrush were inspected for wee folk.  My mom and grandmother would read to us each night of wee folk, goblins, and brownies who regularly stole our toys if we were bad.
My favorite poem is still William Allingham's "The Faeries".

Up the airy mountain,
Down the rushy glen,
We daren 't go a-hunting    
For fear of little men;
Wee folk, good folk,
Trooping all together;
Green jacket, red cap,
And white owl's feather!

While we were not rich in coin we were rich in imagination and we believed!

Fast forward some forty years and I still believe. I believe in a world of imagination, of art, of music.  Nature has become my muse, my comfort, and my friend.  I turn off the TV and go for walks in the woods.

The air is clean and sweet, vernal pools are now teeming with life, trees are waking and showing forth their finest buds and blooms.

I believe.

My grandsons are now of an age where Santa, the Easter Bunny, and fairy folk are real.  I will pass on the tales, poems, and stories that were told to me.  The seeds will be planted, nurtured, and if they are lucky, they will have the chance to experience the imagination of a magical world,  something that is slowly dissappearing from their daily life.

So, the next time you lose your keys,  the lights go out, or toys go missing,  blame it on the faeries... you'll feel better and your children will love the stories.  Use your imagination!!

Fantasy artists do it every day.  We live our lives immersed in music, art, folk tales, traditions,  and when the world around us is in chaos, we find the quiet place that faerie provides.  Our own oasis in a desert of disillusioned humanity.

I ask again...do you believe?

Spring is here in New England, and while Nature has been throwing a few curve balls in the way of snow showers, crocuses are up, daffodils are blooming, and the sweet green tree buds are poking their heads out to greet the season.  This is always a magical time. Vernal pools are teeming with life, salamanders, known as fire faeries are everywhere and spring faeries are hard at work.  They bring forth new life and encourage flowers to bloom, they cast color in fields, meadows, and forests.  They are responsible for all things growing and each day as I trek into the woods and fields near my home I am witness to their magic.  

In the spirit of all things new I sculpted a wee faerie toddler wrapped in a sugar maple leaf sleeping soundly in an oak leaf cradle.  While faerie children are rare, I'd like to think that some exist...if only in my dreams.

In honor of my friend Merrie...xo

Ostara marks the vernal equinox and the beginning of spring. After a long winter season, day and night balance out, with the Sun taking the lead over Darkness.  A time of celebration—the Goddess stirs in the earth, and we await her wakefulness and return of life to the earth at Beltane.

My newest necklace is in celebration of Ostara.  The dryad peering out has awakened after her long slumber.

She's available in my Etsy shop. Blessed Be!

Nature's beauty! I am really enjoying using gemstones for healing and well being with my leaf spirits lately, and although this could be worn as a pendant, I have transformed this lovely imprint of a Burr Oak, also called Mossycup Oak, as an ornament. Fashion forward fairies or renn folk could do double duty and use this as a focal pendant worthy of a goddess or fairy queen.

Sculpted using a combination of translucent Kato and pearl clay, I've added a layer of antiquing to bring out the detail in the veins and to show depth as well.

The hanger is multiple copper spirals accented with genuine Tiger's eye and a fire polished czech bead. A piece of lovely hand dyed raw silk ribbon finished with quartz leaves adds a lovely finishing touch!

Ever have a moment of drought in your creativity?  A moment when no matter what you try to create falls flat?  I admit to having plenty of those moments lately, and they usually happen when I stop listening to my muse and try to force a creative idea.

On a walk in the woods near my home last week I happened on some beautiful pieces of "live wood" from a fallen pine, and popped them into my backpack along with an assorted sundry of treasure the forest offered up.  Giving thanks for the gifts, I practically skipped home with excitement from the vibes I felt from my visit.

Once home, I did a thorough baking to sanitize the pine then laid them out on my coffee table and sketched out a few ideas... dryads sometimes place gifts of their special wood alongside the pathways of individuals who love trees, Nature and Mother Earth, and who are aware enough to perceive this special gift.  They clone themselves into these pieces of wood with the intention to help us while at the same time to acquire the means to see the world without being rooted to the ground.
I decided to honor the spirit of the tree by sculpting an interpretation of a dryad "emerging" from the wood.  Dryads are neutral and do not respond to he or she, but I felt that this particular spirit was feminine and sculpted her as such.  I do not think she will mind, lol.  It's a work in progress and will post pictures as she nears completion.


I am thinking that this will make a lovely wall hanging piece, what do you think?

There are Birthday fairies in your garden,

And they’re flying everywhere

Over trees and under leaves

And spinning in the air.

There are Birthday fairies in your garden,

And it’s plain for all to see

So look into you’re garden now

And you’ll see some just like me

Sylvan sprite's will love to add these to their wardrobe this Spring!  A recent foray into the forest produced some gorgeous imprints of Silver Maple leaves from which these luminous earrings were created.

Hand sculpted leaves of Kato clay cured, hand buffed, antiqued, and accented with mica powders. The earring wires are fancy copper and the spiral attached to the leaves are accented with rainbow hued Tourmaline gemstones.

These would make a wonderful gift for someone who loves Nature, Fantasy, or, for faeries and dryads looking to add to their Spring accessories!!
Namaste!

Earrings are 1 1/2" in length and come in a hand crafted gift box.
Rainbow toumaline enhances creativity, transforms negativity, and promotes loving aspirations to be realized.

Can be found in my FuzzB shop! Thanks for looking and supporting my art.