I have had such a great time continuing my wee stories through the nursery's Instagram account that just like the 'Thought of the Day' postings I would like to share them with you as well.
I will add yet another tab at the top so you can see the photos and story that was written to go with them.
In that same breath, again, this same idea will be carried over to the website as well.
I can't wait to start sharing even more of my silly antidotes, musings and even sometimes inspirational short stories. Mind you with all this being said, it seems that I might have started giving 'mankind' in general a hard time? But, this I will let you decide for yourself...mind you if you are a troll, a whale, a faerie or even a snail....you just might not actually have this same perspective!
I will start this new addition to the blog once I am back in the nursery.
A Faerie Nursery!!
Our nursery is certainly not your everyday garden by any means.
As if mingled with the seeds sprinkled in an ornamental garden...which have been dipped in hues
of a coloured rainbow...kissed with aroma of a midsummer's bouquet...bringing a breathtaking
and magical feel that can only be found in our enchanted nursery.
Welcome to the nursery..... www.faerienursery.com
Showing posts with label Inspiration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Inspiration. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Sunday, August 24, 2014
The Perfect Seaside Story
Now thinking along the lines of my wee company that specializes in Faeries you certainly must be questioning the title of this blog posting? Well, I know I would be, if I was you! Just saying??
Earlier this year I had decided to take a massive leap into the unknown and add to the Northern Line a mermaid like faerie. As this decision took more studying than the rest of the faeries that represent the environment, animals/birds both well known and sacred, using a historical reference and then finally symbolizing the topography of the land and water of northern Canada.
As from this point in the making of the Northern Line I had taken inspiration from the Northwest Territories and the Yukon areas but I knew little and next to nothing of the newest territory of Canada. On April 1, 1999 Canada officially divided the Northwest Territories, a land claim that had proposed in 1976. This new 'land' has and still is mainly inhabited by the Inuit who have lived there for thousands of years. This new territory was called Nunavut which translates to the 'place of fish' in the traditional Inukitut language.
Garnered with the history of this magnificent new but oldest land, I knew that I had to fashion a new genre, a new type, a new style of faerie so her story could be told through my own imagination of colours, design, look and feel of a faerie made to represent and hopefully do justice to this land that was and is our ancestry.
I would like to share with you the story that inspired the creation of Mistress Sanna.
**The Legend of Sedna the Sea Goddess
The legend of how Sedna became a sea goddess is told throughout the Arctic. The story varies from one region to the next. However, in all versions, a young woman becomes the mother of all sea creatures and controls the availability of seal, walrus, fish, whale, and other sea animals to the Inuit hunters.
Once there was a young woman named Sedna. She lived in the Arctic with her mother and father. She loved her mother and father very much and was very content. Her father was a skilled hunter, so he provided very well for his family. Sedna had plenty of food and warm furs to wear. She liked the comfort of her parent's home and refused to marry. Many Inuit men desired Sedna for a wife and asked her parents for permission to marry her. But Sedna refused them all. Even when her parents insisted it was time for her to marry she refused to follow tradition and obey them.
This continued for quite some time, until one particular Inuk came to visit Sedna. This man promised Sedna that he would provide her with plenty of food to eat and furs for clothes and blankets. Sedna agreed to marry him. After they were man and wife, he took her away to his island. When they were alone on the island, he revealed to her that he was not a man at all, but a bird dressed up as a man! Sedna was furious, but she was trapped and had to make the best of it. He, of course, was not a good hunter and could not provide her with meat and furs. All the birdman could catch was fish. Sedna got very tired of eating fish every day.
They lived together on the island for a time, until Sedna's father decided to come and visit. Upon seeing that his daughter was so unhappy and that her husband had lied to her, he killed the birdman. Sedna and her father got into his kayak and set off for home. The birdman's friends discovered what they had done and wanted to avenge the birdman's death. They flew above the kayak and flapped their wings very hard. The flapping of their wings resulted in a huge storm. The waves crashed over the small kayak making it almost impossible to keep the boat upright.
Sedna's father was so frightened that the storm would fill his kayak with water and that he would drown in the icy waters that he threw Sedna overboard. He thought that this would get the birds to stop flapping their wings, but it did not. Sedna did not want to be left in the water, so she held tightly to the edge of her father's boat and would not let go. Fearing that she would tip him over, the father cut her fingers off, one joint at a time. From each of her finger joints different sea creatures were born. They became fish, seals, walruses, and whales.
Sedna sank to the bottom of the ocean and there became a powerful spirit. Her home is now on the ocean floor. If you have seen her, you know she has the head and torso of a woman and the tail of a fish.
Sedna now controls all of the animals of the sea. The Inuit who rely on these animals want to maintain a good relationship with Sedna, so that she will continue to allow her animals to make themselves available to the hunters. Inuit have certain taboos that they must follow to keep Sedna happy. One of these says that when a seal is killed it must be given a drink of fresh water, not salt water.
If the hunters do not catch anything for a long time, the Shaman will transform himself into a fish. In this new form, he or she will swim down to the bottom of the ocean to appease Sedna the Sea Goddess. The Shaman will comb the tangles out of Sedna's hair and put it into braids. This makes her happy and soothes her anger. Perhaps it is because Sedna lost her fingers that she likes to have her hair combed and braided by someone else. When she is happy, she allows her animals to make themselves available to the hunters. Animals do not mind giving themselves up to provide food, clothes, and shelter for the Inuit. **
**© Lenore Lindeman, 1999.
Moore Charles. 1986. Keeveeok, Awake! Edmonton: Ring House Gallery. p. 9–10.
http://www.polarlife.ca/traditional/myth/sedna.htm
I hope you now know why and how I created and welcomed Mistress Sanna amongst the beautiful, mystifying and magical family of the Northern Line of Faeries. I do hope that I have done her justice and I hope that she is able to carry on the folklore of the Inuit people.
Earlier this year I had decided to take a massive leap into the unknown and add to the Northern Line a mermaid like faerie. As this decision took more studying than the rest of the faeries that represent the environment, animals/birds both well known and sacred, using a historical reference and then finally symbolizing the topography of the land and water of northern Canada.
As from this point in the making of the Northern Line I had taken inspiration from the Northwest Territories and the Yukon areas but I knew little and next to nothing of the newest territory of Canada. On April 1, 1999 Canada officially divided the Northwest Territories, a land claim that had proposed in 1976. This new 'land' has and still is mainly inhabited by the Inuit who have lived there for thousands of years. This new territory was called Nunavut which translates to the 'place of fish' in the traditional Inukitut language.
Garnered with the history of this magnificent new but oldest land, I knew that I had to fashion a new genre, a new type, a new style of faerie so her story could be told through my own imagination of colours, design, look and feel of a faerie made to represent and hopefully do justice to this land that was and is our ancestry.
I would like to share with you the story that inspired the creation of Mistress Sanna.
**The Legend of Sedna the Sea Goddess
The legend of how Sedna became a sea goddess is told throughout the Arctic. The story varies from one region to the next. However, in all versions, a young woman becomes the mother of all sea creatures and controls the availability of seal, walrus, fish, whale, and other sea animals to the Inuit hunters.
Once there was a young woman named Sedna. She lived in the Arctic with her mother and father. She loved her mother and father very much and was very content. Her father was a skilled hunter, so he provided very well for his family. Sedna had plenty of food and warm furs to wear. She liked the comfort of her parent's home and refused to marry. Many Inuit men desired Sedna for a wife and asked her parents for permission to marry her. But Sedna refused them all. Even when her parents insisted it was time for her to marry she refused to follow tradition and obey them.
This continued for quite some time, until one particular Inuk came to visit Sedna. This man promised Sedna that he would provide her with plenty of food to eat and furs for clothes and blankets. Sedna agreed to marry him. After they were man and wife, he took her away to his island. When they were alone on the island, he revealed to her that he was not a man at all, but a bird dressed up as a man! Sedna was furious, but she was trapped and had to make the best of it. He, of course, was not a good hunter and could not provide her with meat and furs. All the birdman could catch was fish. Sedna got very tired of eating fish every day.
They lived together on the island for a time, until Sedna's father decided to come and visit. Upon seeing that his daughter was so unhappy and that her husband had lied to her, he killed the birdman. Sedna and her father got into his kayak and set off for home. The birdman's friends discovered what they had done and wanted to avenge the birdman's death. They flew above the kayak and flapped their wings very hard. The flapping of their wings resulted in a huge storm. The waves crashed over the small kayak making it almost impossible to keep the boat upright.
Sedna's father was so frightened that the storm would fill his kayak with water and that he would drown in the icy waters that he threw Sedna overboard. He thought that this would get the birds to stop flapping their wings, but it did not. Sedna did not want to be left in the water, so she held tightly to the edge of her father's boat and would not let go. Fearing that she would tip him over, the father cut her fingers off, one joint at a time. From each of her finger joints different sea creatures were born. They became fish, seals, walruses, and whales.
Sedna sank to the bottom of the ocean and there became a powerful spirit. Her home is now on the ocean floor. If you have seen her, you know she has the head and torso of a woman and the tail of a fish.
Sedna now controls all of the animals of the sea. The Inuit who rely on these animals want to maintain a good relationship with Sedna, so that she will continue to allow her animals to make themselves available to the hunters. Inuit have certain taboos that they must follow to keep Sedna happy. One of these says that when a seal is killed it must be given a drink of fresh water, not salt water.
If the hunters do not catch anything for a long time, the Shaman will transform himself into a fish. In this new form, he or she will swim down to the bottom of the ocean to appease Sedna the Sea Goddess. The Shaman will comb the tangles out of Sedna's hair and put it into braids. This makes her happy and soothes her anger. Perhaps it is because Sedna lost her fingers that she likes to have her hair combed and braided by someone else. When she is happy, she allows her animals to make themselves available to the hunters. Animals do not mind giving themselves up to provide food, clothes, and shelter for the Inuit. **
**© Lenore Lindeman, 1999.
Moore Charles. 1986. Keeveeok, Awake! Edmonton: Ring House Gallery. p. 9–10.
http://www.polarlife.ca/traditional/myth/sedna.htm
I hope you now know why and how I created and welcomed Mistress Sanna amongst the beautiful, mystifying and magical family of the Northern Line of Faeries. I do hope that I have done her justice and I hope that she is able to carry on the folklore of the Inuit people.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Creative Conundrums
I will admit that this latest Northern Faerie has caused me more self-doubting than any other faerie to date!
As I have had plans to complete a full calendars worth of Northern Faeries by the end of June, I am a bit behind after not feeling well for the first 3 weeks of the New Year.
Getting back on track though has proven more difficult than it should have been....grrrrrrrr!
There are currently 7 Northern Faeries (one will not be released until December 31, 2014 though) including... Aurora, Midnight Sun, Boreal, Agua, Snowflake and Raven. I do know the names of the next 4 faeries and I have most everything that I need in order to make them. This leaves me only 1 more to go, which I do have all the product for but she at this stage is still unnamed.
Back to the faerie that I have been working on now for the past couple of weeks. I have pulled out I don't know how many colours of flower petals and nothing seemed to be working for me. I have set her out numerous times (at least 6) in the evening time so I could look at her in the morning with fresh eyes and possibly new ideas. In the end...I actually didn't change any of her flower petals in either shape, size or colour! I did though find out what was throwing me off which was a good thing before I put her back on the shelf to tackle down the road. As each faerie gets a wee flower bead that goes right on her hairline on her forehead, of all things, it was this little bead that had thrown me for a loop. I know that this fine little detail could be the cause of all of my angst but it was! After you see the photos below, you will definitely question why the new colour works but trust me it does :)
Once I figured out that this is what was causing my problems it ended up to be such a quick fix. Everything from that point on just worked out exactly as I wanted to.
All that is left to do is for Hubby to curl her hands and toes. She will then be epoxied to her wooden plate stand and she will be released and made available for purchase.
As noted above, there are a few more things that I need to buy before I can proceed with some of the faeries that are on the list to be made. I am hoping that most items will be picked up on our trip out this week.
One stop will be made to the fabric store? Yes, one of the Northern Line will be made with fabric and not flower petals! How on earth could this be you ask? Well, I have researched our northern cultural and folk lore of Canada and am including all three territories...the Yukon, Nunuvat and the Northwest Territories (where the nursery is located) and not all ideas can be captured using just flower petals. No worries, I won't keep you in the dark too much longer on her....well, unless of course I can't find the type of fabric that I want!
Without giving away the latest Northern Faerie to be released I have attached a few photos for you to enjoy :)
As I have had plans to complete a full calendars worth of Northern Faeries by the end of June, I am a bit behind after not feeling well for the first 3 weeks of the New Year.
Getting back on track though has proven more difficult than it should have been....grrrrrrrr!
There are currently 7 Northern Faeries (one will not be released until December 31, 2014 though) including... Aurora, Midnight Sun, Boreal, Agua, Snowflake and Raven. I do know the names of the next 4 faeries and I have most everything that I need in order to make them. This leaves me only 1 more to go, which I do have all the product for but she at this stage is still unnamed.
Back to the faerie that I have been working on now for the past couple of weeks. I have pulled out I don't know how many colours of flower petals and nothing seemed to be working for me. I have set her out numerous times (at least 6) in the evening time so I could look at her in the morning with fresh eyes and possibly new ideas. In the end...I actually didn't change any of her flower petals in either shape, size or colour! I did though find out what was throwing me off which was a good thing before I put her back on the shelf to tackle down the road. As each faerie gets a wee flower bead that goes right on her hairline on her forehead, of all things, it was this little bead that had thrown me for a loop. I know that this fine little detail could be the cause of all of my angst but it was! After you see the photos below, you will definitely question why the new colour works but trust me it does :)
Once I figured out that this is what was causing my problems it ended up to be such a quick fix. Everything from that point on just worked out exactly as I wanted to.
All that is left to do is for Hubby to curl her hands and toes. She will then be epoxied to her wooden plate stand and she will be released and made available for purchase.
As noted above, there are a few more things that I need to buy before I can proceed with some of the faeries that are on the list to be made. I am hoping that most items will be picked up on our trip out this week.
One stop will be made to the fabric store? Yes, one of the Northern Line will be made with fabric and not flower petals! How on earth could this be you ask? Well, I have researched our northern cultural and folk lore of Canada and am including all three territories...the Yukon, Nunuvat and the Northwest Territories (where the nursery is located) and not all ideas can be captured using just flower petals. No worries, I won't keep you in the dark too much longer on her....well, unless of course I can't find the type of fabric that I want!
Without giving away the latest Northern Faerie to be released I have attached a few photos for you to enjoy :)
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| Bowl of Inspiration!! |
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| Original Hair Bead -- a very light pink/peach |
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| Hair Bead used on new Northern Faerie |
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