Authors
Embracing Other Realms
Ailynari currently lives in a teensy river house in Indiana. She shares her home with numerous dried gourds, two dogs, a ghost kitty, and all manner of Fae folk. The gourds have their own room.
She sometimes feels she communicates better with animals and the Fae than humans, although she is working on this.
"For me, living in the magic is a spiritual endeavor. It's about doing my best to live in harmony with all of the spirits and beings of Nature, seen and unseen."
Ailynari has been a member of Enchanted Folk since November 2007
members.enchantedfolk.com/ailynari
Tales from the Toadstools
Alexandra lives in Hampshire with her lovely husband Pete, a beautiful, impish little faery baby called Megan, and a very grumpy old cat.
She believes in faeries, talks to frogs and collects skeletons, insects and pebbles.
She occasionally gets time to paint in between emails, chores and being a new mum.
“How do I live in the Magic? Through the love and support of my family and friends.”
Alexandra has been a member of Enchanted Folk since September 2007
members.enchantedfolk.com/www.alexandradawe.co.uk
Wisdom and Healing of Flowers
“How do I live in the Magic? Be asked… Well… I find a cup of tea works wonders {{chuckle}}, as no matter what the weather, or what time of day or night it is, when the stresses of life threaten to overwhelm, I make a cuppa and join the fairy folk in the garden.
For those few precious minutes, my mind switches off while I stand and listen to nature.
Hence my mantra 'while there's tea, there's Hope.’ Not to mention of course that tea leaves sprinkled around roses help stop 'black spot'
My Grandmother always told me 'Keep things Simple’ and the older I've become, the more I understand how right she was.”
Ali spent more years than she cares to remember as a qualified alternative health practitioner, but now leaves the rushing around for the younger generation, and has moved into absent healing via meditation and prayers.
Four years ago she took up painting again after more than thirty years since she’d last held a paintbrush, wanting pictures to go with her many prayers, blessings and poems. One day she hopes it will all go into a book to raise money for charity, whilst bringing healing, hope, pleasure and uplift to yet more people that need it, through colour and the spoken word.
“It is important to have a dream, even if the goal is never reached, as you just never know how many lives you can touch in a positive way, without actually knowing it.
Healing Blessings”
Ali has been a member of Enchanted Folk since September 2007
members.enchantedfolk.com/www.sacred-echoes-art
Diary of a Faerie Priestess
Alicen is known for the definitive publication Faeriecraft, Treading the Path of Faerie Magic. Her most recent non-fiction book is A Faerie Treasury. She is also the author of a novel on a faerie/magical theme The Kiss of Two Worlds. For the past two years she has been working on a children’s novel about, faeries of course!
Alicen lives faeries every day, just because she can’t help it and never really wanted to grow up. So she dabbles when necessary at being an adult, but can’t own to being one full time. She believes that everyone should have magic in their lives; a glimmer of childhood, even if it’s just a speck. Magic is a little bit of sanity in a world gone mad…
Alicen runs the Orkney Faerie Museum and Gallery, with Neil on the island of Westray where they live with their two children.
The idea of the museum came to her whilst soaking in the bath one evening (as all excellent ideas do; just think Archimedes and ‘Eureka!)
This is thought to be Britain’s only museum dedicated to faerie lore.
Alicen has been a member of Enchanted Folk since September 2007
members.enchantedfolk.com/alicengeddesward
Faereality & Enchanted Erlina
"When asked to describe myself in a sentence, I would have to say that I am a paradox of unifiable contradictions.
Living simultaneously with my head in the clouds and my feet on the ground, on the bridge between worlds, both the physical and the Ethereal.
I have been fascinated by Faery for as long as I can remember.
As a young child growing up in London I was always searching for ways to be close to nature. Spending my early years in the bit of our communal garden that was left to grow wild, chasing butterflies and climbing the cherry trees.
I remember getting to that age when I was told 'you’re a big girl now, it’s time to stop believing in Fairies' but it never sat comfortably with me.
I’d like to think I was a reasonably intelligent child, but I just wasn’t ready to accept that the world held no magic anymore just because I was getting older. I would try to be good and do as I was told, but as I listened to the words that the grownups I had to respect taught me, I couldn’t help but hear the whispers in the background from my Faerie friends telling me they were really there.
I didn’t want to grow up if that meant closing my eyes (and ears!) to all the wonders there are to explore and discover, the way a child does every time it goes out to play.
I’m now in my mid-thirties and I haven’t changed my mind!"
Amanda has been a member of Enchanted Folk since October 2007
members.enchantedfolk.com/faereality
Tea with Be and the Bean & Be - ing the editor
"The best and most beautiful things in the world can not be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart." Helen Keller.
Be’s life revolves around her beloved family where her gorgeous grown up sensitive sons kindly help to keep her feet on the ground, lest her ideas lift her off and away. They share their leaky old cottage with mice in the walls, shrews in the fireplace, bats in the attic, squirrels in the goat-shed, deer in the orchard and a small JellyBean who leads everyone a merry dance. Here her lads have been heard to sigh that not only are there probably too many winged-things in their lives but that worryingly the feathered variety seem to get better fed than they do!
Be has great reverence for and delights in the beauty of Mother Nature’s gifts with whom she is nourished recharged and lives in the magic every day. She tries to play the Glad Game and is known for randomly and unexpectedly humming whistling singing larking about and enthusiastically extolling the wonders of wildlife nature and her endless random thoughts. The patience of her three chaps astonishes them too especially as they now finally realise that she didn’t come with a volume control.
Happy in her own little world Be’s eternal wish is to bring smiles and laughter to beings whenever she can. This Luna loving lass can often be found with yet another cup of tea in hand willingly distracted by magical moments in her untamed garden; snowflakes falling, dewdrops sparkling, rainbows appearing, spiders spinning, buzzy bees dusting, butterflies pausing, fledglings feeding, old trees shading, apple-blossom showering, wildflowers blooming, daisies closing, sunsets glowing, stars a-gazing, fires flaming, prisms celebrating, Seasonal Table keeping…
Whilst at work she listens out for any birdsong and loves to learn from her favourite BBC Radio 4 ~ oh and to those other magical Voices that only she seems to hear. Her spirited muse therefore has to invariably attempt to visit in the wee small hours or when she’s tending to Enchanted Folk, editing the Faezine, busy cooking supper or when the chores just can’t wait any longer.
This smiling skipping puddle-jumping eccentric excitable and very verbal soul is thrilled and honoured to be working with and warmly supported by her dear friends from Enchanted Folk on this Faezine enterprise, their affinity truly makes her dreams come true. (As Nietzsche so wisely said of such a capricious mind, “One must have chaos within oneself, to give birth to a dancing star.”)
Be’s boys her greatest teachers and blessing, have her heart and gratitude, bestowing her best and most wonderful adventures. Dedicated, devoted to and deeply thankful she also greatly appreciates their indulgence in the initiatives she gives her energy to. This whimsical woman just tries to make the world a little more caring kind and hopefully a bit brighter for her children and all who need some wonder.
“Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumblebee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.” Ashley Smith Robinson
Be is Faezine's Editor and founder of Enchanted Folk established in September 2007
members.enchantedfolk.com/enchantedbe
Moonflowers Garden
Teasle and Peach two Siamese cats, live with Carolyn and her husband Tony in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England. Carolyn sews and does crafting and loves her books.
"When we were small we read about the Magic Wishing Chair and The Magic Faraway Tree. Bedtime stories took us to Moominland, Moonacre, and Down the Bright Stream. I wished I was Mary Poppins, and listened to the tale of Sleeping Beauty.
I learned my wild flowers and trees with the Flower Fairies. Soon I found Middle Earth, saw The Dark Crystal, embraced Elfquest and went to Hogwarts : )
Now my ball jointed dolls are the ideal blank canvas to create 3D characters of my own. Each outfit I create has its own little story to tell.
To live in the magic is just the way I am. When I see a toadstool at the edge of the wood I see a pixie house. To me a flower makes the perfect hat for an elf or a bright fern leaf is actually a fine umbrella. A white feather floating down is the sign of an angel, the sun shining through a crystal reveals fairies dancing around the room.
It's everywhere, that magic" ^_^
Carolyn has been a member of Enchanted Folk since May 2008
members.enchantedfolk.com/moonflowersgarden
Hidden Faery Tales
Desiree is an artist, jewelry-maker, and leather-crafter living in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Faery, mythology, and folklore have intrigued her from a very young age and are the main inspiration for her work.
Although primarily a visual artist, she hopes her love and respect of things Otherwordly will shine through her writing and impart a hint of the strange beauty and power of Faery to the reader.
Desiree has been a member of EF since November 2007
members.enchantedfolk.com/deerwoman
Sir Bailey's Adventures
“I believe everything within nature holds its magic at its heart. Some of us; we let it burn more brightly and therefore it ignites with other sparkles in the world, letting us have a deeper connection.
As a child I let the sparkles grow as I communed with the faeries in my garden. They have been by my side every step of the way ever since. I listen to their guidance and show my love, gratitude and respect every day.
I am simply complicated as all interestingly boring people can be.
Bailey, my young Cocker Spaniel, is my companion. His pedigree name is Silver Knight and he has definitely been my knight in shining armour. He has been on journeys with me to the darkest of places and seen some very scary sights. The most evil of Queens and ugliest goblins! But he has always stayed true and brave. He never left my side and we came through it together, out into the light. I owe him so much.
Bailey will always stand his ground and never show fear. He is very stubborn and knows his own mind. When not on missions he loves to have fun playing games like hide and seek and chase. He loves cuddles and will shower you in kisses.”
Donna has been a member of Enchanted Folk since September 2007
members.enchantedfolk.com/donna
Common Dreams
"I am Donny Ha Corsentino, wife of Joseph Corsentino of Time of the Faeries. You may have heard from me, if not of me. I'm the chatty one of us, the pencil pusher behind Time of the Faeries, the stylist, the marketer, the promoter, the everything else girl.
Here, in this little space in Faezine, I get to share a little personal bit about me, free to explore and reflect..."
Donny has been a member of Enchanted Folk since December 2007
members.enchantedfolk.com/timeofthefaeries
Vintage Faerie
"I am a photographer by trade, with children and fairies as my favorite subjects. It is my connection with them that keeps me in touch with the magic that is all around us.
I live in a little 1920's cottage with my husband and daughter, surrounded by costumes, wings and props, perfect for dreaming.
There truly are fairies at the bottom of my garden."
Dorothy has been a member of Enchanted Folk since March 2008
members.enchantedfolk.com/dorothywallace.enchantedfolk.com
The Earthereal Life
"Life is beautiful and dangerous. Beware! Enjoy!
I'm called Dreamdeer, due to some pretty strong dreams about Deer.
I currently live in the Sonora Desert with my wonderful husband, and have done dreamwork more or less all my life. I indulge in writing and art at the least excuse.
How do I live the magic? It's kind of unavoidable for someone with narcolepsy, a condition that blurs the line between sleeping and waking and is apt to plunge me into a dream at any moment.
In my maternal tribe, dreams are a legitimate variety of reality, part of a larger reality that seems to correspond most closely to the European concept of Faerie.
I have come to accept that I must deal with whatever reality I happen to land in at the moment, prepared to shift gears in an instant.
Someday I'd like a tee-shirt saying - Narcolepsy: It's not just a disease, it's an adventure!"
Dreamdeer has been a member of Enchanted Folk since August 2008
members.enchantedfolk.com/dreamdeer
Fairy Nana Land
Fairy Nana, aka: eve reddin lennon always spells her first name with a lower case 'e' because it is “so much softer than all the hard edges found on the upper case E!”
Born to an Australian father and an American mother, eve spent most of her childhood living in Connecticut, although she also spent a portion of her early years in England, France and Nigeria.
She now resides in the Pacific Northwest of the United States with her best friend Doug, two bouncy Pugs and a very mischievous cat. She has three adult children, “who amazingly still love each other and me!” and two beautiful faerie granddaughters, “so far!!!!”.
Fairy Nana eve is a certified Life Coach who also designs and makes 'enchanted' faerie wear mostly destined for terminally ill children in hospitals, with some of her costumes also sold online creating funds for her Fairy Nana Project. You can read the full story of The Fairy Nana Guild in Faezine Spring 09 - anyone who is interested in learning how to start a FAIRY NANA PROJECT for a Children’s Hospital is welcome to please contact eve through the Spring Issue.
She believes there is beauty and magic inside each of us and that every time we smile or share a giggle we let our own personal fairy dust spread joy into a needy world.
Fairy Nana has been a member of Enchanted Folk since April 2008
members.enchantedfolk.com/fairynana.enchantedfolk.com
Root Deity Poems
'As a wounded Otter yet cradled within the arms of Epona I can but dream to die.'
Fleas has been a member of Enchanted Folk since October 2007
members.enchantedfolk.com/rootdeitypoems
Mythopoeia
“I live in Kent, England - in the town of Maidstone, which is steeped in history. The surrounding countryside of ancient woodlands, meandering rivers, meadows and leafy lanes of light, provide a constant inspiration throughout the change of seasons.
I work from home in a studio looking onto the garden - a very simple set up, a desk, an easel, and a cabinet of paints, brushes, pencils and sketchbooks along with various collected bits and pieces that I find while wandering; a jewel-like leaf, a fox skull, a twisted root, a textured stone, anything that captivates my imagination.
I’m inspired by folktales, myths and old stories - from ghost stories to fairy stories – I’m interested in the psychological aspects and emotions, and exploring how symbols and stories may reflect a feeling or spirit in us that is forgotten, an emotion or inner understanding that is passed down to us through myths and legends and is part of our make up.
I like to explore connections of different emotions, perhaps sadness and love, darkness and wonder, beauty and witchery. A quote, I think by the painter Khnopff, rings true for me ~ ‘Like long echoes from afar that melt into a unity deep and dark.’
Nature is forever a great source of creativity for me too. Bewitching trees and autumn leaves, the moon, a shell, roots and moths: anything that inspires. I enjoy exploring our connection with the rest of nature - on both a physical and a deeper spirit level - revealed in our stories, our personal journeys and our place in the world.
All sorts of mystical and religious imagery is an inspiration, as well as a fascination with the shamanic beliefs of ancient peoples and their connection with animals and the earth, spirits of the dead and ancestral memories and totem magic.
I try to find a balance in my work between natural representation and symbolism, the inner and the outer, dark and light, our fear of death and our fear of life, our hopes and dreams.”
Ian has been a member of Enchanted Folk since February 2008
members.enchantedfolk.com/iandaniels
Following the Yellow Brick Road
Isabella is a 23 year old artist / illustrator who specializes in the wonderful and amazing.
She has spent most of her life in the imaginary worlds. Everything she encountered on her trips to those worlds she has put down on paper, using nothing more then her pencil and a bottle of Indian ink.
Her work is inspired by folklore, myths, legends, superstition, folk songs and of course her own journeys and imagination.
Someone I greatly admire words my personal feeling about the Magical world best: Desiderius Erasmus -
"There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other."
Isabella has been a member of Enchanted Folk since May 2008
members.enchantedfolk.com/isabellasart
Emerald Isle Tales
James Battersby has lived on the north coast of Ireland all his life. He has been drawing and painting artworks since the age of five. The idea of poetry began to develop with him when he was seventeen and remains a part of his life to this day, resulting in two self-published poetry books. He enjoys writing and recording songs but does not like to play them live to anyone. He is a firm believer in the unseen world and recently has embraced the idea of Chakras, despite being very skeptical years ago about this topic. He has his core beliefs and it takes him quite a while to embrace new ideas but at times he will embrace them if it can stand alongside his core beliefs without contradiction. Often these secondary ideas may compliment and even make for a greater understanding of the core beliefs, and when he does embrace a new idea he will become a bit obsessed by the possibilities that it holds, often driving people insane.
All his life he has been searching for a meaning to life, not only his own, but the existence of all living things. This search has led to much self-inflicted isolation, loss of friends, rejection by loved ones and other things that come with spiritual self-discovery. At age ten he started to become an introvert and when the other children were out playing sports together, he would stay hidden away in a room and practice drawing. Thousands of sketches later and his art skills improved a great deal. At 27, he is now determined to change this around and to embrace the many positive things the world has to offer. He believes that as human beings, most of us have the capacity to reverse the negative/damaging aspects of our life and change for the better. Things need to either be awakened within us or repaired. He has a strong belief that the earth by its very nature can send healing energy through our bare feet and that the feet in most humans have lost their potential because the majority of humans including himself wear shoes most of the time. The feet are damaged in most, and the crown chakra is often weak or completely blocked in many humans too which leads him to wonder about how it relates to Athiesm and other ailments. James is well aware that many would like to crucify him for his often-obscure unconventional beliefs, which anger people of all faiths.
He is currently illustrating a tarot deck by Chanel Bayless and would like to give all design credits to her and its entire concept. James Battersby is just the artist.
James has been a member of Enchanted Folk since September 2007
members.enchantedfolk.com/james_battersby
Fine Arts Appreciation
"Most of my life I've been drawing and painting in all genres, from Realism, to Impressionism and Abstractionism. I paint a wide variety of subjects, but various forms of Fantasy have always been the closest to my heart. This includes my Fairy Tales, Myths, and New Age Art.
I have always been inspired by great Artists throughout history, and regard them as my teachers. Some of my favorites are those of the Italian Renaissance, the Pre- Raphaelites (I like John W. Waterhouse the most), and the Hudson River School of Landscape Painters. Maxfield Parrish is my favorite illustrator, and I feel that Sir Joseph Noel Paton is one of the greatest Fairy Artists. In my small way, I also enjoy continuing in the tradition of Beatrix Potter with her little animal people, and Cicely M. Barker with her lovely Flower Fairies.
I've illustrated several children's books, including Antique Fairy Tales, The Sandman and Other Sleepy Time Rhymes, Tales of Shakespeare, and Pollyanna. I both wrote and illustrated my own published book, What Do Bunnies Do All Day? Currently I am writing and illustrating several new books on Fairies, Elves and Angels."
Judy has been a member of Enchanted Folk since October 2007
members.enchantedfolk.com/www.themysticalvisions.com
Stonemaiden Scribblings
"Hmmmm, the fair Lady Be has asked me to say a bit about how I ~ Live In the Magic... well, of course the most obvious way for me (as for many) is through art, that's both making my own work and looking at other people's.
It's a huge privilege and joy (as well as extremely hard work!) to be an artist and illustrator, there is nothing quite like the experience of utter transportation that can come from losing yourself in a book with pictures!
I'm still passionate about many of the books that gave me that experience as a child, Mabel Lucie Attwell's wonderful illustrations for Peter Pan spring to mind, as well as E.H Shepard's incredibly observed and alive drawings, particularly for The Wind In The Willows.
Arthur Rackham is unparalleled in the dark tangled beauty of his faery tale work, and (-in many ways Rackham's heir) Brian Froud just cannot be praised highly enough, as the modern day Faery Godfather! - belatedly discovering Froud and Alan Lee's Faeries book whilst at art school in my early twenties, was an enormous revelation - REAL FAERIES!!! - YES!!!!! - it took me over ten years more to find the confidence to tackle the subject properly for myself, but there's no looking back now!! -
Faeries cannot be just pretty and pristine, they're so very much better and worse than that!"
Julia has been a member of Enchanted Folk since February 2008
members.enchantedfolk.com/juliajeffrey
From the Hedge
"My name is Kevin Buntin, and I currently reside within the wilds of Troy, Ohio, with my beautiful wife, one very eccentric cat, and many, many Wee Folk and miscellaneous magical beings packed away in my mind. Art has always been a part of my life, quite literally. I was drawing Viking ships teeming with warriors on "Goldenrod" notebook paper and modeling mummies, Frankenstein monsters- and various other creatures that not too many other people were seeing- every day. Back then I worked in Plasticine clay and had done so as early as my first day of elementary school. As my creatures came to life in my hands, so too, did their respective tales unfold in my mind as they told who they were.
I see all these creatures quite vividly and they do live- not just in my head, but elsewhere. And it is through my tales and my art that I bring these teeming masses to life. However, even though I did my art and told my tales for a very long time, there came a day when I left it all behind. For another long period of time- nearly twelve years- I did just about anything but create... and I was not a happy man. All was gray... And then I met a lovely lady who shone like the sun and she did say, "So... what do you want to do?" And I could no longer remember what that was!!!!! However, it finally came back to me that once upon a very long time ago, I had wanted to be 'an artist'.
And now here I am once again, on the path I was meant to be: making...dolls...? Well, I'm doing art at any rate and I currently do so full time. I often see myself as really more of a storyteller than an artist or sculptor; it's just that I do so via both written word and the sculptural media. I have many creatures clamoring for release from my mind- all queued up within... and it is a very long line, and they will likely outlast me and the time I have to bring them out to the mortal world."
Kevin has been a member of Enchanted Folk since October 2007
members.enchantedfolk.com/kevinbuntin
Cosmic Thoughts
"How I live in the magic - I do believe magic is all around and exposes itself when I least expect it, knowing exactly what I need before I do ...watching dogs jumping for snowballs thrown, catching them mid air, puzzling when they melt!"
Libby has been a member of Enchanted Folk since September 2007
members.enchantedfolk.com/libithinasfaeryworld
Titania Journals
"Once, while working in a museum, I held a pair of ancient sandals in my hand - the footprint of the person who wore them was still there, as though they had slipped out of them moments before, and not a thousand years before.
It gave me pause to think of all that had transpired between their life and mine.
Like standing in one spot on Earth thinking of all that is going on in the world at that very same moment - across continents and oceans and deserts.
An infinite number of possibilities in one breath of time.
For me to live in the magic is to imagine all the roads ever taken, then one by one find a way to discover them, learn about them, and bring them to life."
Lisa has been a member of Enchanted Folk since October 2007
members.enchantedfolk.com/medisaga
Miss MerFaery - From the Faerie Witch's Kitchen
Louise is a happy little free spirit who grew up by the southeast English sea and now lives in Cheshire with her beloved fiance John, where she enjoys rambling through the old streets of Chester and musing amongst the blackbirds and squirrels by the ruins of the old Gothic church.
She has lived in the magic since childhood, having always believed most fervently in faeries, unicorns and angels, and loves nothing more than to write, create, read and daydream.
You are most likely to find her under a favourite tree, talking to the birds, watching the ocean or working on a new fantastical project.
Louise is a writer and artist, with a forthcoming educational book, numerous articles out there on the web, and a plethora of ideas and dreams for future faerie crafts and fantasy novels, if she ever gets that oh so precious time...
Louise has been a member of Enchanted Folk since June 2008
members.enchantedfolk.com/firewalkswithspirit
Nidlongdir Whisperings
“Germinating seeds of imagination in your mind, and allowing them to bloom, will provide you with the greatest magic power in the world!
The only person in my family who truly believed in fairies was my grandmother. As a child, she asked me to bring stew and beer to the gnome living in the stable, otherwise the pigs would become ill and die. My grandfather was a painter, and he was the one who taught me about the magic of colours and how to mix them. I started to draw and paint as a child, so art has always been a part of my life.
My fairy name is Ranunkel and I was born in Denmark and still live on an island called Als in the south. I am a botanical illustrator and skilled cartoon animator, have worked as an art director and designed a computer game called Rosa and the Magic Fairy.
I find the inspiration for my art in nature, and strongly believe in recycling to save our planet.
May the fairies watch over you!”
Introduction to Nidlongdir and our Faezine Reporter Plotka Hildur
I would like to invite you to Nidlongdir, a fairy realm I discovered in my garden. The word Nidlongdir is the fairy's word for world, so they all live in Nidlongdir. There are two fractions of fairies. The Apple Fairies are ruled from Apple Hold Castle by a king and queen. Most of The Apple Fairies live in Leafenheim City. The other fairies are the Dragonians. The Dragonians live in Dragonia in underground caves and are also known as the black nosed fairies. The Dragonian fairies have a parliament called The Gathering where the elder elected advisors rule.
It all started late in the summer of 2008 when I was doing some botanical illustrations of apples in my garden. During the summer I spend many hours under the three old apple trees in the back of my garden, and sometimes I had a feeling that I was being watched. I also found things in the garden that indicated to me that there were fairies in the neighbourhood. My first encounter with the fairies was one morning when I saw two fairies resting in the morning sun in the apple tree. It turned out to be the fairy queen Agrafina and her king Applestrong.
Later in the fall my daughter found a pair of fairy baby twins in an apple from one of our trees. As she was a student she didn't have time for two small babies, so I decided to take care of them myself. I named the twins Selene and Ebbe. I soon discovered that there were many problems taking care of the twins, but one morning a fairy had left a gift for me, it was a fairy communicator that makes it possible for me to understand what the fairies are saying!
During the winter of 2008-2009 I have been travelling into Nidlongdir with the help of some of the fairies I got in contact with in my garden. I was appointed as ambassador of Dragonia, and my task is to tell the human world about Nidlongdir.
There are some ongoing conflicts between the two fairy fractions. They are fighting about the apple trees. The Apple Fairies live in the tops of the trees, and produce apple juice. The Dragonian fairies are living in caves underneath, and they produce tree juice from the roots of the trees. The Apple Fairies want the tree juice production to stop because they think they get fewer apples when the Dragonians take the juice out of the trees.
The Queen is very selfish and her guards are hunting down a jewellery crafter called Danagonia, because she has refused to send her spring collection of jewellery to the queen. I am appointed as ambassador of Dragonia and I had the task is to put an end to the conflicts. At the Snow Drop Ball I was to get an appointment with the Queen to find a way to stop the guards from hunting Danagonia. The queen is spoiled and has too much power, and the King is powerless to her plots.
You can read all my old blogs if you go to The Whispering Library. The fairies of Nidlongdir don't use paper to write on, they use whispering leaves! I am constantly adding new content to this site when I travel into Nidlongdir, and drawing/updating maps so that it will be easy for new visitors to get around. It is my hope that you should be able to go into every building when it has all been finished! For more information on travelling into Nidlongdir please visit the Nidlongdir.com travelling guide.
You can also follow the story through my Enchanted Folk site.
Faezine has hired a Nidlongdir reporter called Plotka Hildur so that you will be able read the latest news from this magic world. Plotka and I work together and have become very good friends. (You can read all about her in the interview I did in the first issue of Faezine Spring 09) As of Summer 09, Plotka has her own column in Faezine.
Stay living in the magic!
Marianne - Ambassador of Dragonia
Marianne has been a member of Enchanted Folk since June 2008
members.enchantedfolk.com/mariannemathiasen
Faery Fields and Forests & Bringing up Baby Fae
“Procrastination is my Number One priority.”
Merrie Fae Tresses is a Solitary Avalonian Faery Priestess of the Dru-ideology, Wit-Sidhean, and Mistress of Mists living in the Fields and Forests of Wisconsin.
Merrie is the Faerie GrandeDame moderator of Enchanted Folks' Faerie Fledglings Group.
Also known as Lady Trillium, she is the Foundress of TrilliumTriadTradition, a Woodland Fae Path.
“Truth is like the diamond on the ring we have every day of our lives at hand. It isn't until the Light touches the diamond --JUST SO!-- that its many facets of splendor are revealed.”
Merrie Fae has been a member of Enchanted Folk since June 2008
members.enchantedfolk.com/merriefaetresses
Into Woodland Deep
"I am Portuguese. Deeply inspired by Sintra, the beautiful Moon Mountain in Portugal, and currently live in Ireland with my Beloved.
I live in the magic by feeling intensely, breathing in nature and the beauty we find everyday around ourselves: a flower, a bird singing, a smile, eyes sparkling. I exhale and expand myself with magic and work to create a world full of potential healing, of a bright future for all that is and a promise of belonging.
I have found myself growing and blossoming among enchanted woods of oak, fern and camillia trees.
I was raised spiritually by ancient stones and mountain caves, consecrated by sacred waters and purified sacred fountains.
I was touched, transformed and nourished by the depths of this beloved Earth and inspired by an ancient star path.
Then I raised and threaded my path with love and devotion for nature, grounding myself on this world, seeking beauty and dreaming...
And then I bought a camera."
Michele has been a member of Enchanted Folk since January 2009
members.enchantedfolk.com/woodlanddeep
Rambles of an Artist
“I am what others see”
Michele-lee, at age forty, has been painting professionally for almost six years after many told her a career in art was an unattainable dream.
However, she believes that some dreams are more than just dreams; they are destiny, and it was her destiny to become an illustrator of esoteric, mythological, and fantasy art.
Over the last year she has painted a series of forty five artworks based upon the heroes and gods of Greek mythology for a Mythic Oracle of the Ancient Greek Pantheon.
Now finished, she works toward the completion of her own non-traditional tarot deck, the Dreams of Gaia tarot, and on the final touches to ‘Dreams of Magick’ - her first book of art and her thoughts.
Michele-lee has been a member of Enchanted Folk since September 2007
members.enchantedfolk.com/dreamsofgaia
Morbidly Adorable Mementos
The older I get, the stranger I will become. This is not a goal nor a guarantee, but rather an inevitable fact of fine faery living.
My name is Misty Benson (aka. gossamerfaery). I live, breathe, and bring my Morbidly Adorable Creations into being from Gossamerfaery's Attic in curiouser and curiouser Idaho. From the Attic, the creations and I can smell the sugary scent of coffin cake on the winds. The rustle of leaves sounds like hollow bones rattling on pavement. Rain is actually skeletons tap dancing on the roof. Here we vehemently hold onto the ghosts in our dreams. Faeries may be spotted in the dying light. We are not afraid to muddy our white dresses in order to witness the mysterious lives of bugs. Halloween is our favorite time of year, so we spend Christmas decorating our tree with skulls. This is a place where beauty borders on strange and the strange is beautiful.
In my column I want to explore the beautiful building blocks that compose a person's life. A Morbidly Adorable may refer to someone who walks through life feeling a little haunted but always enchanted; it may be a fragment from one's life that evokes memories of sweet mischief; or even just as it sounds - a Morbidly Adorable might be the furriest little critter with the most morbidly obese eyes you've ever seen. You get to decide what your Morbidly Adorable looks like and how you will nurture it. While the word memento may have several meanings, in more recent times it is primarily defined as a keepsake or souvenir that conjures memories from one's past. The romantic in me loves that Mementos also refer to two prayers in the Roman Catholic Mass, one for persons living and the other for persons dead. With a complete love of all my minions both living and dead, it is quite fitting. Whether it is a physical object, a person, a daydream, a color, a tear, a story, or a memory, they are all Morbidly Adorable Mementos. I hope this journey through my dreamy little world will help feed the Morbidly Adorable muse in all of us.
I, Misty*, gossamerfaery, your skull-loving, slightly unhinged, sweetly spooky artist, love all of my Morbidly Adorable children. Take my hand. Come in and play. Just make sure you leave all rational thoughts at the door.
Misty has been a member of Enchanted Folk since January 2009
members.enchantedfolk.com/gossamerfaery
The Greatest Faerie Tale Never Told & Orchid Lament's Diaries
"As a person and an artist I think what I truly am, is a person who fell off the reality bus a long time ago. Not necessarily by choice, but simply because I don’t think there ever was a seat on the bus for me to begin with. Left handed, right brained, sexually deviant, morally challenged, and complexly ruled by a fevered imagination that allows no mundane thought action or deed to intrude in my spiral into the Faerie Realm.
I’m all about the fabulous the beautiful the strange the Wyrd and the Phantasmagorical.
I believe and I know that I have spent most of my life in the presence of the Fine Faerie Fae. WE get along They borrow my stuff and they drive me Insane. Insane in a good way. I’m the one that gave up fighting it entirely. From my early childhood when all I wanted to do was run away and join a Drag show. To today, where I have run away and joined the Drag show, I realize that my path has been just wee bit different than folks I meet on a day-to-day basis.
I’m caught up in the wonder and the beauty and the sheer fabulous of what’s going on behind the scenes that keeps this wonderful universe hurling further into the unknown and close to the speed of Light. I finally believe that my goals and the goals of the universe are finally in sync. Expand, spin and fly outward with no fear of what we might run into, I can't see the line between dreams and science. Fact and fantasy. I can’t see the lines between faiths and beliefs.
It all just happens for me and I follow my muse. Painting, sculpting, writing and performing for her and your entertainment. I don’t know, maybe it is not a degree from some prestigious art school, but it is my life such as it is.
I can no more not be The Faerie Queen Orchid Lament and all that might mean than a Republican could stop being a greedy killjoy jerk. I follow my nature. And I’m all about inviting you to do the same. Finally yes it is true I really do know that I’m truly a faerie. Hence the title.
Still working on the sustained flight, but give me time.
Carpe Noctum"
Orchid has been a member of Enchanted Folk since September 2007
members.enchantedfolk.com/orchidlament
Ragged Elf
"I have been in the business of 'creating' for almost all my life. It all started with plasticine, paper and glue during my early school days, progressed to a brief period of creating havoc during my teenage years before moving onto the creating of false teeth as a school leaver; this was followed by creating hand-painted roller blinds in a factory and then greetings cards. By my early twenties I had left London and moved to the Somerset countryside where as a young father I spent my days creating magazine covers in our living room surrounded by toddlers and squeaky toys.
It had been a full 29 years before I was able to combine my implicit desire to be a creator with full job satisfaction; and that was when I began a career as an artist for the fantasy series of 'Discworld' books by Terry Pratchett. I was given a free and generous rein by the author to wander his universe with my sketchbook to hand, which resulted in the publication of a variety of illustrated books and products.
These days I still dip into the ingenious world of Sir Pratchett to illustrate book jackets and various commissions, but most of my time nowadays is spent working in the realms of my own imagination.
Moving to the New Forest and marrying my wife Vanessa helped to open the doors into a new world of deep inspiration. Fuelled by folklore and a taste for the peculiar, inspired by nature and coupled with the oblique squint of my own perspective, (rather like those joke spectacles that give you the vision of a fly, or a fairground mirror) I have recently been painting and sculpting the mythology of faerie, enchantment and magic and it feels like I have at last found my way home to being a creator in my own right.
My recipe for a happy and creatively busy artist (but yours might be different)...
Jokes and ridiculous conversations - sometimes they spin into the absurd and trigger an idea. Can be very useful and the laughter is invaluable, even if it doesn't lead to any eureka moments.
Cake - but it has to be home-made, just don't eat too much.
Going for a walk, we have a dog so there is no excuse not to get out there whatever the weather and we are always thankful to have done it.
Exhibitions, invaluable, whatever the subject matter... it's always great to see the creative processes other folks gets up to, whatever their style.
Movies, for the same reason.
Music, the right music playing in the studio helps me capture the right feel in my artwork. It might be anything from my large and eclectic collection, but just lately I have been listening to The Fleet Foxes, The Mummers, Goldfrappe and REM.
A veg patch, it's very grounding to get your hands dirty and work in the soil when you do a sedentary job like mine. Growing stuff is one of the best feelings.
Sleep and enough of it, if I don't have it my eyes go pink and itchy.
Family, mine's a large and jumbly one but they are all inspiring in their own unique (and sometimes infuriating) lovable ways. They always bring a fresh perspective too.
Going away on holiday. It's fascinating to go to new places, eat new food, see new art and architecture hear new languages and smell new smells; and it's always wonderful to come home."
Paul has been a member of Enchanted Folk since February 2009
members.enchantedfolk.com/paulkidby
Confessions of a Mad Doodler
Paulina is a strange little Canadian lass who lives in a mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where she helps the gnomes seek rare gems and brew fine teas.
She paints, draws and writes in both her waking and dream time hours.
She isn't afraid of things that go bump in the night, and declares that chocolate from England is even better than chocolate from Venus.
Paulina has been a member of Enchanted Folk since September 2007
members.enchantedfolk.com/paulina
The Nidlongdir Post, U.T.R.
Lower Branch Road,
Leafenheim City,
Nidlongdir
Nidlongdir Whisperings
My name is Plotka Hildur. I was born inside a pear in Leafenheim City, and currently live in an apartment under the roof of The Nidlongdir Post. I have been working at this newspaper since I was old enough to become a leaf runner. I worked my way up to get a job as reporter, and now I also write for the human magazine Faezine.
I am not yet married. When not working I spend most of my time home in the Dragonian Caves, where I grew up with my foster mother Mama Kauppa, or I go to the Whispering Library to relax.
As a Dragonian fairy I strongly believe in recycling! I support the new Order of a Free Nidlongdir, also called the OFN. This order tries to help abandoned children and trolls in Nidlongdir. I also support the WSPA - World Society for the Protection of Animals.
Articles published at:
The Nidlongdir Post
Elodie's Blooming Fashion News
Faezine
Books published at the Whispering Library:
Dragonian Cave Patterns.
Gnome Cooking.
Bat Psychology for Beginners.
Red apple wishes,
Plotka Hildur
"Just living is not enough... One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower." H.C. Andersen
(Associated with Enchanted Folk since June 2008)
Beneath Enchanted Oaks
When Rachel Oakes was a little girl she had to make paper dolls and twig people and small figures out of Fimo because English toyshops in the early Eighties just didn't seem to stock faeries, elves and fauns as playthings.
Now a mother of two dear little boys, Rachel has found that whatever direction her life seems to drift in, the world of enchanted creatures and people never seems to give up its call. Being mostly a self-taught artist, she was one day sketching a costume design for Queen Mab when the thought occurred to her that it might be fun to actually attempt to make it; and so began a reawakening of her former childhood pastime and a renewed love of faerie tales, folklore, mythology and history.
Just as she now collects and treasures every magical piece that her children create, Rachel's mother still has a tiny figure of a hobbit that Rachel made, aged seven. He's a little flat, and rather basic, but everyone agrees that the costume design shows great flair...
Rachel has been a member of Enchanted Folk since May 2008
members.enchantedfolk.com/www.enchantedoaks.co.uk
On Faith and Faeries
RdeHwyll is a semi-retired gentleman (?) living a Pagan’s life in North-Eastern Pennsylvania, USA, near the Poconos Mountains region of the Appalachians.
He has been following his personal Pagan path in life for more than forty years, and has yet to truly find his way -- there are always new paths that intersect, join, and cross, so the way is always filled with new beginnings. He currently lives alone, except for frequent visits from unseen Fae.
Comments and Questions about what he writes are always welcome.
“I do believe in Faeries, I do, I do! Peter Pan, from the play of the same name by James M. Barrie --That pretty much sums up how I feel, too!"
(Photo by J. Corsentino: RdeHwyll at convention with Donny Ha and Ailynari of Enchanted Folk and Faezine - "Proof that he is, in reality, a Half-Giant!")
RdeHwyll has been a member of Enchanted Folk since November 2007
members.enchantedfolk.com/www.geocities.comrdehwyllthe_fair_folk_welcome
Enchanted Childe
Sarah's favourite saying - Life's a garden, dig it!
“As far as living in the magic, Be, there is great beauty in all of life's small things, which are really what's most important. Embrace each precious moment, as it's all magic. Watching a ladybug with my girls, jumping in leaf piles, building a snowman... things like that. The silly stuff, that's what I love, and that's magic to me.”
Once upon a time, there lived a small toad named Sarah, in a wooded swamp in northeastern Pennsylvania.
At age sixteen, she was kissed by a handsome prince, who promised to turn her into a human girl, so long as she agreed to cook, sing, and paint for him. This she did, and they lived quite happily.
She attributes her artistic talents to being born with unusually short thumbs, and to this day still has slimy feet and smells funny.
Sarah has been a member of Enchanted Folk since September 2007
members.enchantedfolk.com/enchantedchilde
Sleepy's Corner
“What parent does not see a part of themselves in their child? So, too, could I see a part of my wife in what she created. From the porcelain and clay of her sculptures she gave form to dreams and inspired me to tell of this realm.
Few know of my desire to rhyme and write. It’s not a subject that comes up among my fellow carpenters. Still, as a contractor, I routinely help turn wishes into reality, so in this my poetic stories run much the same way.
As a parent and grandparent, I appreciate the purity in a child’s sense of the world far more than the perceptions we acquire, as we grow older.
The refuge for our innocence and wonder lies dormant in our dreams, and is awakened as we rest.
What I describe is not a world that needs to be made beautiful, but one that already is.”
Sleepy has been a member of Enchanted Folk since March 2008
members.enchantedfolk.com/sleepystories
Contemplation
"From the beginning I've had an interest in Faeries, Elves and anything mystical and fantastical, mysterious or otherwordly. I always loved to draw and I also loved to read. I was collecting knowledge of Faeries from childhood onward without ever realizing that I would one day put it to use in my Artwork.
The advent of the internet awakened me to the many Faerie Artists "out there" and I wanted to be one of them. While laid off from my job in 2002 I began whiling away the extra time I had on my hands by beginning my own attempts at Faerie Art. My art is accomplished by creating a hand drawn Faerie and scanning her into the computer and then "painting" her in Photoshop.
The Faeries channel my artwork, of that I have no doubt. I often start to do a certain Faerie only to find they had other ideas - a change in colors, a different face, a different angle, a whole different picture! Working with the Fae has been a joy and very therapuetic. I get lost in my artwork and lose all sense of time and whatever else may be going on.
My life is blessed by the Fae and I am grateful.
Be asked me to explain how I live in the Magic and I believe I have been captured by the Faeries in the course of this Faerie Art evolution in my life. I stay in the Magic because we are a team, they and I, and it is a joy to work with them, and if I am held captive by the Fae then so be it, I'm enjoying myself immensely!"
Susan has been a member of Enchanted Folk since January 2009
members.enchantedfolk.com/sbarchard@marxware.com
Photographica from the Realms (Faezine's Cover Artist)
"Believing in Magic is easy, but, for me, Living in the Magic comes from inspiration…
My muses are from Nature and all the many creatures we share this planet with… seen and unseen.
But mostly, true Magic comes from the people who touch my life.
I currently have 923 songs on my iPod, 532 Books, 227 DVDs, at least 70 Faeries residing in my house, 16 teapots, 6 Bonsai, 3 Cameras, a million yards of fabrics waiting to be made into costumes (okay... that's an exaggeration...) and one lonely gargoyle!"
Susan has been a member of Enchanted Folk since October 2007
members.enchantedfolk.com/www.photoimagerybysusan.com
Gnomes of Blaeberry Glen & Wee Highland Snippets
"My mother told me that I was born with a pointed head which apparently even the nurses remarked upon. There was a fey quality about my mother, with her long golden hair, enigmatic smile and faraway eyes.
I grew up believing in fairies, elves and mermaids."
Born in 1959 Suzanne grew up in the magical landscape of southwest Wales, retaining her childhood beliefs. With a passion both for nature and art she went on to gain a BSc in Botany intending to work for nature conservation. However, although she has worked in a variety of jobs including nature conservation, her creative side gradually took precedence...
She now lives in the enchanted rural Highlands of Scotland behind a thorny hedge of wild rose and brambles, with her son, three cats and at least seven gnomes.
Suzanne has been a member of Enchanted Folk since September 2007
members.enchantedfolk.com/suzannegyseman
The Nomadic Notebook
“We follow the open road...”
Samantha Stephenson and Scott Helland make up The Gypsy Nomads, a musical duo based in New York whose music can be described as a hybridized version of the gypsy sound laced with a cabaret, celtic and neo-medieval flavor rooted in punk, folk and the vineyards of southern France!
The Gypsy Nomads have been members of Enchanted Folk since November 2007
members.enchantedfolk.com/thegypsynomads
In Search of Magical Realities
Tod enjoys a good glass of wine and a quiet day at home. He is a professional amateur and an unrepentant romantic who has never managed to make any money at all.
"Praise to the World Queen, the high messenger of a holier world, a nurse of blessed love - she sends you - tender, beloved - Night's lovely sun, - now, I wake - for I'm yours and mine - you called the Night to life for me, - humanized me - consume my body with spirit fire, so I can mix with you more intimately, airily, and then the wedding night will last forever."
- Novalis
Hymnen an die Nacht
Tod has been a member of Enchanted Folk since November 2007
members.enchantedfolk.com/foxtuft
Wings
“An attitude aglow lets the talent flow.
How do I live in magic? Well, I see magic all around me in potential. I see kids growing up smarter and more questioning than they were before, not accepting the status quo, not growing up simply to become sheeple.
I try to boost kids whenever I can, not talking down to them, but listening and enjoying everything they say because I find them a living treasure. I thrive on surprising them with faery images when they least expect it... of themselves!
Kids are magic. They're open, they're natural-born free thinkers, and not afraid to question.”
Tommy has been a member of Enchanted Folk since October 2007
members.enchantedfolk.com/buddafly
Path of the Dream Walker
"I grew up dreaming. Armed with paintbrushes, sketchbooks and an ocean-deep heart I stepped onto the path of Art and walked in the direction of my dreams, knowing it wasn't an easy route I had chosen, but the only one that will lead me home.
Working and living in Bristol, in the South West of England, I spend my days painting in a woodland studio under the watchful gaze of squirrel, deer and a myriad of forest dwellers.
I have always had a passion for painting figuratively, seeking to convey emotion and spirit through the human form. The natural world with the legends and archetypes our earth is steeped in provides an endless source of inspiration for me.
Painting isn't something I do; it's more a case of who I am. My first language, my truest love, whether drawing, or painting in oils, acrylics or watercolour I seek to tell my story, your story and the ancient stories Gaia whispers to the trees."
Toni has been a member of Enchanted Folk since September 2007
members.enchantedfolk.com/elfin-grrl
A Musing
Yama is a grown-up little girl who still believes imaginative play is the best way to learn.
She lives on the east coast of the United States with her dear daughter where she writes when she can.
Yama has been a member of Enchanted Folk since March 2008
members.enchantedfolk.com/yama
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