Faery Craft: Weaving Connections with the Enchanted Realm Page 22
Was your first experience of Faery directly connected to music?
That’s an interesting question! I remember as a child just lying in the grass and that feeling of absolute oneness with nature. The hours would just pass by; I spent a lot of time outside as a child. We did have a little house at the end of the garden that my dad said the fairies lived in, that he made. It was really lovely, it had mosaics in it. I was very lucky, my parents were imaginative and supportive. We had lots of books; I could read very early, from the age of about three or four. I had this huge great big book called The Staircase of Stories and I loved it so much, it was all fairy stories. I used to take it to bed with me instead of teddies. It was a bit worse for wear after a few years of that! We moved house when I was five years old and sadly the book got lost in the move, and I was devastated. I told this story to my friend Ari Berk, and he found a vintage copy for me! I remembered so many of the stories even though I hadn’t seen the book since I was five. It didn’t seem quite so giant though!
So Faery was always with you, and the music came later as a natural extension of that?
I started piano very early, at about five or six, but piano never did it for me—I wanted to play the harp. Finally, when I was fourteen, I started learning the harp. The sound was completely magical to me, it just transported me. There’s so many harps in fairy tales. Think of “Jack and the Beanstalk,” the talking harp who actually reveals the crime—it’s quite scary, the harp cries out! I loved that.
When you’re writing music, where do you feel your inspiration is coming from?
Usually, with the concert works, I just sit in a quite space and it comes. With the film music, I look at the pictures and it comes, it does just come. It pops into my head quite easily!
Do you have a muse or ally that you consciously work with?
I would say that in my inner world I have got quite a lot of imaginative friends, if you like, that I sometimes meet in dreams or meditation.
You mentioned your film work. When did you first have the idea to produce these films?
It happened by accident because my kids were bored in the holidays. There was nothing to do, so I said, well, let’s make a movie! I went over to the bookshelves—obviously it had to be a fairy film, because I love fairies and fairy tales. I pulled out the Grimm’s fairy stories and it fell open on “Three Little Men in a Wood,” which we adapted and made the first film, which we called Woodwose—made it much more wild, it’s a fun little film. Enormously good fun, I just loved it! I did everything on that film: I wrote it, made the costumes, worked the camera, did the cinematography, everything.
On the strength of that I got the bursary to make a second film, and I made a lovely little charming British fairy tale called Pottle o’ Brains about this wise woman and this fool. He goes to the wise woman to see if he can get some brains. It’s a lovely, sweet little fairy tale. After that, I established the Chagford Filmmaking Group as a nonprofit community group to bring people together, and we specialized in British fairy tales because they’re so rooted in the landscape we love so much.
There’s no profit involved in all this work that you do on the films, so what drives you—why do you feel it’s important?
It’s incredibly important to me that it remains voluntary and that nobody gets paid because it brings this very beautiful energy to the films, that everyone is doing it because they love the stories. Even if they don’t believe in fairies, they love nature, and the images of nature are very important to me. I really believe that these stories have a lot of wisdom in them, indigenous wisdom. They were our classroom for thousands of years, long before the digital delights of today, and fairy tales were for everyone, not just for children. This is how we learnt about ourselves and how we learnt the important lessons of life. The importance of sharing, the importance of truth, the importance of honouring nature…it’s all there in these ancient stories, everything you need to know to live a good life in the deepest sense of the word. It’s all there.
And courage, too. Courage to keep going, staying true even against the most terrible odds. That’s what all the heroes do. And heroines! I’m very drawn to stories with resourceful heroines who manage to take charge of their own lives rather than being just being a prize for a boy who has all the fun. There’s plenty of these stories about gutsy little heroines, but because they were all collected in the nineteenth century they were considered unsuitable for girls, so they’re stuck to the back of the anthropology section in libraries as curiosities! I do feel that they need to come out into the open…
What is next? How are you going to develop this even further?
My end dream is to produce a body of work of films of British fairy tales that will sell on DVD and generate an income that can be used for work with young people, arts projects, and conservation, these sorts of issues. I would hope that I can get a fair few in, and they will never go out of date. There will always be children, and there will always be parents who want their children to see things that are homegrown.
For more information, visit www.fairytalefilms.co.uk.
S. J. Tucker
S. J. Tucker is a modern-day troubador, part Faery, part pirate, part gypsy, and all talent! Her music has a distinctive folk rock style, sometimes catchy, often bardic, and is much loved around the world. She has produced a number of albums, both as a solo artist and with the band Tricky Pixie, and she often performs in both capacities at the most popular Faery events in the United States. I caught her in the midst of her usual whirlwind schedule to gain an insight into her wild and creative life.
S. J. Tucker
What does Faery mean to you?
Since I perform often at events like the Faerieworlds festival in the Pacific Northwest, Faery often means community to me. When I think of Faery, I think of a field full of dancing revelers, kicking up joy and magick with their every step, rain or shine, as I sing my heart out for them. Faery is what we find when we allow the wild and feral energies within us come out to play. Faery is the side of the unknown, of magick and potential, that gives me a feeling of positive excitement. Faery is a cue to watch my step, to move in the world with a smile but with my eyes open, because I never know whom, or what, I will meet around the next shadowed corner. Faery is a word that promises a good story, regardless of whether the players in it are all silly or flat-out sinister.
There are as many sides to Faery as there are to folklore and to our own world. Not all aspects of what we call Faery are kind, but I’ve been lucky in my dealings and experiences thus far. When you move with awareness and respect in the world, even someplace as tricky as Faery is said to be, I find that you generally make it through without making too many blunders.
What are you trying to express in your music?
Music is the source, to me. Anytime I open my mouth to sing, I am tapping into something that exists in everyone and everything. Music gives me joy and generally makes everything better, no matter where I am or what I’m doing. When I sing, write, and play, my highest goal is to give everyone who hears me some safe ground to stand on, somewhere solid to be and to experience whatever emotions or impressions come to them. Music has the power to speak to all of us, whether it includes words in our own language, words in another language, or no words at all. I’m just another channel for it, but my hope is that the music I bring into the world brings more magick into the world when it comes and puts that magick somewhere others can find it if and when they need it.
How important are musicians within the Faery community?
Hugely important; that’s certainly how the Faery community has made me feel. It’s difficult not to keep coming back when one is so well-treated. The Faery festivals I work with make a conscious effort to create a temporary world and an immersive experience—for performers as well as for participants—and they bring musicians in from all over the globe to add to the magick. I�
�m so grateful to be part of this community, not least because I have musician friends from many other countries as a result of being adopted by and singing for Faery-friendly folk. For some, time spent at Faery festivals is the only time they can cut loose. I’m honored to provide part of the soundtrack for that. To see people spread their wings and shine—both literally and figuratively—is a great gift.
What is it like to be a pirate queen?
A girl couldn’t ask for more. Since I started writing pirate songs, such as the ones I’ve written about Wendy taking over the pirate ship in Neverland instead of going home, I’ve made lifelong friends of so many beautiful, vibrant, strong women and men, who aren’t afraid to put on delightfully silly costumes and wave plastic swords around. Also, there’s a great deal of crossover between the fans of mine who are willing to participate in Faery events and the fans of mine who regularly dress as pirates. I would not trade them for the world.
My last concert in recent weeks as of this interview was at the aforementioned Faerieworlds festival. I performed with my band, Tricky Pixie, on the “deck” of a pirate ship stage that was making its first appearance at the festival this year. Our crowd came out in force and wore their pirate garb proudly, despite the fact that rain threatened, and they sang along with every word. You can’t beat a life such as this. Real and historic pirates never had it so good.
For more information, visit www.skinnywhitechick.com.
The Writers
Those who create worlds with their words are indeed mages within the Faery community. There are many incredible writers working within the fantasy genre, in many different styles. I was able to interview three outstanding individuals—one that is famous within his field and two wonderful new writers—all with wonderful insights to share.
Charles de Lint
Charles de Lint is an internationally renowned, award-winning fantasy author of over thirty novels, many of which, such as Moonheart and Widdershins, bring the world of Faery into direct contact with the modern urban environment. He is an active member of the Faery community, appearing at many events in the United States. He is also a talented folk musician and has recently released his first album, Old Blue Truck. He was good enough to take the time to answer a few of my questions about his perceptions of Faery and the inspirations behind his work.
Your readers love the way you bring traditional folktales and mythic themes into a contemporary setting. Why do you think Faery is relevant to the modern world?
If by Faery you mean an otherness, a sense that we share the world with beings and things and places that we can’t always see, I believe it opens up possibilities. When the wear and tear of the world we normally experience bears down on us—the rush, the noise, the traffic, possibly the less-than-satisfying job—it’s comforting to imagine that there is more than what we can easily see. That there’s a place that respects the bond between beings and their environment, and celebrates the idea of everything being connected. And even in the darker aspects of Faery there are lessons to be learned, guideposts that we can take with us and use to better ourselves and the “real” world in which we spend so much of our time.
Having just come back from playing at a Faerie festival called FaerieWorlds in Eugene, Oregon, I can also add that Faerie also appears to be a place where one can find joy and an openness one doesn’t usually find in the world at large. There seems to be little pretence in the costuming; rather, it’s a celebration and an artistic expression that infuses both those dressing up and those who don’t. It reminded me a little of hippie music festivals in the sixties, and I’m delighted to see an upsurge in simpler values that include embracing the people around you.
Book cover images used courtesy of Tor Books
What are your main influences as a writer?
Creativity gains its inspiration from everything we experience, it doesn’t matter one’s particular medium (and I’ve noticed that most creative people express themselves in more than one). I think of art as one big conversation, with the huge benefit of allowing us to enter a discourse with the great artists of the past as well as our contemporaries. Ideas for stories come to me from a song I might hear, a story I read, a film, a dance. I don’t mean that I borrow the idea from the original source—rather, I have something to add to the ongoing conversation.
Does your writing reflect your own spiritual beliefs or is it purely fantasy?
It depends what aspect you’re referring to. Unlike, say, Brian Froud, I haven’t had the good fortune of actually seeing fairies, but I certainly sense and seek out the mysteries in the world. I believe that everything has a spirit, everything is connected, and that mystery and wonder should always be celebrated.
You are also a folk singer. Why are the old tales and songs important to you?
The traditional music—especially instrumental tunes—seems to speak directly to the heart at the same time as it moves the body. I love that about it, and it’s what drew me to playing jigs and reels and slow airs in the first place. I also love how you can get together musicians from Canada, Ireland, the States, and Australia, and they can all find something to play because the tunes travel pretty much unchanged throughout the world. As for the ballads and songs, they’re narratives, and they appeal to me for the same reason that folktales and fairy tales do. They awake my sense of wonder, and I love the poetic turn of phrase sitting side by side with a very down-to-earth line.
Although I’ve played the old traditional music for years, over the past decade or so I’ve turned more to contemporary story songs. I suppose it’s because the narratives take place in more familiar settings, much the way the settings in the old ballads were familiar to the listeners at the time that those songs were first composed.
I’ve just put out my first album, Old Blue Truck, after thirty years of meaning to do so, and I’m delighted by the response from listeners. The songs seem to appeal to them in the same way that music appeals to me, and that’s a most gratifying thing.
For more information, visit www.charlesdelint.com.
Karen Mahoney
Karen Mahoney is a talented, young, up-and-coming writer of fantasy fiction for young adults who lives in London, UK. She is the author of the Iron Witch trilogy of books in which Faery plays a crucial part. Karen was good enough to take the time to answer a few questions and give some insight into her inspirations and creative process.
What or who inspired you to start writing, and why Faery?
I always wanted to write. I’m one of those writers—you know, the ones who want to write as soon as they can pick up a pen and make marks on a page. Maybe even before then! So I can’t really say who inspired me to write, because it honestly feels like it all came with the package when I first arrived in this world.
The what is a little easier—stories. Stories inspired me to write and to tell my own, because I loved them so much from such a young age. One of my favourite kinds of story when I was a kid, and still today as an adult, were fairy tales. I’m pretty passionate about folklore, and that’s when I first met the many denizens of Faery. To me, all the different lore and mythology around faeries talk about magic and possibility and transformation and hope and danger and adventure—all of that wonderful stuff.
Have you had any real-life experiences with Faery?
I once took part in a Faery workshop. The woman running it was encouraging us to interact with the Faery realm and, to be honest, when I first participated I was a bit cynical. Yeah, I love the stories, but that’s all there was to it...right? That’s what I thought. Then I did this workshop (sort of as research), and I had an experience during a visualization where I was lost in a sprawling wood. My only way out was to follow a path that kept disappearing beneath my feet. So my only way to find the path was to follow footprints that couldn’t possibly have been made by anything human.
Now, I was fully awake when we were d
oing this group exercise, but my imagination took off, and years later, when I sat down to write The Iron Witch, those footprints came back to haunt me and became the basis for the Wood Monster in my book. That’s a Faery creature who haunts the Ironwood and is controlled by the Wood Queen (the queen of the dark elves). I have to admit, that workshop visualization felt pretty real...
What do you perceive the nature of Faery to be?
For me, Faery encapsulates all stories and folklore—the tales that form us as we grow from children to adults. Those stories, and the people and magical creatures that fill them, act as signposts to help us along the way in our journey. If you read books like Women Who Run with the Wolves by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés, you can see how powerful folklore is—how it shapes us as human beings. Faery is a big part of that.
Do you believe you have a muse?
I don’t think I have a muse in the traditional sense, but there is one piece of folklore that I feel leads me and inspires my work: “The Handless Maiden.” It’s not such a well-known tale as others, but it’s incredibly potent and speaks of a girl’s journey to adulthood—the transformation into a woman. The Iron Witch was definitely inspired by that particular piece of lore, and I think “The Handless Maiden” will be a part of my creative journey for a long time to come. Perhaps that can be considered a muse of sorts.
What is the aim of your work, and what direction would you like it to take in the future?
My work is currently mainly for young adults, and my number one aim is to entertain and inspire readers with the magic and possibility of stories. I have a variety of faerie characters in The Iron Witch trilogy, from the manipulative Wood Queen (leader of the dark elves) to the half-faerie Xan, whom my main character, Donna Underwood, falls for. In the future, I can see including many other types of faerie characters and exploring more of the Faery realm in my work, but there’s just so much folklore and mythology that speaks to me, I wouldn’t want to limit myself! I think as long as my writing keeps feeling exciting to me, then it will hopefully feel that way to others. I specifically like to write strong female characters, and I believe that’s especially important when you’re writing for teenagers.