Lawrence A. Williams, known to many as Allen, gets the prize for being the most charming artist I have ever met, oh and his work is gorgeous too!  I was blown away when I first saw Allen’s beautiful original art a few years ago as there was a majesty about his paintings of myths and legends that left me awestruck. Allen has also published a wonderful book with his sister-in-law (who I’ll blog about tomorrow) of Angels with some of the most fantastic angelic art I’ve ever seen. He has worked in fantasy, horror and role-playing game illustration and, possibly due to the influence of his young son, paints the cutest children’s dragons ever! You can see what I mean on his web site  www.lawilliams.com  Allen is an extremely popular figure on the convention and festival circuit where one is always assured of a warm welcome and a big grin - just say Be sent you!!
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(photos here) As a child, one of my clearest memories as I lay in bed on light summer nights, was being serenaded by a blackbird at the top of our neighbour’s willow tree singing his evening song. It is a very special memory that is instantly evoked when, all through my life, I have heard that distinctive rich and varied melody at dusk, wherever we have lived in England (except on the Mendips, but I’ll post about that another day). This amazing bird with his bright yellow beak and beady eyes has such a delightful way of securing his territory and I am even more blessed where we live now, as we often have two different males staking their tuneful claim, one at each edge of the garden! When our children were young, and I’d be tucking them up when it wasn’t yet dark, I truly gave thanks that they too were falling asleep to these musical notes and although they are probably not aware of it consciously, maybe they will one day be transported back to their childhood bedtimes as they hear that distinctive refrain. Thank you Mr Blackbird for your evening song.
 
Magical Blessings, Be

“May you have warmth in your igloo, oil in your lamp and peace in your heart.” – Eskimo proverb    

This lovely chap’s work has a quality that is so beautiful, one feels as though you could be looking at paintings from long ago. There’s a romantic and feminine thread here where one is rather inclined to wish to get to know those figures in the frames. Ian Daniels detail of the female form is delightful, his male characters have a great strength and there’s a story woven through it all, myths, legends and faerie tales. His rich colours use light as a magical quality and are so luxurious, contrasted with his immensely detailed black and white studies that cross to the darker side of fantasy art with a more pagan style. Ian has been extremely popular as a book illustrator for many years with some impressive authors! A more gentle soul you could not wish to meet though, so many of these awesome artists are so humble and such a delight to talk with. There’s a feature on Ian’s wonderful work in Faerie Magazine International coming up soon, what a joy - http://hometown.aol.co.uk/iandanielsart/home.html

(photos here) Well, what can I say here, we’re in Bunny heaven. Our favourite time of the year though is in the spring after the kits are born and venturing out for the first time. I’m not ashamed to say, I think they’re really cute. The only problem is when it gets to the summer and they’re a bit braver, and play ‘chicken’ with each other across the lane in front of the car… Why is it that instead of just jumping into the bank, that they insist on running down the road in front of you for ages, I’m sure they’re laughing their heads off! Some larger ones are brave enough to come up near to the back door to nibble at the more tender shoots and I’m sure that if our garden hadn’t fallen into a wilderness these past years working in faerie (I’m beginning to see a suspicious pattern here) then I’d be cursing them if I’d got vegetables planted. As it is, they’re most welcome to my weeds and I am always thrilled to see these shy wild creatures with their white behinds bounding about the garden.

Magical Blessings, Be

“Create your own myth.” - Rumi

As an artist I think that Sheila Wolk captures movement in an exquisite way and that is possibly because she initially began her career as a successful sports artist. I think that her amazing observations and fluid depictions are so talented and give an inspirational feel to her paintings that seem to come alive as you watch them. Her beautiful fantasy work is so detailed and believable that one feels drawn into the dream and at one with the movement. Sheila’s delicate style becomes breathtaking as the truth in her figures seem to want to emerge from the page… This is gorgeous fantasy art and her web site is www.sheilawolk.com  I’m sure you will enjoy the experience.

The first and most important enchanted task of the day here is to make a cup of tea - truly, our lives and business are dependent on it. It is an odd thing to write about as most of my blogs are nature based, but I feel that tea is one of my blessings and therefore should be mentioned. It is also the best way to conduct an interview for Faerie Magazine Int. in Britain, in fact, I haven’t managed one yet without! What is it about these fragrant leaves steeped in boiling water with a dash of milk that can literally run a company, soothe an upset, celebrate a wonderful recording session here with our youngest son or welcome in a dear guest, or even a delivery man! This odd ritual is sacred to my life and for that I have to thank my mother who is seventy five years young today! She followed her mother, my beloved grandnana, who was still heartily enjoying her cups of tea at 100 years old and taught me the art of laying proper afternoon tea, that is still my very favourite time of the day and much more preferable to me than an evening meal. Making a cup of tea is the first thing we do on returning home, to warm us up on a cold winter’s day or cool us down in the summer, fuel a long nights writing session, sit and put the world to rights or ease us all down after an awesome piece of theatre with our eldest son. I have experienced many momentous things in my life over tea, including the amazing memory of my first cuppas after giving birth, both times! In fact, to take out a thermos of steaming tea when we go on a journey, suddenly doesn’t seem too fuddy-duddy now that we’re older. Maybe it’s just that our blessings get simpler as we gain in age or maybe we just appreciate the simpler things in life more. Raise your mugs and warm that pot…     

Magical Blessings, Be

“A woman is like a tea bag – you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

Many years ago I was fortunate enough to be invited to an evening out at Gloucester Cathedral to hear this gorgeous ensemble. I adore our local cathedral and although I’d never heard of them before, I went willingly and truly had the most delightful evening, the amazing acoustics in that ancient space perfectly amplifying these ladies beautiful voices. The Mediaeval Baebes are not only lovely to look at but their music is an important echo of days gone by, with complicated harmonies made to sound easy, accompanied by instruments from long ago, melding together in a wonderful sound, timeless in its appeal. (Having gone on to briefly study this period in our musical history, I can vouch as to how challenging it is to sing and play.) There is a magical quality to the Baebe’s sound that enchants your ears as they make long lost music relevant today, playing with the melodies and often singing in the old, traditional languages. I was also thrilled to see them perform again a few years later, as they do each year, at our local castle where they grace the annual Joust and make their entrance on the arms of knights in shining armour! Their web site is www.mediaevalbaebes.com where you can find details on their albums, all of which I can heartily recommend.

(photos here) I am addicted to hanging crystals in all of our windows because I love the rainbows that the prisms make, dancing all around the rooms as the sun shines in. The colours are so pure and bright and as the air moves them, these seem to touch everything with their magic. These crystals even sparkle in the moonlight and that brings its own special enchantment… This is one of my simpler blessings and, maybe as I live in the UK, I’m more grateful for sunshine than others, but these beautiful rainbow colours are something that I give thanks for, every time they grace my home.

Magical Blessings, Be

“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that things are difficult.” - Seneca

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