Blog Archives

Fae or Nymph???

3/27/2019

Fae or Nymph... that is the question... My newest character, Efem, has revealed her name but she is still shy about telling me more about who she really is. She really loved that last little twist I added to her ears when I was sculpting her. The twist that created a tree-like branch look to her ears. Is this the first clue she is ready to reveal? I decided a good place to look might be into tree spirits for more information.

Wow! What I thought would be an easy task soon turned into a volume of information to sort through. So I decided I would start my own book as I collect information. This is what I started with -

(more notes I need to add to the book)

...There were even several distinct groups of nymphs as well, that were based on where they lived and what they protected. I knew that Efem liked the association with trees, so I looked further into the hamadryads and dryads. Hamadryads are one with their tree and cannot be separated without withering and dying away. This was not Efem as I felt she could travel anywhere she wanted to go. The dryads, on the other hand, were free to move about in a forest or any place trees lived.

This sounded more like Efem as she really doesn't like being rooted to one spot. So what type of tree familiar or spirit is she is connected to? She did not seem to have the characteristics of the Pine, as she is not quick tempered and needling, nor was she as bendable in her nature as the Willow, flowing from happy to sad with the sun and the rain. She was not like an old Oak, slow to move but very knowledgeable, nor motherly like the Maple.

I went through the list of trees and then it hit me. She is the Hawthorn/Haugh tree (I should have known this from the start – read March 5th's blog). The Hawthorn tree is about the balance of power and it is a perfect depiction of the concept of Yin and Yang much like the way Efem got her name.

0 Comments

Strange paths and eating utensils ...?

3/20/2019

0 Comments

The full moon Wednesday night caused the doors of The Old Passageway to be shoved open wide. Beyond the doors lay a path that leads to the Wandering Woods. The Trees are calling. Do I listen to the Trees? Do I listen to the Children of the Woods (the Fae) whispering in the bushes? The Ogham or it's other name, Celtic Tree lettering, is marking a path ahead giving off a faint green glow. They fade away as I approach, only to see them magically re-appear further down the path.

As I continue walking I see a light ahead illuminating from a window with a door next to it. Nothing unusual except for they are on the trunk of an Ancient Oak Tree.

As I came closer, the door slowly opens and I see a hunched-over old woman beckoning me inside. She smiles as I enter and offers me a cup of tea as she invites me to sit at her table.

I ask her if I drink her tea, will I end up in her oven? She smiles and replies "No". She tells me that she only called to me so that she may remind me of my mystical roots.

Startled, I ask what mystical roots would that be? Slowly she starts to speak, "Do you remember when you first started on this path and told me that the only way you would learn to sculpt was if I made it interesting?" I nodded my head, thinking back that I thought I had been only talking to the voice in my head... or so I thought.

"Did you not acknowledge that your four boys would be where you would start with your clay?" Again I nodded my head, thinking it would have been nice too if I had said something about how long I was going to be spending on this particular path.

"What logo did you decide to use for this path," the Old Woman asks? I replied that I had been looking into the mystical meaning of the Celtic Trees. "Correct", the Old Woman said, "and you drew a line for each of your sons standing on the foundation or line of your love for them."

"Because each son is strong and tall in his own space, no one line was taller than the other nor leaned nor slanted. They were to stand side by side, equal to each other. With this logo, what tree did it represent?"

I reply, that it is a hazel wood. The Old Woman smiles as she tells me that she so loves a twist in a tale. "For is that not the name of your grandmother too?" Yes, it was, I replied my grandmother's name was Hazel Woods.

As the Old Woman stands and starts to usher me out the front door, tea cup and spoon in my hand, she reminds me "You remember where you started from, now is the time to look ahead." Before she closes the door, she takes the cup from my hand saying - "You will need to give this to Efem," leaving me the spoon.

Starting back down the path, staring at the spoon still in my hand, I wondered what was all this about. The trees calling me, the reminder from the old lady, and now a spoon. So typical I am thinking. I hope for easier answers when what I get is more questions. Guess I will have to go back to Efem for the answers.

0 Comments

What happens if...

3/10/2019

0 Comments

I am sitting at my sewing machine (sewing doll outfits of course) and listening to a program on my tablet, when I hear these words... "What happens if...?" This woman was talking about her creative approach towards her writing. SPARK! I know that process! The "What Happens If..." process - it is what I use in my own approach to my creativity.

I am told I have a great imagination when, in reality, it is because of this "What Happens If..." process. I am just TOO darn curious to see what happens if... (for those who wonder where Meen gets it *lol).

And apparently, What Happens If must have Curiosity to accompany it for the process to work.

"What happens if..." I see a person with a funny expression? A glimmer starts rolling around in my brain and bounces like a ping pong ball which sparks a magical idea.

Then Curiosity rolls it around into the next...

What happens if... I take that idea and with a lump of clay turn it into a doll? And then Curiosity keeps that ball rolling until...

This What happens if has now becomes a character which my Curiosity has chosen to ride along with. The two of them fuel the creative sparks that feed my work.

For if I don't have Curiosity along for the ride, the What happens If's might never happen and how sad that would be. I love my Curiosity, as it has taken me many places (with maybe some I shouldn't have traveled), and how much bigger my world is for having gone there in the first place.

So, I put the What happen if's in my backpack. I stuff my Curiosity into my travel bag and take off to travel the paths of creativity. I bring along my compass (so I can stay true to my path), my map (so I can have a point of destination or goal), and my admission tickets (giving myself permission to play with my inner child) and head on out the door to those creative places - Let's Go!...

0 Comments

How does a Faerie Get her Name?

3/5/2019

0 Comments

It is an interesting and serious process acquiring a name. It may reflect a well known hero, a family member to be honored, or it can be related to an emotion - such as Joy, Love, or Desiree for example. A name is a very personal element. Not everyone is thrilled with being called 'hey-you'.

My process of naming is intuitive. The more my characters tell me about themselves the more their name is revealed. Often their names will come in a dream and I don't need to dig any deeper.

Not so with my newest character. At the time when I began her, she was going to be a part of a sister energy. I recently walked the path of loosing my sister to cancer. Part of my healing is to use my art to reveal and play with that powerful and loving relationship between sisters. After all, sisters are a breed unto themselves (just ask my brother).

At first my character told me her name was Fern as I began exploring the valleys of her face. Then her ears took on a whole new twist and she said "Wait..", now her name was Marigold. Yes, I was getting a little confused by this time. Further research was required. I looked up the meanings of Fern and Marigold. I discovered that Fern is a plant of shade and green which I took to mean the dark part of the Ying/Yang energy. Marigold was the fire and light part of that same energy.

I couldn't decide on one or the other and neither one sounded right to me. Okay, then let's combine them. Nah... that didn't work either... until I decided that FM - F(fern)M(marigold) was it. FM is a radio wave that is unique and often plays more music than not. FM's twisted ears reflect that she hears things on her own vibration and wavelength. So FM it will be... but now with a magical twist -- Efem.

Please meet my newest magical character. She has only revealed her name so far and still hasn't decided to tell me whether she is a faery or a nymph. I will keep you posted as to our further 'conversations'.

0 Comments

March 1st is Dragonfaust Day!

3/1/2019

0 Comments

Fae or Nymph???

Strange paths and eating utensils ...?

What happens if...

How does a Faerie Get her Name?

March 1st is Dragonfaust Day!

Greetings

Archives

Categories