Shadow Play

Last autumn I created a group of shadow puppets for the telling of a contemporary fairytale and finally, in May, was able to see the end result performance at a theatre near my home in Nantes. The shadow show is part of a larger work entitled "Les Fabuleuses Histoires du Fabularium", a charming piece full of humour and accordion music performed by Les Aretes du Biftek troupe:
http://lesaretesdubiftek.wix.com/lesaretesdubiftek

Below is the princess character minus her control rods...

She is beloved of the wolf, a dandified fellow who in some ways might not be all bad, although still obsessed with harassing pigs...

Here they are in performance...

And we all hope they lived happily ever after...

Or in the meanwhile at least had a very good time...

A Walk Among the Flowers and Fae Matters...

Away from home again and traveling among the flowers in a cold and wet spring...

A few new things I've made recently:

Faery dream catchers for my Artemis Jane shop on Etsy:  http://www.artemisjane.etsy.com

Also on Artemis Jane, a magic mirror: vintage mirror with skeleton key and found butterfly wings encased in mica...
And speaking of skeletons, I've finally gotten around to finishing Ms. D. who started as a beach combed bone and early on looked like this:

And now looks like this:

And this:

Then on to the realm of fae furnishings...

Natural materials miniatures on my Pandora Jane shop: http://www.pandorajane.etsy.com
A wonky fae portal...

A simple fae kitchen set for adults or older children...

A mermaid chair and lamp of shells and twigs...

Fae acorn chandelier...

And another simple rustic dining set of driftwood and twigs, suitable for adults or older children...
More news to follow...wishing you a beautiful and creative day... and night!
Love, Diana

Returns and Travels

Back in Nantes after attending the fifth annual International Video Dance Festival of Burgundy (France) where my stop motion animation work was screened as part of a video collage in honour of the centennial of the Nijinsky/Stravinsky ballet "Le Sacre du Printemps" (or "Rite of Spring" as it is known in English), a seminal work that created a riot at the time of its first performance in Paris. The collage goes on to screenings at other international festivals later this month and afterward. Of course I was thrilled to be a part of this homage to one of my favourite historical dance works and the festival's strong selection of offerings ranged from otherworldly beauty to laugh out loud humour created by an international roster of artists in dance and video. It was a pleasure to be present in this stimulating environment with other creators and dance aficianados from France and countries as diverse as Mexico and Hungary.

April thus far has been an exciting month for me in the way of exhibitions, collaborations and new work--- I'll be sharing more later. However, whilst at the festival I did find time during the days to do a bit of hiking and I'd like to take you on a walk through one of the hilly Burgundian forests with its magical ambiance and quiet peace. Jagged moss draped stumps transform into faery forts or elfin creatures that start up on every side from the thick blanket of winter pale leaves. The trees possess miniature doorways at ground level and above, that could easily be taken for portals into other worlds. A rich variety of shelf fungus and tiny mushrooms crop up all around, suggesting the near presence of elemental beings or the equally mystical but clearly elegant interweavings of natural order. In the midst of an economically depressed region, the natural beauty here remains strong and inspiring, the evergreen woods full of bird song and the uplifting scent of pine, the green fields bedecked with wildflowers and gentle white Charolais cattle.

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