Faery Crowns

  

Thought I'd share a bit of what I've been making lately with natural materials...
Recently, for the first time, I've tried my hand at faery crown making. Here are some photos of the first two crowns I made. They are available as custom orders on my Pandora Jane shop and I've sold several already! They are quite sturdy so they can actually be securely worn for faery festivals, Rennaissance fests, parties and creative weddings. The crowns also look quite nice displayed on a shelf or in a cabinet of collectibles.
Here is the first one I made:

Kindly modeled by my lovely daughter

The second crown was a request from a friend, who asked for something a little more compact and with a bit of her favourite colour included. (Yes, it can be annoying if one is always getting wings and crowns snarled up in the household furnishings or poking one's friends whilst giving a hug!) So this one is a bit smaller---12 centimeters across the base---and is made from twigs, seashells and soft pink flamingo feathers I picked up on one of my sojourns in the South of France.

For some time now I had contemplated making a fae sized gramophone record player, maybe because I am in love with the human size version and only wish they weren't so pricey. The idea of listening to all those scratchy old discs with no need for electricity seems perfect for a picnic in the country and some impromptu waltzing beneath the trees, togged up in lovely Edwardian style.

Then there was a faery kitchen table that emerged, all ready for tea-time. The chair has a lovely green, velvety wisteria pod as its back panel and a tiny walnut shell basket sits nearby.

And lastly a faery girl, all in natural materials at the request of one of my regular customers on Pandora Jane.

If you'd like to see more please stop by for a visit at my Pandora Jane shop on Etsy. There are lots and lots of different photos of fae items both for sale and under the archive of sold pieces, which you can click to view in the shop's sidebar. (To go to my shop from here just click on the blog's sidebar link to the right under "Diana's etsy shops"--for some reason I'm having trouble making a clickable link today).

A Walk in Nantes: July 24, 2012

angel fresco in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, Nantes, France

Walking is something I do a lot of, wherever I may find myself. Not only does it get me where I need to go in a guilt free, non polluting manner, the route provides an endless stream of beautiful and fascinating things to observe and is a calming form of moving meditation. Whenever I feel agitated my daily walks pacify me and help to put my life in perspective. Most of all I love to share the things I observe along the way, mainly recording impressions through photos. 

On this particular sunny day in late July my first stop was the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, a small Gothic edifice tucked into a cobbled side street nearby. The interior provides views of  fresco fragments, decorative wall treatments in various states of decay, small carvings tucked up high in the arches and a glimpse down through a window in the floor to a late medieval tomb crypt.

late afternoon sun throws stained glass colours on the floor tiles

and on a rather graceless, over life size and badly eroded Virgin trampling a serpent underfoot

so many centuries of change have left their mark, however fragmented

carved wall panels with biblical scenes

a detail view of purgatory from a large painting

a fresco wall inscription

a carved stone figure curls in a corner, high up among the arches

a neglected side chapel with lovely, decaying decorative painting

chapel detail

 a memorial with winged vanitas skull

a niche behind the altar bears the scar of a sculpture base

close up of a stone dragon on high

another side chapel with lovely gold stars across the vault of blue "heaven"

the base of an ornately carved pulpit

votive plaques offered in gratitude for answered prayers

another empty sculpture niche among votive offerings

view of a side chapel and the main altar to the left

another memorial and reminder of mortality

on my way out I spotted this charming fox-like creature at the termination of an arch high on the wall

 on a back street--- for me this image tells a story that changes each time I look

I like to take a back route to the Jardin des Plantes and this flowered summer dress drying on a tiny balcony caught my eye...
Arriving at the Jardin was a complete change of gears--from frozen stone and death's heads to young animals and the warmth of hundreds of miniature suns sharing their bounty with a full court of bees in attendance...

coot chick

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

carnivorous pitcher plants in the afternoon sun

turtles soaking up the sun

a fairy waterfall in the Jardin des Plantes