NOTES FROM A "GREEN" FAERIE

Here's a great review of Winter Celebration from a first time Exhibitor, Melissa Barton:

I write you this as a first time Faerieworld participant, damp behind the ears and wings covered in dew:
I never fancied myself a Fae Folk, but with a little gentle prodding from Robert, I found myself in the lush, green late Winter of Eugene with my spinning wheel. Sure, I had all kinds of worries of the right thing to wear and what would it be like, but as soon as I sat down at my spinning wheel, that all spun away.

I spent the Winter Celebration weekend doing a fiber arts demo at the festival along with my business cohort, Laura, of Krafti-Kit. With wheels and spindles and "sheepiness" in tow, I spent the weekend showing folks what I love most to do, play with fiber. There's a close relationship that is just now being unveiled to us both, the Fae and Fiber worlds. It's about tradition, storytelling, the passing down of craft and the love of creating the clothes we dream of wearing. To "tell a good yarn" is now synonymous with the telling of a good story when in fact it's roots take place in the woman's work of actually making yarn and telling stories to pass the time.

I normally have a lot of kids who drag their parents to see what I'm doing. In this environment, where the children often roamed freely, the little girls were all in their faerie costumes, whooping it up. That left the boys to...find other things to occupy themselves: A fast turning wheel and some fiber magic. It was a joy to see the fascination of these children as it always reminds me of my own as a child. I've carried it with me all my life, and here I am, bringing that tradition forward.

Bringing tradition forward is very much what Krafti-Kit is all about. Through simple (and some not-so-simple) needlearts kits, we bring all these traditions forward.

I spent my time at the festival teaching from our drop spindle kit and Laura was doing a great job teaching first-time knitters. With every purchase we gave away a little needlepoint kit. The most common exclamation being "That's so cool, it looks nothing like what my mom did!" And that's what it's about for us. We call it "cross training in fiber-arts." Once you learn to sew or knit, give crochet, spinning or needlepoint a try! With a kit, you can try on these new skills with everything you need to get started and some pretty immediate gratification.

I'm so pleased to feel more comfortable in my new wings. Next time around I hope to have crocheted something quite wonderful for my "literal" wings. My creative inspiration is at "10" right now after eying all the amazing faeriewear. But, I'll just wait a bit to start those new projects, because right now I'm just enjoying the Faerieworlds afterglow...

WINTER CELEBRATION INSPIRES AMY BROWN

We were honored to have Amy Brown join us for the first time at Winter Celebration, she even attended the Masquerade Balls for the first time. Here are her thoughts about the event and how it ignited her creative energies when she returned to her studio. It's wonderful and heartening for us to know that our events can inspire people's lives in so many ways. Here's Amy:

"Returning home from the Faerieworlds Winter Celebration, I was feverish with a need to paint. For months I've felt stagnant when

I thought of my art, and suddenly I was inspired. Inspired! The costumes and atmosphere at Faerieworlds always leave me feeling super charged-my mind churning with new ideas and a raw desire to create. Normally, I spend no more than a day or two on a painting, my attention span being ridiculously short. But suddenly, I had something I felt was worth spending time on. Nearly a week later, I completed "Goblin Mask". It feels as though I am stepping up to the next level of my work. I've broken through a barrier that has always kept me in check-not brave enough, or confident enough, to paint from the depths of my true heart.

At Faerieworlds, there are no barriers. Everyone is allowed and encouraged to express their creativity without fear of judgment. To take a piece of that home, is a rare gift."

Winter Celebration Reflections

Faerieworlds Winter Celebration was a wonderful weekend that was a revelation in many ways. As last year, both Masquerade Balls were packed to near sellout capacity. On Good Faeries Night, Woodland delivered an amazing, rocking set that showcased their new members and song production. Abney Park brought the drama and power of steampunk that made a surprisingly successful mash up with the faerie realm. Bad Faeries Night totally lived up to its outrageous reputation. Delhi 2 Dublin threw down the most outrageously excellent, on-fire set, unquestionably the musical high point of the weekend. Beats Antique kept the dance floor pumping while Zoe Jakes entranced the crowd with her exotic tribal belly dance moves. Kelly and Emilio Miller Lopez produced a lovely ritual performance in celebration of the full moon. And Adam Hurst's intoxicating cello mesmerized the crowd each night. My biggest surprise was to see how many people joined us at the Lane Events Center for a two magical days of music, workshops and shopping at the Faerieworlds Marketplace for this first time event. It was such a pleasure to see so many happy faces enjoying our amazing vendors and fine musicians. In reflecting about the weekend now, it is so gratifying to see so many of our friends and guests in the Faerieworlds family joyfully come together in the heart of winter, exactly six months from our summer event. Our thanks to everyone and especiallt to our Faerieworlds team who makes our events possible; we'll see you next year and this summer at Faerieworlds! - Robert