Fairy tales were a kind of magic that protected me as a child. Not my body, bruised and battered, they protected my spirit and kept it alive … Fairy tales were not my escape from reality as a child; rather, they were my reality — for mine was a world in which good and evil were not abstract concepts. Like fairy-tale heroines, no magic could save me unless I had the wit and heart and courage to use it wisely.
~ Terri Windling
(Inviting the Wolf In: Thinking About the Difficult Story)
Hi,
What a beautiful painting, gorgeous.
I think every child loves to make up a world of fantasy to escape every now and then, or to just dream.
Thanks, Mags! Fairy tales are one reality we all probably need to one degree or another, to escape or to take a break from other realities….
I think adults need fairy tales too (or at least good fiction that takes them away from ‘real life’ for awhile. The painting is beautiful.
I think so, too, Pamela. We all need a refreshing and restorative diversion from our daily routines and realities now and then…
I agree with Magsx2 – it’s a beautiful pairing you’ve done here.
Growing up as a child, I had a faerie watercolor over my headboard — not too unlike this one. Mother’s hushed voice would spin tales to get me to sleep; assuring me that my faerie protector would watch over me as I visited winkin’, blinkin’, and nod.
You’ve stirred fond memories with this post. Thank you.
You’re welcome, Laurie. I have fond memories of my mother reading me fairy tales, too, and I miss having little ones around to read them to now that my children are grown and far away. It’s reassuring to have fairy protectors looking after us when there are so many trolls wandering the earth…
I believe fairy tales are a necessary part of childhood, especially painful ones. For children, there’s comfort to be found in believing in something so small yet powerful. A belief in fairies helps to develop the imagination, trust in the unseen and expand a child’s sense of wonder for the world.
I so agree with you, Amy-Lynn! It’s comforting and inspiring when we learn to “trust in the unseen” – I like the way you put that – to know we are never completely alone and that there is magic in our own lives, too.
Great picture and quote! I agree with a previous commenter that both children and adults need fairy tales. Both need them to help make sense of this complicated world.
Thank you, Sheryl! Fairy tales do indeed help us make sense of this complicated world, illustrating how the mysteries of the universe are available to us to navigate our everyday existence.
It’s funny how children believe in magic, and fairytales, yet as we get older and “wiser” we forget, yet our lives as adults become so complicated! It’s taken me years to work it out, but children know what it’s all about and we can learn so much from them. 🙂
Children do know what it’s all about, don’t they, Joanne! Sometimes I think people throw the baby out with the bath water when they try to be “adults” and turn their noses up at “childish” things…
Hi. This is a beautiful painting… seems to capture the essence of fairy-ness. Jane
I’m thinking of fairies more than ususal as Midsummer approaches. My sister and I signed up for a fairy garden workshop this Saturday at a nearby herb farm – can’t wait to go!
The fairies can certainly lift the world into a lightness that heals and promises magic. The painting is exquisite and the reflection sad but hopeful. Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome, Diane! I was the kid who dressed as a fairy for Halloween, while everyone else was thrilled to don the spooky characters… 🙂
Simply beautiful painting!
Thank you, Alex!
Sometimes I miss the awe that I felt about the freshness of first discovering fairy stories that I had as a child. I suppose I get that now from nature – perhaps a more ‘direct’ approach. There’s a little hollow tree trunk in the side of our garden, adjacent to our stream and surrounded by small plants that are growing by it or in the top of it, and beneath it, I always think that some kind of fairies or sprites must be living there. 🙂 It was one of the things that attracted me to this house and its garden. Lots of little spaces like that here – in fact the whole area we live in has that sort of feel to it.
Talking of wolves, have you ever read Women who run with the wolves, by Clarissa Pinkola Estes? (I may have already asked you, but can’t remember. If I have, my apologies!)
Your little tree hollow does sound like a perfect nature spot for fairies. I think Mother Nature graciously offers many such places to our magical friends. When I was growing up our woods were full of what we called princess pines, which looked to me like miniature fairy pine forests. They were only a few inches tall. I’d often lie on the ground and daydream about the activities of the tiny residents.
I also can’t remember so very many things, Val. I haven’t read the Estes book but I’ve added it to my “to-read” list at GoodReads. Thanks for mentioning it! The art symbol book you recommended has arrived (it looks very interesting) and the sneeze-free cat owner book you recommended is on its way…