Once Upon a Time

With no television in the home, we often have no idea what is going on in the world of entertainment but on occasion, we do find a show or two that absolutely thrills and inspires us. A simple Netflix account lets us keep up with old and new favorites, ( Dr Who, The Hobbit, Larkrise to Candleford, documentaries etc etc) but every once in awhile we come across a gem.

The latest of these is the network series "Once Upon a Time" which weaves the characters of every fairy tale ever told into one story. I had my doubts. . . trying to modernize fairy tales can be like stepping on sacred ground. . . and often is poorly done. With the exception of some pretty noticeable CGI effects the show is really intriguing and solidly done (though one could argue even the CGi "works" as the scenes using it all take place in the old fairy tale realm and, hey, everyone can't have the Game of Thrones budget!).  The character or Rumpelstiltskin/Mr Gold is truly the anchor of the show. You might recognize the actor from roles in The Full Monty and Trainspotting. . . but he takes the character of Rumple to a new level and carries the weight of trying to tell such a tale very well.

It is so delightful to watch a "fantasy fiction" show that is not focused on death, misery, war and gruesome effects. And to see the old fairy tales brought into a new, modern light is the most inspiring part to me. Like any show, it takes time to build such a world so the first five or six episodes take a little patience to let it develop (something I am amazed at when a show is actually given that time these days) but here it is two full seasons in and beginning a third. . .  and I find it interesting that the show's viewership has declined each season after a really strong start.

And that, my dear friends, is the real point of this post. . . It's hard to build a lasting fairy tale, let alone watch one every week. . . it somehow makes perfect sense to me that, over time, a show like this might not have the staying power to hold ever-decreasing attention spans. And perhaps, most of all, the idea of a short, classic fairy tale is more alluring than the drawn out reality which all tales eventually become without the viewer or the person experiencing it, making the effort to see it through. . . just as in real life. Making life magic is more than a short jaunt. . .it's a journey of the heart and soul and one that requires complete investment of us to make it a reality.

That's magic
 That's life. . .

And as the dark and devilish Rumpelstiltskin says often in this production; "Magic, always comes with a price."  

And maybe the truth is that most, in our modern fairytale seeking world, just aren't willing to pay that price.

As always, thank you for reading. . .
~nicolas

New Work from Shadow of the Sphinx

Just time this evening for a few images of four pieces just finished for some of my delightful customers. Enjoy!!

Small 5" Statue of Seshat the Goddess of Writing, Arithmetic and Architecture

Serqet or Selket - 7.5" tall - Scorpion Goddess - Protective Deity - The form I chose borrows from the famous gold statue of Her that guarded Tut's burial sarcophagus/shrine.

The Sutekh on the right I posted yesterday but he goes with this second Seshat as a pair. Aren't they a formidable duo?

A Short Epiphany About Inspiration

Last week I received a message from a customer asking what inspires me. . .

I must have answered this question a couple of hundred times over the last 20 or so years throughout all of my creative endeavors.

But this time as I went to respond, I had a little epiphany. There used to be some "things" and things here meaning external input, that inspired me. While this certainly remains true, I had to really think before answering because, after all these years, the external is now internal and the inspiration is now a part of everything in my world.

This was, I should say, a very conscious decision.

These days and, shall I say, for the last five years or so, I have been weeding out anything from my life that is simply not inspiring. I do not read books or watch anything visually that does not fit into the world of imagination and what I create.

People too. . . be they Etsy folks I follow or friends in the flesh. . . I've always had very strong boundaries about what got into my inner world and while people are the hardest to master in that regard, I have had that down for awhile now too. Not a minute is spent with anyone who does not understand, appreciate or add to my creative world.  Of course, there are the unavoidable times when the car needs fixed, the groceries need bought or the door needs answered for deliveries.  . .but other than those sort of encounters, it is a very small circle of people who get in.

The point of this all is really just to say that I have made my entire world a source of vibrant inspiration.  I have left no time, no room and no reason for anything else.  The results, I must say, are that I am as happy a creative soul as I have ever been. Life gets better each day and all I could ask for is more of the same each day going forward.

So now the answer to what inspires me is simpler than ever.

Everything around me.

And if I could give one gift to anyone else it would be to say you have the universe's permission to do this too!!

nicolas

And maybe that happiness is why this fellow, another commission  I finished yesterday, though He is the God of Chaos, has a rather satisfied and almost "cute" look on his face. . .

Set / Seth / Sutekh

Sign of Aquarius

When I was a boy, age 14, I walked into my first New Age bookstore. A little, literal, back-alley shoppe of enchantment called "Sign of Aquarius Books". I was, for lack of a better word, "searching" for answers to something that had happened in my life when I was 7 that no normal or spiritual/religious explanation could possibly explain.  So, here I was,  7 years later still seeking answers when I stepped through the old, bell-laden, victorian door and into the shop.

No bigger than a modern studio apartment, the place felt cozy and inviting to me as soon as I set foot inside. This was not the typical soon to be cliched "new age store" of the 90's with all the trappings and merchandise galore. . . no, this was the old school,  throwback, specialty book store that once thrived in this world when uniqueness and niche selling was part of the brick and mortar world. There was one room off of the main room and I heard voices in there so I assumed it was an office/storage etc and proceeded to begin browsing the shelves.

I was fascinated by the books I saw on topics I had never even heard of.  I might have been wandering for 5 minutes or so before I heard a voice say, "Helo dear, is there anything we can help you find?" I turned to face a short, stout, beaming silver haired woman in her 60's, her eyes so alive. . ..  and her husband who was also short and stout and rosy cheeked. I smiled and shyly said, "Umm, no . . . I just was . . .. looking. . .  " but that sentence did not end as a statement but as an unfulfilled expression. The couple both smiled and the woman said, "Well, if you have any questions, I will be right over here but take your time and enjoy"

Oh, I did. . . I think I may have spent hours that day sitting on the floor leafing thru books on everything from Taoism to Tarot to Guardian Angels and Fairies.

My mind was alive with the symbolism and possibilities within. . . and while I may not have found my answer then and there, I definitely walked into a place that allowed me to explore and dream. One of the few outside of my home world that did so and, as was often the case in my life,  one that I would come to look back upon as a small but important event. 

I feel, with a nod to my guardian Angel loving Grandmother, that I have been "watched over" since I was a child. . . though I have come to see it, thru my own passing of the years, as an unbroken connection to something inherent. Not an external force that helps and aides but an internal one that, if we remain true to it and do not get so caught up and lose ourselves in THIS so called reality around us, will serve us infallibly until the end of time.

It's what we all know before we are "taught" anything here. Before our parents realities and those of the ghost world around us take hold. It has saved my life on occasion and has always guided me back to creativity and self fulfillment no matter what turn I took off the path.

That turn, down an old alley, into Sign of Aquarius, was a gift at the age of 14. That's a time when teenagers can be wholly consumed by their internal angst, lack of self comfort and incessant desires to "fit in" and yet I was turned outward and into new mysteries to indulge in and to digest. They took me deeper within. . . past all the bullshit of peer pressure and "coolness" and pop culture and steered me back into my own imagination.  Sign of Aquarius, in our high proced realty-crazed, big box store nightmare, is long gone. But inside, it remains alive and that dear couple, then angels in my midst, are forever with me again.

nicolas

Fairy Garden Obelisk. . .Elf Approved!

Fairy garden obelisks edition number. . . oh I don't know. .  I've lost count!

I have been working with these for a quite awhile now.  .  .changing the construction constantly and finally feel I have a form and size I love.  They're 5 1/2 inches tall and the sea glass spheres comes in five colors and the finish in copper (as shown) as well as brass, silver or bronze patinas.

I am rewriting the obelisk story as well and will share that with you all when it is completed and I have a few more obelisks to show too. 

I think I knew this rendition was the one when I found these discerning little elf-fellows inspecting it verrrrrry closely!

nicolas

Stargazer Fairy House at Bewilder and Pine

Just a minute to blog today (not even really but I AM trying to be consistent!) so here is something I just finished for Bewilder and Pine. A new "Stargazer" Fairy House complete with crescent moon, silver stars and a very big telescope protruding from the attic window!

I have plans for a few more featuring telescope with tiny gear wheels affixed under them but, for now, thisis the first of it's kind! Enjoy!!

Have a wonderful Wednesday all!

nicolas

There She Is. . . (with a little help from the fairies)

Behold the magic of the fairies!!!

I received an order for one of my Alpine Fairy Houses on Monday last week and, as I went to thank the buyer, I saw that they had left a message asking me if I could bill them for Express shipping on the package to guarantee two day arrival at it's destination.

I went immediately to respond to that request so I did not, at that time, take a look at to whom the package was for or where it was headed exactly but I did see that the zipcode was an east coast location.

It was only after I replied that I looked at the address in full and saw that it was being sent to the woman who is the Miss NY entrant at the Miss America pageant on the boardwalk at Atlantic City. This really made me smile.

I've had some well known people (entertainment field and otherwise) purchase or commission my work but this one really had a special feel to it. It is my understanding that the young women who are part of the pageant receive gifts from all over the world during pageant week and, though this would be just one among many, I was still delighted that the fairy realm was being called upon to lend it's magic to someone in this way too.

Short story shorter, package was sent, delivered two days later and, other than sharing the story with my local postmistress ( I asked for her help as the address came back as undeliverable when I went to print postage but that was simply due to it being a temporary address set up for all the gifts that arrive that week)  I forgot the whole thing rather quickly.

Until this morning when a blurb on my homepage caught my eye. . . Miss NY is now Miss America. . . or is that Miss A-Fairy-ca?  For lo, though they often are known to help with many human problems and grant a few wishes to the fairy-kissed among us, it seems that the little sprites of this house may have lent their magical hand in assisting one young lady's dream come true over the weekend. . . and as we all know, the fairies DO love a sparkly crown!

While I have no proof that they helped or were at all responsible. . . I am going to give them a WEE bit of credit anyway. :)

On a closing note, I know that many of the gifts given this week end up going to charities and, if that is the case with this house, I could not be happier knowing the next recipient will be reaping the reward of the same fairy magic, in some new way, one day very soon. :)

nicolas

Miss America can thank the inhabitants of this house for her new shimmery crown. . .