Farewell July, Hello August

It was a busy but magical month!

Hello Faeries and Fauns, Satyrs and Selkies, and Fey Folk of All Sorts!

It has been a little longer than I had hoped since we've spoken, and definitely longer than I would prefer since I have written a blog. I have a list of a few ideas, but this month has been a bit short on spare time. Believe me, it may have been quiet on the blog, but this month has been pretty full!

At the beginning of the month, my dear friend Bryonie had a trip planned to England to visit the small enchanted village where the Frouds, Terri Windling, and many other incredible mythic artists live. Our friend Desiree of D.M. Anderson Art, Bryonie and I collaboratively came up with the idea of putting out the call to our friends to make a video of short tributes to the Frouds that I would edit/put together. 29 people participated, and the Frouds had a lovely response. Each of them watched the video separately, and according to Bryonie, Wendy cried when she shared how thoughtful and loving it was. Brian did a little jig and said that "it made him happy that every person mentioned bringing the magic to this world. You weren't just using the art, using faeries, to escape. But making your own magic here." He said he felt inspired by the video, and that's exactly what we wanted to accomplish.

Here is a wonderful photo of Brian and Wendy wearing the masterpiece troll tails made for them by D.M. Anderson Artist. (They LOVE their tails) Brian is up to some faerie mischief it seems.

While I was in the woods with my dearest Wendy Froud troll, Adley, making my own portion of the tribute video, I took this photo of the two of us together. I truly love this photo, and I think it shows our relationship so well.

A few days after Bryonie returned from Chagford, I got a very exciting email notifying me that my essay, "Liminal-Aged Women and Fairy Tales," was chosen for publication on Terri Windling's inimitable and iconic website/blog, Myth and Moor. When it is on her site, I'll be sure to share it on my public Facebook and Instagram pages. Terri has been a primary role model in my life since my early 20s, and if me-then knew that this would be happening, I don't think she would have believed it. I'm very proud of my essay and I hope you enjoy it when it's up!

Around mid-month, I went with my friend Rachel of Ohio Canid Center and Rachel Lauren Photography to Blackhand Gorge and took some pictures with her adorable new ambassador fox, Rigby. Here is one of the resulting images, with more to come.

And then just two days later, I went to visit the aforementioned dear friend Desiree in Michigan! I had a chance to meet our mutual friend, Troll, who is the artist behind ShopTroll, a leather garb maker at various renaissance festivals.

We had a lovely evening together, and the next day, she and I went to another friend, Jules' house to meet with several other people and take atmospheric product photos of her incredible work. Not-so side note: wearing a D.M. Anderson tail was the last straw to convince me that I needed one now rather than later, and I formally put myself on her commission list. 

I love how this image of me in her stunning large (and super good quality) faerie wings looks. (All photos Ross Turner Photography)

The wings are beautiful, but I’ve never especially felt like a winged fey. So my favorite images of the day are the ones where I was a troll maiden. These feel so comfortably me. Here’s a link to my beautiful tail. The troll ears were also made by D.M. Anderson.

We all also posed in her adorable mushroom hats, and Jules made the comment "if Anne of Green Gables was a mushroom," which delighted me to no end. Hopefully I can share those photos soon as well.

I don't do well with having to take road trips two weekends in a row, so it would have taken something pretty monumental to get me to drive almost four hours round trip the following Saturday. Something, perhaps, like an entire gallery wall's worth of signed and custom framed Brian Froud art prints, half of which are numbered editions, all for a price too sinfully low to even share here. I am still pinching myself, and I cannot wait to figure out how to arrange these in my stairwell! 

Also this month, I appeared on a livestream episode of my friend Kate Nyx's variety show (My segment was pre-recorded) reading my short story “The Quest,” which previously appeared in Enchanted Living magazine. Patrons on Patreon also have access to watch this video. 

Speaking of Patreon, my exclusive micro-story I wrote for my $10+ patrons this month is absolutely my favorite one I’ve written yet since I started this new reward at the beginning of 2023! So that’s another accomplishment from this month.

Finally I ended the month by leading the second Faerie Faith and Folklore meeting at Magical Druid in Columbus. We made flower crowns and talked about how to build a life that is respectful of the faeries. Our next meeting will be September 30th and we hope to meet at the shop and then take a “field trip” to a nearby forest path to see what magic we can find in the woods. 

So…(deep breath and collapses) that was my July. I’d love to hear how yours was, how you are, what you’ve been dreaming and creating! And as always….

With Faerie Wings and Magical Things,

Grace