Omens and Inspiration
There’s a wonderful post worth reading by Wendy Froud called Faery Gifts Inspire. I don’t know if Froud technically considers herself a “pagan” and I’ve never been entirely sure how seriously the Frouds take their belief in the faeries. But her description of going out for a walk and purposefully looking for signs from the spirits that will then inspire her artwork (which is all about said spirits) certainly seems like animism in action to me. Regardless, a good example to follow.
“We know that Faeries are nature spirits -part of the world beyond and the world within. We know that they touch our hearts and feed our imaginations -but -they also help us access and release our creativity. Brian and I have always known this, but perhaps it isn’t as obvious to everyone else. Let me tell you how that morning walk with the objects found along the way, led me to the beginnings of understanding what I wanted to put into words….So there it was -the beginnings of a story -family, home, quest,adventure, travel, magic, war, returning or not. -creative thinking -inspired by my asking the Faeries to show me something. Of course you can find objects and make connections without asking the Faeries to guide you, but I choose to think that the help they give is always valuable and certainly interesting. Besides -asking magical beings for help when writing about magical things just makes sense.”
Interesting, I took a mindful wall the other day, opening myself to suggestions from whatever muses were around, and I came home with two new poems ready to be chiseled out and the beginnings of a short story.
I’ve heard that Brian Froud says that he sees faeries and simply paints what he sees
This is so inspiring. Nature is beautiful, if you open your heart and mind, this makes absolute sense!
[...] she took to receive inspiration from the fae. Dver, at A Forest Door, noted that this was “animism in action“. And as I stopped to say hello to Niana, the water spirit, this got me thinking. Am I an [...]
I have been a massive lover of Froud’s work since I was a child. I had also wondered myself how seriously they take the reality of the Fae. I would read parts of their books about personal experiences and wondered whether it was fictional or not. Then a few years back they did work on a DVD called the Fairy faith, Brian’s response and their work on the Faerie oracle decks solidified for me that yes, they do take it seriously, yes they do whole heartedly believe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYY1sdXmJwI
I’ve been wanting to see the Fairy Faith film for awhile. Thanks for the clip at least!
No worries, I’m pretty sure the entire thing is on Youtube, or at least I know I watched the entire thing somewhere online.
What is the film Fairy Faith about and how can I see it?
When I was modelling, one of my photographer friends knew (and probably still knows) the Frouds well. She even shot a Marie Antoinette themed set at their wonderfully medieval fairy tale home. I think they take the Fae very seriously but tend not to shout about it too much.