I've always had stories running around in my head.
They never get out though.
They just lurk and then, every so often, demand to be brought to life.
That's easier said than done though, right? How many of us share the dream of writing a book one day? But where to start?
What makes me think I could even write one?? I mean, my spelling is atrocious, my grasp of grammar is worse and . . . well, I didn't even finish high school . . .
Here's the thing. My parents separated when I was 11. (And then divorced a few years later.)
There were several turbulent years after that. Lots of moving, lots of new schools. Pretty tough stuff for a shy introvert. I moved here just before I turned 16 and finished grade 10 in our little private school. I would have had to finish high school in a huge public school. One known to be rather rough at the time.
I couldn't do it. My mom promised I wouldn't have to go back if and only if, I found myself a job. Not long after, while out for breakfast one day, I applied for a job and got it! That, for the most part, was the end of formal schooling for me. (Poor mom. I found out years later that she'd figured I wouldn't have the courage to get a job. She'd thought it was a safe promise to make. . .)
So. Stories in my head, and a story I kept telling myself about why I couldn't write them down.
Stories want to be told. My stories found another way. They snuck up on me through my photography. The Photoshop Artistry course and then the more advanced Awake class I'm taking, began to show me another way to tell a story, one told with digital artistry.
But it didn't stop there. Stories still nagged me to write them down.
So now I am.
I'm combining photography, digital art and words into an 'illustrated' short children's story and Nelena and her girls agreed to be my models for the project.
I hope it will be a good story but, even if it isn't, at least I won't have to regret not trying . . . (If there are any English teachers out there interested in editing an amateur's work . . . drop me a line. I'll need all the help I can get! ;) )
The first 'illustration' is at the top of this post. I'm also sharing other images taken during our storybook photoshoot. It took the whole day, with Holly doing hair and makeup for these three lovely ladies (the girls got blush and lip gloss!), but my, was it ever fun!
This is the above image before I worked some digital magic on it . . .
The day began with hair and makeup.
It's not all glamour as this girl can tell you . . .
But she soon got into the swing of things.
Her big sister hung out with me while I created the wreaths for their hair.
Once we got to our beautiful garden, (not mine, this one belongs to my dear friend Nicole) it was time to get into character.
How exactly do fairies act??
Let's think about it with tea and cookies . . . or in this case, apple juice and cookies.
No photoshoots are problem free.
"You're worried about my wreath when there are wasps flying around my head?!!"
The girls were game to climb a ladder in hopes of seeing themselves fly in their story. Of course there's always a spotter close at hand!
Then it's time for a little fun!
We got many, many beautiful images, ones I hope will make lovely illustrations for my story one day.
Until then I'll leave you with these . . .
A big thank you to Holly, Nelena and the girls for helping me with this dream!
Tanulia drew the bow across the strings of her cello. The concert was only hours away and she had to get this just right. It wasn't everyday that she was asked to play for a Naming Day ceremony. Lord Druindar and his Lady Alyndra were throwing the kind of feast for their first born daughter that would be talked about in Cewit Forest for years to come. Which is why her stomach was doing back flips and, if she didn't stop sweating, she'd have to go home and change into a new gown. One of these days she'd remember to bring a cloth to wipe her hands on. It was hard to look calm and self possessed when she kept rubbing sweaty hands all over the skirt of her gown.
The crackle of leaves behind her interrupted her thoughts. "I thought you might like a practice audience." Gondien jumped lightly onto the log, his plumy, red tail waving gently as he sat down beside her. "Rilien's on his way as well. He's just stopping at Lorlis Grove to see if any of the fairies would like to come for a bit as well."
"That's a wonderful idea Gondien!" Tanulia looked at her friend and smiled. He always knew how to make her feel better. "I'd love to see Kilyn. She's been awfully busy these days."
The fox laughed. "11 year old fairy boys seem to feel compelled to investigate every square inch of the forest. Panyin's been keeping her hopping that's for sure!"
The woman drew the bow across the strings, then plucked the top string and turned one of the small pegs by the cello's wooden bridge to adjust the sound a little. She plucked the next string and did a bit more adjusting, working her way through the strings, one by one until she was satisfied that each string was tuned perfectly.
"Kilyn told me she found him stuck in an ant hill the other day. He wanted to see what they did in there and was mad as a hornet when he wedged himself into one of the tunnels. Fairies might be able to furl their wings pretty tightly but the wings don't disappear altogether!" The elven woman laughed as she pictured poor Panyin wedged into the tunnel like a cork in a bottle. It was probably the only time he'd been still in days. Maybe even weeks. "I know I shouldn't laugh but that boy is indestructible, not to mention inexhaustible. Luckily for Kilyn, boys seem to settle down a bit by the time they turn twelve."
"Well then, only 9 months to go!" Gondien said wryly and they both chuckled.
Tanulia wiggled on the log a little and arched her back, loosening her shoulders. The cello wasn't quite at the right height so she leaned over and turned the end pin to adjust it, lowering her cello to a more comfortable spot. She didn't want to regret not taking the time to get the height just right, even if this was just a practice session.
They turned, looking behind them as they heard Rilien winging his way towards them. The fox moved over and gave the owl room to land on the log. "Did you find anyone in the Grove?" Tanulia asked as he swooped down. Rilien landed on the log with a small thump and tucked his wings in. He was a lovely caramel brown and his white face had the look of a mask around his big owl eyes. His feathers were satiny soft while the claws at the end of his toes were razor sharp. Rilien was Cewit's only owl Elder, the others choosing to live in more established elven Havens. There were 12 Havens in all, although over half were fairly new, as elves might reckon age. Cewit's Haven was only 900 years old.
"Alalia and Eloiny will be here any minute and Kilyn's coming as well. She seems to have lost track of Panyin again though, so she may not stay long if she doesn't run across him on her way over." Rilien said.
"What's so funny??" His head swiveled as he looked at Tanulia and Gondien giggling on either side of him. "Tanulia was just telling me about the ant hill escapade" The fox told him. The owl began to chuckle. "That boy really knows how to get himself in trouble alright." The three laughed together as Tanulia got ready to play.
The elf drew her bow across the strings once again. Satisfied that the tone was just right she began playing a few bars of some of the more complicated spots that had her worried. She began slowly and then, as she felt more confident, worked her way up to the proper tempo, replaying the same bits over and over. She winced as she hit the wrong note on a particularly tricky bit and stopped to lean over and note it down on her music. It wouldn't do at all to make a mistake on a night as important as this one.
"Eloiny wanted me to tell you that she's been asked to create the light orbs for tonight's ceremony so she's going to practice a bit more when she gets here. She's been working on something a little different for this. Instead of just regular white globes she's figured out a way to fill the centers with flowers." The brown owl told the elf, as he ruffled his feathers and settled in, making himself a little more comfortable.
"Reow!" A tiny screech wafted down from the tree.
"What in the world?" Tanulia jumped a little. "Did you hear that ?" she asked the other two. 'Hear wha. . . ?" before Gondien could even finish his sentence the sound came again and a little louder this time. "Reow!!"
"Have any of you seen Panyin? I've been looking for him everywhere!" called Kilyn as she flew towards them, her tiny forehead wrinkled with worry.
"Reow!!!" Elf, fox and owl looked up into the tree overhead as the sound grew louder yet. Kilyn flew closer, fluttering above them. Light spilled out as a tiny door flew open and a little fairy boy hovered in the opening. "Panyin!" his mother scolded "What are you doing in a pixie house? You were supposed to be home ages ago. And what's that noise?" Panyin looked at his mom sheepishly. "I found a pixie kitten in the woods and followed her home. Her mom said I could stay for milk and cookies but I spilled the milk all over the kitten. I tried to clean her up but she doesn't want to be dried off!"
Two more fairies flew towards them, a couple of glowing orbs flying along behind. Tanulia waved her bow at them and said hello. It was time to get back to the music. The fox breathed in and laid down on the log, his tail dangling over the side. There was nothing he loved more than cello music. Kilyn continued to scold her son but, when he asked, told him he could stay and listen for a little while as long as he promised to behave himself. Eloiny hovered over Gondien and a tiny orb started to form, shimmering in the gathering shadows. She wanted to make sure the orbs were absolutely perfect for tonight's ceremony. Gentle Alaia drifted up into the trees and lay with her head resting on her arms. She was very shy and didn't like to be around large crowds of people so she was happy to be able to enjoy the elf's beautiful music in peace. A small brown bunny hopped up to the log and and paused.
Tanulia took a deep breath. She was surrounded by friends and it was time to make music. It didn't get much better than that.
*****
A big thank you to Vanessa Smeding my elven cellist, my daughter Crystal for posing for my three fairies and my daughter Holly for the wonderful job she did with the hair and makeup.
If you've ever wondered what goes into a fairytale composite art piece I've given you a tiny glimpse in this video.
As most of you know, I love to read. As a kid, nothing was more enjoyable than a long, leisurely visit to the library on a Saturday morning.
One of my favorite spots in the library was the fairytale section. I read every. single. Brothers Grimm book they had, and a wide assortment of fantasy novels began to stack up beside my bed, ready for midnight sessions with my flashlight under the covers.
I still love a great fantasy/fairytale story.
About a year and a half ago I bought an online Photoshop Artistry course with the idea of creating visual Fairy Tale stories. It was pretty complicated and intense though, so I kept avoiding even getting started. In January, Sebastian, who teaches the Artistry course, launched a year long course designed to help you think, live and create like an artist, with the idea that over the year you would work through the original course and the new one together, getting assignments and inspiration every two weeks.
I couldn't resist it and managed to be one of a limited number of people accepted into the course. (The number of people accepted was limited so he could give us all individual help when we needed it and I definitely need it!) I made it into the course by setting my alarm for six o'clock in the morning while on a romantic get away with Henry on New Years Eve . . .
Not particularly romantic I know, But what's a girl to do? ;D
And I was as quiet as a mouse while I was doing the happy dance after I got in. Henry didn't hear a thing.
Since then I've been working on some images I took last fall of my niece and nephew Clara and Andrew. They did an awesome job of dressing up and playing pretend with me. That gave me the first image in the story running through my head. I posted it on Facebook.
A few weeks ago I decided to step it up a bit and really start learning new techniques and began to search for a variety of images I could combine into one Fairy Tale 'story'.
I decided to continue the story I started with Andrew. First there was a gorgeous landscape image by Vladim that came in one of my Design Cuts deals, a lovely Elf from Faestock on Deviant Art, and the owl and wolf that appeared in my first fairytale image. Then came the hard work of making it all into a believable story. I'm a rank beginner but I'm having too much fun to care that it's far from perfect. Time and practice will help with that. (Not that anything's ever perfect of course . . . ;D)
I've been working on this off and on for the last few weeks so I'm hoping no one drops by unannounced over the week end.
My house is not fit to be seen and my cupboards are bare.
Good thing Henry and the kids are old enough to fend for themselves . . . .
Here's the newest installment in my FairyTale Friday series:
And, in case you missed it, here's the first part of the 'story' . . .
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