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Summer days, fairy art and, June!...
With the Summer Solstice just passed it very much feels like time is whizzing fast again and as ever, it's hard to believe we are half-way through the year!
I've been working on this summer fairy artwork for the last couple of months on and off, in the moments in-between and around the edges of the day to day... I'm pleased to have finished it just in time for Midsummer's Day - which also happens to be International Fairy Day, no less... :-)
The image in the picture is loosely inspired by one of our favourite Flower Fairy artworks by Cecily Mary Barker - I often used to read a few Flower Fairy poems to the children at bedtime when we didn't quite have enough time for a full story. So many of those poems are my favourites - it's hard to choose just one but I think I always loved 'The Song of The Wild Rose Fairy' because June is one of my favourite months of the year - when the roses are out, everything feels quietly abundant and it's birthday season for me!
I'm really still learning to draw/paint digitally and there are so many tools I still don't know how to use, but for this image I enjoyed finding a few favourite brushes that I like to work with... and it feels like quite an adventure as I'm always discovering new tips and tricks.
As well as this drawing, earlier in the year I finally finished the crochet-star blanket that I started way back in January 2021! Life just got so busy, and I got stuck at a point where I ran out of yarn in a particular colour & needed a trip to the wool shop in order to finish it... I finally managed that trip in January this year, and finished the blanket shortly after, and last week, just as I've been finishing up this fairy pic, I've started my next blanket, already promised to one of my sisters. It's so good to have creative projects on the go on the side-lines that perhaps take a little longer, can be picked up and put down in-between times, aren't deadline dependent, and are 'just because'. I always find my breathing space, thinking time, and a quiet sense of joy with these projects and I have to remind myself to make space for them these days, but it's always worth it when I do!
In other news, plenty of handmade fairies have flown the nest in recent weeks, and I'll post pictures of those in my next blog update. Meanwhile, there is a very sweet fairytale inspired craft tutorial here on how to make your own miniature books. I loved making mine fairy themed, and I'm going to save them as little keepsakes to add to my collection of fairy books, notebooks and trinkets... I might even write some wishes or poems in them, or record some some moments from some of our magical walks in nature, like the one we took as a family this Summer Solstice... There are also a few more beautiful book-inspired creativity ideas in this blog post. Which reminds me of another of my favourite poems that I used to read to the children when they were small, and captures so beautifully the June spirit that I love so much!
The Days Are Clear
The days are clear,
Day after day,
When April's here
That leads to May
And June
Must follow soon:
Stay, June, Stay!
If only we could stop the moon,
And June!
Christina Rossetti
However this post finds you, I hope you are also enjoying some time out and about amongst the roses, blue skies, and warm days of June. Wishing you a happy Midsummer's day... maybe with a touch of 'fairy day' energy in the mix too :-)
