This is an appropriate time of year to be mentioning this talented artist as many of her pieces are autumn inspired. We first met Dawn M Schiller a few years ago and I was immediately drawn to her astonishing creatures and little folk that she’d sculpted. Dawn’s amazing ability to be able to make something so intricate, and often, in miniature, is wonderful. Her Odd Fae have such a great humour about them, even the grumpiest of chaps are appealing and rather cute (though they wouldn’t thank me for mentioning that!) all tucked up in their pods or shells, their natural settings are perfect with intricate faces so full of expression and every detail carefully hand crafted. Dawn always discovers their names and gives a little history about each one with her own distinct sense of humour… These are, of course, one of a kind pieces and are treasured and collected the world over, whether fantastic Hermits or Seidhs (my favourites) or larger dolls, complete with costumes that Dawn makes and sews herself, each one is a three-dimensional piece of art. It’s a good thing that Dawn often shows the actual scale of her tiniest creations on her web site www.autumnthings.com  or you would find it hard to believe that the human hand could sculpt so small. As is so often when one talks with these artists, you get the feeling that they are compelled to do this art and often have little say in the matter of their creations, but that they just magically happen…
 
The loudest song in our garden comes from one of the smallest birds and is a delight to me every time I hear it. The darling wren with its sticky up tail and little round body, with movements so mouse-like you often have to check twice, has one of the most impressive birdsongs - beautiful high notes, a distinctive trill at the end and of far greater volume than its size would suggest. In character, they are one of the more shy birds, keeping to the depths of the hedgerows or crevices of walls and I’ve heard that they can roost in many numbers to keep warm! One of my happiest discoveries came last year when I caught sight of one wren, busy collecting spider webs to bind its nest material, and on researching this, found them to make nests comfy enough for me to consider moving in...

Magical Blessings, Be

“You can do no great things. Only small things with love.” – Mother Teresa