Jacklyn and the Beanstalk

Okay, fine, so I wanted to share another image. This photo is from Kolby Schnelli's Flickr album, part of the Fairy Tales Project on Flickr. I plan to write about the project more in the future, but this one just shouldn't be missed.

Overall, a lovely image from the subgenre of heroines and beanstalks, such as Jack of Kinrowan by Charles de Lint and Kate and the Beanstalk by Mary Pope Osborne. I really love the beanstalk image even if the model is a little overposed. :) Not a criticism because it works anyway.

Jack and the Beanstalk at the Beach

Today's the final day of Jack and the Beanstalk week. I have more to share in the future, but this week has been full of editing and writing so I will save my list for later.

The above image was found on the Flickr page of Daryl Sims. I saved it for Saturday. I know beach season is mostly over, but I always enjoy October weekends, this one is sunny and being outside is wonderful.

I'm always fascinated by artists who work in temporary mediums, especially sand and cake, since neither will last very long in the relative scheme of things. A friend who loves making cakes once explained to me that she finds the medium liberating since perfection is not necessary, she's knows its only temporary and thus she creates for the joy of creating instead of impressing or being burdened with another object to store.

But I still think: "All of that work! Gone!" Well, not so much when we have photos like this one.

And here's another bonus from the same album, featuring a fable this time:

Fairy Tale Ornament Giveaway

Did you realize that Christmas is twelve weeks from today?

Does anyone out there have a fairy tale themed Christmas tree? In recent years, I have. I don't have much fairy tale decor in my home--beyond my bookshelves and desk, my passion isn't very obvious--but a few years ago I decided to have my favorite illustrations made into ornaments on CafePress to add to my tree. So for about six weeks of the year, I see several of my favorite illustrations displayed in my house.



I've been pondering the next SurLaLune Giveaway and decided to have a twelve week giveaway up until the Christmas holiday. I will give away a different fairy tale ornament each week on Fridays for the next eleven weeks starting on October 9th. On the eleventh week, December 18th, I will give away two ornaments in hopes of them arriving in time for Christmas day (no guarantees, just the hope).



Now I know not everyone celebrates Christmas. I debated tiles instead of ornaments but I have a few of the ornaments hanging in my workspace. They are prettier than the magnets and in no way say "Christmas" unless they are actually hanging on a tree.

This time I've also included the question "What is your favorite fairy tale?" for the entry submission. All readers can see the responses--no emails though so privacy is protected--and hopefully I will have most of the fairy tales represented in the ornament giveaway.



Additional Giveaway Rules:

You may only enter once and your name will stay in the giveaway for the length of the giveaway unless you win. Winners are limited to winning one ornament.

If you win, I will contact you by email and ask for your mailing address. If I do not receive your mailing address within three days, I will pick another winner.

This SurLaLune giveaway is open to all readers, inside the United States and out. We will all cross our fingers that the ceramic will survive international mailing!

Beanstalk Sculpture

I have several things I hope to post here in the next few days--I'm always behind!--but I had to share this image for Jack and the Beanstalk week first. This one was gracefully shared by Gypsy at Once Upon a Blog. I had never seen it before and wish I could have seen it in person. The artist's website and information is in Spanish, a language I'm not adept with so I have nothing but the following description and a wonderful image to share. (Or is it Portuguese? See, really not adept.)

João Pedro Vale

"Beanstalk"

"Beanstalk", Sculpture made with nylon legs stockings, iron and wire scaffoldings, Variable dimensions
2004

Really quite magical, isn't it?

The Jack Tales Wall by Charles Vess

Continuing Jack and the Beanstalk week, I offer a link to an article and images of The Jack Tales Wall by Charles Vess. The 30'x50' brick wall sculpture is part of a campus building at Southwest Virginia Community College in Richlands, Virginia. Many of you know Charles Vess as the illustrator of some of Neil Gaiman's work, such as Stardust, but his body of work is large and shouldn't be missed. Visit his website here. Or simply look at some of his other work such as Medicine Road by Charles de Lint and Charles Vess, The Book of Ballads by Charles Vess, and, coming soon, Drawing Down the Moon: The Art of Charles Vess.


From his explanation of the work:

Who better to represent the people of these four counties than young Jack, the hero of hundreds of lively tales, indigenous to the Appalachian mountains? These very tales that were brought by the Scots-Irish and German immigrants from Europe into the southwestern Virginia region during the mid 1700's. Much as the early pioneers adapted themselves to this mountain environment, so did their stories adapt along with them. Thus, tales that were first transmitted orally throughout the British Isles and written down by the Brothers Grimm in Germany, mutated here into stories with an intrinsically 'American' hero. A hero who possessed limitless optimism and a trust in his absolute ability to control his own destiny.

Be sure to click through to the full page to see several more images. I only used four of them here, but there are several more to demonstrate the scale of the project.

Halloween Costuming

October is here and will end with Halloween here in the states. Thus inspired, I did a search for fairy tale inspired costumes over the last few days in case you are needing your own inspiration for this month's festivities. I stuck with cute or fun and avoided naughty, so you're on your own for those. I also avoided the obvious Disney choices, especially the princess line. I don't think anyone will have a problem learning about those.

The first one pictured above is the Rubies Lil Frog Prince Costume w/ Sound Chip and one of my favorites, but there are plenty more.

Little Red Riding Hood Elite Collection Child Costume


Big Bad Wolf Costume

Little Pig Costume


And in keeping with Jack and the Beanstalk Week, wouldn't it be fun to wear a plaid shirt and jeans or a peasant style costume then add lots of vines for the beanstalk? Homemade is always fun for those who aren't time challenged. And greenery can often be found at the dollar store.

If anyone has any fun costume pictures to share, post below or send me an email. I hope to have a Halloween post of "real world" costumes to share at the end of the month.

I have to admit I've cheated over the years since I'm not much of a dress-up person. I usually stick with my Fairy Godmother t-shirt and blue jeans or something similar. I do have a pair of fairy wings, but they are very much a nuisance at a gathering, either getting damaged or damaging others. I should have chosen smaller ones, subtle ones, but no, I chose big, pretty blue ones instead. There had been plans for a traditional fairy godmother costume when the purchase was made, but that never happened.

Wonderland Exhibit

Found at Fairy stories come to life at Museum of Childhood:

KIDS saw their favourite stories come to life as an exhibition of contemporary artwork showing fairytales, myths and legends from around the world opened at the Museum of Childhood.

The exhibition includes work by East End-based printmakers inspired by well-known European tales, including much-loved favourites like Hansel and Gretel by the Brothers Grimm, and the Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen.

Around 50 artists from Hackney-based East London Printmakers are exhibiting their work at the museum in Cambridge Heath Road and visitors are able to create their own interpretations of fairytales to add to a mural.

You can read more about the exhibit and related activities at the Museum of Childhood website. There are workshops and activities planned for children, adults, and pairings of both.


According to the East London Printmakers website:

Our touring exhibition about fairytales, myths and legends from around the world has returned from the German Fairytale Museum in Bad Oeynhausen and the Brothers Grimm [Brueder Grimm] Museum in Kassel and will include work by 10 new artists.

The Printmakers site had a link for a catalogue but the PDF file was corrupted. I'm trying to learn more--perhaps get some imagery to share--and will post more if and when I learn more.

And this is yet another reason why I wish I was traveling to England this year.