Saturday, November 26, 2011

Fairy Of Inspiration - Quotes and my newest Embellished Fairy Print

Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass.........it's about learning to dance in the rain.

Greetings to all who come in Peace and positive energy.  It's been a while since I've displayed my art, and I really want to show off my Fairy Girls.  This is my latest Embellished Matted Fairy of Inspiration Art Print that you can find at my Etsy shop.  I have included some wonderful quotes that have inspired me through the years.  Oh, how I love to dance in the rain!  Right now I just have a limited number of the embellished matted prints available, but will be listing more in the near future.  
 



“We need to reach that happy stage of our development when differences and diversity are not seen as sources of division and distrust, but of strength and inspiration.”  
~Josefa Iloilo


Follow your bliss. If you do follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while waiting for you, and the life you ought to be living is the one you are living.  When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in the field of your bliss, and they open the doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid ... and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be. If you follow your bliss, doors will open for you that wouldn't have opened for anyone else.  
~Joseph Campbell (1904-1987) ~ (Love Him and all his books) 


We must become the change we want to see.  ~Gandhi

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

It's Just One Of Those Days ....

Oh how I try to be positive every day, every moment, but that’s impossible for me.  So, I just try to be positive moment to moment and when something upsetting comes into my life I do try to feel those feelings and then let them go.  It may take some time, but I’m getting better at it.  And, frankly, I do have things to be worried and upset about, like we all do.  Being the sensitive soul that I am, the cruelty of the world seeps in and I get very depressed.   I try to keep a wise friend’s words close and not be so hard on myself and take on the world's burdens.  After all, my fretting won’t change a blessed thing except make me sick.  Be that as it may, I was thinking about the following from one of my favorite writers when these feelings just came to mind. 

To thine own self be true,     
and it must follow, as the night the day,
thou canst not then be false to any man.
    ~Shakespeare   




I try to be true to myself … even though I’m still searching and discovering.  Below are some very interesting quotes on this same subject that I hope you will enjoy.  

You must be
true to yourself.
Strong enough to be
true to yourself.
Brave enough to be
strong enough to be
true to yourself.
Wise enough to be
brave enough to be
strong enough to
shape yourself from what
you actually are.
~Sylvia Ashton-Warner (she's from New Zealand) 

Make it thy business to know thyself, which is the most difficult lesson in the world. Yet from this lesson thou will learn to avoid the frog's foolish ambition of swelling to rival the bigness of the ox. ~Miguel de Cervantes

I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence.  ~Frederick Douglass  (how cool is he!!)

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson (one of my favorite writers and human beings)

It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.  ~e.e. cummings
 

We may as well follow our own path ... they all lead to the same place anyway. ~ArtSings
 

 

Wishing you all Happiness, Compassion, Kindness, Understanding, Peace and Abundance, now and always. 

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Teachers Are Magical !

I created this Fairy especially for a teacher that I had the privilege of getting her name in a gift exchange. Although we have never “met” I knew she was a teacher, and one who was grateful for her job since she was laid off as a regular teacher and was happy to get a job teaching migrant workers. How wonderful she is, and how lucky to have such a meaningful job. So I have offered this fairy with embellishments at my Etsy store. She is my Teachers Are Magical Fairy … and they are, aren’t they … at least the good ones are. I know there are not so good teachers, but how can we expect to have all excellent ones when they are so underpaid and disrespected by the general population. I do know that everyone has had a magical teacher sometime in their life … so I hope this brings back memories for you. Good ones, that is.


" I am not a teacher, but an awakener" ~Robert Frost

There is no job more important than yours,
no job anywhere else in the land.
You are the keepers of the future;
you hold the smallest of hands.


Into your care you are trusted
to nurture and care for the young,
and for all of your everyday heroics,
your talents and skills go unsung.

You wipe tears from the eyes of the injured.
You rock babies brand new in your arms.
You encourage the shy and unsure child.
You make sure they are safe from all harm.

You foster the bonds of friendships,
letting no child go away mad.
You respect and you honor their emotions.
You give hugs to each child when they're sad.

You have more impact than does a professor,
a child's mind is molded by four;
so whatever you lay on the table
is whatever the child will explore.

Give each child the tools for adventure,
let them be artists and writers and more;
let them fly on the wind and dance on the stars
and build castles of sand on the shore.

It is true that you don't make much money
and you don't get a whole lot of praise,
but when one small child says "I love you",
you're reminded of how this job pays.
~author unknown~

I’ve had two teachers that I can remember that have inspired and enriched my life. They were both High School teachers. One was a history teacher and the other an English teacher. One made history come alive and I’ve enjoyed history books and movies and documentaries since and the other gave me Shakespeare. She made his works comes alive in the classroom … all of us, and I mean all, became enthralled with him. So, I love all of his works, simply fabulous. How much we lost. Think about how everybody talked back then … we are like baboons compared to them, me included. I see how clumsy I express myself with our present day English and I’m embarrassed. But, I do carry on as we all must.

Peace, Happiness, Compassion and Abundance to ALL !

Friday, November 4, 2011

Fairy Trees - Some Folkore, Legends And Myth, Or Could This Be True ???


Greetings All Lovers of Fairies, Folklore, Magic and Myth ... and the Enchantment of Trees! This post if all about fairies and tree lore ... and I have some recommended books for you also! So welcome to my enchanted Queendom Of Fae and enjoy.



Some say Fairy Folk can be found in mushroom circles, in pine forests, in hollows of oak trees and amongst the acorns, pine cones and Autumn leaves. Milkweed pods are sure to lead you to the wee ones. Dew drops, primroses, running streams are regular homes for the Fae & Gnome. Almost all kinds of tree found in the Celtic countries have been thought to have special powers or to serve as the abode of the fairies, especially the magical trio of oak, ash, and thorn. Next in rank are the fruit-bearing trees apple and hazel, followed by the alder, elder, holly, and willow. The esteem given different trees varies in different parts of the Celtic world; on the Isle of Man, the phrase ‘fairy tree’ denotes the tramman [elder]. D. A. MacManus devotes a chapter to Irish fairy trees in The Middle Kingdom (London, 1959). You can find this and some other books that may be of interest to you regarding folklore, legends, and myth of the fairy and sacred trees just below.
You should easily be able to find these books at your local library to see if this would be something you would want to purchase. That's what we do. We love to go to and support our local libraries. It is a fun experience and we are always surprised to find that the place is very busy.


Just below is a picture of my Sparkle Fairy surrounded by mystical fairy trees. In my Enchanted Fairy World the trees are very magical indeed and look and feel and smell nothing like you have ever experienced except perhaps in your dreams. Be that as it may, all of our beautiful and enchanting trees in this world are just as magical if we just lift the veil from our eyes and really see them.


* Oak * Legend tells us that "Faery folks are in the oaks". Oak trees are believed to provide safe havens and homes for many varieties of faery. OAK is the king of the forest. Oak trees are safe havens and homes for many varieties of fairies. Oakmen are created when an oak stump sends up shoots. One should never take food offered by the Oakmen, as it is poisonous. Fairies cherish the Great Oak and use the acorns for decoration, celebrations and use the tops for hats. The leaves are used in the autumn celebrations. There are some families of fairies who live in the Great Oaks. Hundreds of faeries have been found to live in the oldest Oaks. There are fairies to be found in every Oak tree, the health of the surrounding environment plays a major role in determining the number of fairies that actually inhabit the Great Oak. Planting an acorn in the dark of the moon ensures that you shall receive money in the near future. Carrying an acorn increases fertility and strengthens sexual potency. Carrying a piece of Oak draws good luck.
* Ash * has healing properties in fairy folklore. Ash is a sacred tree to the Druids. The ash was made into wands used for healing, general or solar magic. It was believed that children with crooked bodies, legs or arms should be passed through young ash trees. If the tree grew tall and straight, so also would the child.
* Hawthorn * Hawthorn Tree is one part of the sacred triad of trees that are said to be sacred to the Faery. Oak, Ash, and Thorn, when growing naturally together, create a place where it is easy to see the Fey. Hawthorns were once believed to be the abode of spirits which was that of a dryad or tree faery. A grove comprised of those three trees is believed to be the perfect habitat for fairies, and an excellent place to catch sight of them. Pixie Pears is another name for hawthorn berries. Hawthorn was once used to decorate May poles.
*Apple * The bark of apple trees or the fruits themselves have the power to transport a true-hearted seeker to the Otherworld. APPLE was regarded as the fruit of immortality in Celtic Mythology. Apple was also known as the home for Unicorns. The Welsh 'Avalon' means 'Apple Island'. CĂșchulainn followed the trail of a magical apple to gain his freedom in one story. Connla the son of Conn is fed an apple by a fairy lover which sustains him but also makes him fall hopelessly in love with her. One of the tasks of the children of Tuirenn is to retrieve the magical apples of the Hesperides.
* Alder * The Fae of the Alder have been known as the " dark Faeries". They are very protective. When they leave their trees this Faerie will take the form of a Raven.

* Elder * Elder is said to offer protection to the faeries from negative spirits. They may become offended by the misuse of the wood from the elder. Folklore advises to never lay a baby in an elder wood cradle or fairies spirit the baby away or pinch them so that they bruise. Elderberry wine is considered fairy wine. Drinking it is said to enable you to see fairies. Add dried elderberries to an incense mixture that you burn to attract fairies to a gathering. The word Elder is derived from an old Anglo-Saxon word ‘aeld’ meaning fire, an association given to the Elder because of its use. The soft pith of an Elder branch pushes out easily and the tubes formed were used as pipes for blowing up fires, later Elder bellows were made for same effect. From this came the folklore name Pipe-Tree - and the belief that the most resonant horns were made from Elder trees grown in areas away from human habitation and away from the sound of a cocks-crow. Popguns and whistles had long been made from the Elder.

* Birch * This is sometimes known as the" Lady of the Woods".


As always, Peace, Happiness, Health, And Abundance to All !



Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Never Give Up - Love Is Always The Answer




Never Give Up.
Don't Give In.
Never, Never Lose HOPE.

LOVE IS ALWAYS THE ANSWER.