Catching up is hard to do, and Spoutwood Farm was wet...
But I will giving it a try over the next few days. We have just come off a a string of shows, three weekends in a row. Which is a nothing compared to the the nine weekends in a row we do at the Maryland Renaissance Festival, except....at MDRF we are in a permanent booth, the same location, a easy 2.5 hour drive, and have a nice trailer to stay in. Spring shows are an entirely different matter, each event in a different location, and a booth and campsite to set up and tear down, sometimes repetitively. The three weekends in May the weather has been spotty, and at times, down right nasty, as those who live in the Mid-Atlantic well know. Add to that, we, as in the entire family, have been fighting colds and coughs for much of it, then we have had a rough month. However, that is the facts of what we do and it could be worse...it could be raining...oh wait...it did.
However, the 18th Spoutwood Farm Fairie Festival was wonderful all the same, the 9th year for Mythical Masks, Spoutwood being our first every mask show.
You can't have any rainbows without the rain, and there are always little yellow raincoats, wellington boots, and umbrellas, and faerie friends to make up for any weather...
This is VERY picture heavy post, with lots of large format pics behind the cut.
As the festival is some weeks past, and lots has happened, this will be mostly a picture post. That first image is Ellawyn and Rowan. Rowan is the daughter of Andrea of The Studio and Art Bar, York, PA. We have known Andrea for a while now, and the girls were a bit too little to really hang out. Not this show! We were right across the courtyard from them and they two kids were glued at the hip for the weekend, with Trinity, of Magic and Moonshadows Stained Glass. Big fun in the rain.
Rowan is a big older than Ellawyn and got to play big girl all weekend. Here she is hefting her side kick. I can't help but wonder about these friendships and how they might carry into the future.
Of course, at Spoutwood, friends come in all shapes in sizes, and foliage...
We camped with our dear friends and family, Heather and Karen, with their respective kids and friends. Their daughters, Eden and Harmony are what we call our "Faerie God-Daughters". It is a joy to watch them grow up. We were thrice blessed by Jenn, Sean, and daughter Abby camping with us. Little Abby is a sweet heart and the newest little faery in our crew, joining Heather's youngest, Anya, so four of our favorite sprites in camp with us, plus the daughters of Heather's friends. And let us not forget the boys, as Karen has her two little hobs who grow like weeds and are sweet and all boy at the same time. So by Saturday night there were eighteen bodies in our little clan! I have dubbed us the Thistle Tribe, after Karen, Heather, and Leah, who we call the Thistledew Sisters. We take their picture each year, and here they are.
Acclaimed mythic artist, Brian Froud, in his excellent work, The World of Faerie, had this to say about the "faerie women" in our lives.
"How to recognize a faerie woman? Well, the ones I know have a beauty that shines from within. They put aside their wings or animal disguises temporarily to give the semblance of humanness...There still are such muses, but you don't need to be in the woods to see them. They're everywhere. Perhaps all women are part Faerie...part of the vibrant, fluid, emotional soul of the world, who bring to the world of men the Faerie Gifts of transformational love."
It is my honor and privilege to have known these three women from their early twenties and into their thirties, getting to watch them all become mothers and share the experiences of maturing and finding themselves, grounded in a common experience. Thank you, my Sisters, for the gift of knowing you.
Most of the pictures, are taken by myself, Karen, Heather, Jenn and Theo Black, who may need some introduction. Theo is the husband of Holly Black, one of the writers of the Spiderwick Chronicles. Holly was a guest in the Faerie Magazine booth and it was a pleasure to get to know them both better. Theo is a talented artist in his own right and has a web and graphic design business at The Black Arts. Thanks for everything, Theo.
Here is Theo, looking ever the dapper gentleman.
And the very lovely Holly, a Faerie Women indeed.
Despite the wet weather, faeries had their fun. Each year, Spoutwood crowns a May King and Queen who are major volunteers and Spoutwood Family. They have responsibilities with the titles, and this year it couldn't have been a better pick. Marc and Chrissy Hudgins have done a lot for the farm and come to be friends of mine. Here is a wet Queen Chrissy with a bedraggled princess in tow. Umbrellas were the fact of life at the farm.
Later, I took this picture of the whole family, in their coronation regalia, glowing against the green. They are a lovely family.
We were ablly assisted by some of our dear crew. Jaime and Matt are our managers from MD Renfest and are indispensable to our operations at big festivals.
They were accompanied by the awesomeness that is Spencer the Bubble Fairy. I love this picture, she fairly shines!
One of the great joys of being next to the Faerie Magazine booth, beside being there to offer my assistance and aid whenever it's needed, is the that every one comes by and spends time with us. Here are three of my favorite faerie women. Gin, Posie, and Teasel. Posie, of point of note, is the "AdministraElf" for the Fairie Festival and one of our best friends.
Gin and Teasel are a famous pair, thematically pairing their costumes together each day and being "Celebrafaeries" of unequaled appeal. I think you will agree, that this image of Gin, is remarkable...and disturbing, as Unseelies should be.
The talent around the Faerie Magazine booth is always inspiring, and I can't name them all, for fear of leaving someone out. So please look back over my previous Fairie Festival and FaerieCon entries and you will see some of the remarkable artists who were there. As it is, I will stick to those I have pictures of.
This is the every colorful, and amazing, Linda Ravenscroft.
Also in attendance was Charles Vess, illustrator for the novel Stardust, sculptor, Honorary BOG Brother, and so much more. On Saturday, Charles gave a lecture on drawing and illustrating that Ellawyn got to sit in on. She brought back a lot of memories from that, not the least was to use your eraser and not be afraid to make mistakes.
Charles is also the illustrator of a remarkable new book. Blueberry Girl was written by Neil Gaiman and is a poem and prayer for a young girl growing up. I have written about it before Here, and it was my distinct pleasure to read this book to a group of the little girls in my life and their mothers, at our camp. It was the highlight of my weekend, and I have to repost the YouTube of it animated with Neil reading now, because we each have a "Blueberry Girl" in our lives.
And speaking of those girls, lets have a round of pictures of them all.
Here is Eden bubbling, a picture by Theo.
And Eden and Harmony, looking the pair, even wearing blue.
Myself, antlers askew, with the two Blueberries...
And here is Abigail, Jenn's daughter, everything is better with a cute baby picture...
Heather's littlest, Anya, dancing with her daddy, who is a gnome. Its a good thing she gets her ears from her mother's side.
Who I decided to terrify at one point in the weekend, which is always good for bonding...
So this is Anya looking sweet...
My own Blueberry, working the bubble bowl with Jingle Jamie. As you may imagine, she is getting to be an awesome bubbler.
And one more of Harmony and Eden, with friends from the festivals, being goofy, and doing the "Latooshie" dance...which is too hard to explain and you will just have to come to the festival and dance it yourself.
Of course, Latooshie is an equal opportunity chance for foolishness and the parents got to participate as well...
Now, I would be incredibly remiss if I didn't mention the boys as well. There are boys in our tribe. And here are Karen's two.
Eli, the Moss Hob, in the midst of the bubbles.
And Jahy, the Fireling, up a tree.
Did I mention I had a son as well? We didn't see that much of him over the weekend, despite the weather, he had friends come and we sent him off, as he works hard for us during the week.
Jared and his signature hat, taken by Jenn.
Apparently, he is photogenic, as a photographer from the festival capture a number of great shots of him in the crowd. These are from Here, and if you like looking at pictures of the Fairie Festival, give it a visit, as he has captured so much.
Here is Jared in the drum circle, and I need to get him a large drum for these.
And the photographer captured an entire series of him using his juggling sticks at the festival.
He looks so intense when he is concentrating, a trait he gets from me.
Here are some images of the various characters and events that happen around our little corner of the festival, Glimmer Place Courtyard, and the Faerie Magazine Booth.
Here are a pair of friends. This is "Otter" the River God, and one of my best friends, Mike Wuyek of www.wykart.com. I love this shot.
The wonderful Tom Harbold, Aka: Robin Greenwood, education director for Spoutwood, Chaplain of BOG, amazing writer, and my friend.
Theo captured this image of me hand bubbling.
This one really sums up the spirit of the Festival. Maugie the Minstrel is a fixture at the local festivals and sings a vast repertoire of all my favorite songs. This spot, with Maugie playing away despite the weather, is right next to our booth and means that his playing is a background track to our day.
Of course, the entertainment is awesome. Great Celtic and Tribal Rock bands, but a real favorite for everyone this year was a Brass Marching Band, fronted by Dingo. Here he is.
You never know when a juggling routine might break out. This is my BOG Brother, Zach, who is also a skilled mask maker himself, meeting up with Trinket.
The Amazing Trinket, actress, juggler, balloon knotter upper, and all around awesome gal, deserves her own picture, which Theo provide.
The Fairie Fests are a microcosm of the various subcultures of fandom. Lately there is a distinctive feeling of Steampunk creeping in, which is fine by me and Jared, as we both enjoy the aesthetic. This is Dave, a friend and staff of Faerie Magazine who has been doing some excellent Steamy builds lately. He is wearing his ocular device, which has various magnify devices, working laser pointers, and yes, that is a functional ear piece...
We aren't the only Mask Makers at Spoutwood, and here is a fan of Wing and Talon Leather in a remarkable bit of garb.
This is Adam of Magic & Moonshadows.
This guy is a character indeed! Billy Bardo of The Bardo Brothers and Future Relics Jewelry.
Here is a wild wolf. Me wearing out "Big Bad Wolf" Mask for Ell and I's bit, where she wears her Little Red Riding Hood and I chase her about. Lots of fun.
And this was a nice memory from the show. Bibi Hahn, vendor cordinator of the festival, a very hard working lady, Ari Berk, writer, Bogie, Prof. of Mythology and Folklore, and myself, sharing a chat.
The characters of Spoutwood Fairie Festival come in all shapes and sizes. All of them, regardless, are actually part of the festival. Even those who don't like the festival. It seems that the town of Glen Rock has fundamentalist church who show up each year, stand along the fence, and say terrible things to children. However, what is fascinating to me is that they use it as a community event themselves. Apparently others of their network of congregations travel from out of town and they have a bit of revival when they aren't at the festival site. Yep, Spoutwood does it's part to foster community everywhere.
This one, showing her smiling for the camera is fascinating to me. The thing I found entirely ironic in this photo is the logo on the her jacket. A little research turns up the Chelsea Football club and the image is a heraldic lion holding a staff. Of course, Lions in Heraldry have a long and mythic past stretching into the prehistory. What so many forget, is that mankind has spent more of it's history being "Pagan" and Mythic than not. You can't escape it and it is part of every aspect of our culture, part of our fiber and fabric as it may be.
I won't offer a link to their website, but it is a bit funny that they have a picture of me on it. It was from a couple of years ago when the Green Man March went out to the fence line and had a bit of confrontation with them. A mistake on our part and one we don't repeat. Now we leave them alone, they come and do a few hours of their thing and continue to piss off the rest of the community who likes the festival.
Speaking of the Green Man March, there was one. Saturday dawned drizzly and misty, but gave way to an excellent day for the Blessed Order of the Greenman (B.O.G.) to stomp about and bless the booths. This was an important March for us, marking the 1st March of our 10th Marching Season. A Decade of stomping about, tossing acorns, and make a spectacle of ourselves! I never would have believed it! So we had some nice times dressing for it, Groved the new May King, Marc Hudgins, and generally created a ruckus.
Here is a pair of Bogies dressing for the March. That is Brother Zach on the right, and on the left is Brother Joe Tate of Tate and Company: Faerie Glen.
This is Brother Rob Wood, patron of Spoutwood, all around awesome Green Man.
A nice portrait of Brother Chris Mason, who is a major volunteer for Spoutwood and lives up to his name being a real rock of strength for the show.
Here is our group picture, and awesome cluster of bogies, forming a hedge.
While stomping about, we came across Sean and Jenn, with baby Abby, and I was glad to offer her a blessing.
We even got a little video made of us asking a blessing from Queen Chrissy, getting our pictures taken by the Queen and then forming up to offer a baby blessing to Brother Chris an his wife, who are expecting a sprout.
It is a real honor to be such a well loved fixture of the Faerie Festivals. BOG is a bit surprised to be doing this for ten years and we consistently hear from folks that we are one of their favorite events at a festival day. Thanks to all who welcome us.
When the March was finished, we dispersed back to our booths. Theo captured a last couple of shots of me before I stripped off the greenery.
I will leave you with this, a parting blessing, and a memory of things green.
Kubiando.......
However, the 18th Spoutwood Farm Fairie Festival was wonderful all the same, the 9th year for Mythical Masks, Spoutwood being our first every mask show.
You can't have any rainbows without the rain, and there are always little yellow raincoats, wellington boots, and umbrellas, and faerie friends to make up for any weather...
This is VERY picture heavy post, with lots of large format pics behind the cut.
As the festival is some weeks past, and lots has happened, this will be mostly a picture post. That first image is Ellawyn and Rowan. Rowan is the daughter of Andrea of The Studio and Art Bar, York, PA. We have known Andrea for a while now, and the girls were a bit too little to really hang out. Not this show! We were right across the courtyard from them and they two kids were glued at the hip for the weekend, with Trinity, of Magic and Moonshadows Stained Glass. Big fun in the rain.
Rowan is a big older than Ellawyn and got to play big girl all weekend. Here she is hefting her side kick. I can't help but wonder about these friendships and how they might carry into the future.
Of course, at Spoutwood, friends come in all shapes in sizes, and foliage...
We camped with our dear friends and family, Heather and Karen, with their respective kids and friends. Their daughters, Eden and Harmony are what we call our "Faerie God-Daughters". It is a joy to watch them grow up. We were thrice blessed by Jenn, Sean, and daughter Abby camping with us. Little Abby is a sweet heart and the newest little faery in our crew, joining Heather's youngest, Anya, so four of our favorite sprites in camp with us, plus the daughters of Heather's friends. And let us not forget the boys, as Karen has her two little hobs who grow like weeds and are sweet and all boy at the same time. So by Saturday night there were eighteen bodies in our little clan! I have dubbed us the Thistle Tribe, after Karen, Heather, and Leah, who we call the Thistledew Sisters. We take their picture each year, and here they are.
Acclaimed mythic artist, Brian Froud, in his excellent work, The World of Faerie, had this to say about the "faerie women" in our lives.
"How to recognize a faerie woman? Well, the ones I know have a beauty that shines from within. They put aside their wings or animal disguises temporarily to give the semblance of humanness...There still are such muses, but you don't need to be in the woods to see them. They're everywhere. Perhaps all women are part Faerie...part of the vibrant, fluid, emotional soul of the world, who bring to the world of men the Faerie Gifts of transformational love."
It is my honor and privilege to have known these three women from their early twenties and into their thirties, getting to watch them all become mothers and share the experiences of maturing and finding themselves, grounded in a common experience. Thank you, my Sisters, for the gift of knowing you.
Most of the pictures, are taken by myself, Karen, Heather, Jenn and Theo Black, who may need some introduction. Theo is the husband of Holly Black, one of the writers of the Spiderwick Chronicles. Holly was a guest in the Faerie Magazine booth and it was a pleasure to get to know them both better. Theo is a talented artist in his own right and has a web and graphic design business at The Black Arts. Thanks for everything, Theo.
Here is Theo, looking ever the dapper gentleman.
And the very lovely Holly, a Faerie Women indeed.
Despite the wet weather, faeries had their fun. Each year, Spoutwood crowns a May King and Queen who are major volunteers and Spoutwood Family. They have responsibilities with the titles, and this year it couldn't have been a better pick. Marc and Chrissy Hudgins have done a lot for the farm and come to be friends of mine. Here is a wet Queen Chrissy with a bedraggled princess in tow. Umbrellas were the fact of life at the farm.
Later, I took this picture of the whole family, in their coronation regalia, glowing against the green. They are a lovely family.
We were ablly assisted by some of our dear crew. Jaime and Matt are our managers from MD Renfest and are indispensable to our operations at big festivals.
They were accompanied by the awesomeness that is Spencer the Bubble Fairy. I love this picture, she fairly shines!
One of the great joys of being next to the Faerie Magazine booth, beside being there to offer my assistance and aid whenever it's needed, is the that every one comes by and spends time with us. Here are three of my favorite faerie women. Gin, Posie, and Teasel. Posie, of point of note, is the "AdministraElf" for the Fairie Festival and one of our best friends.
Gin and Teasel are a famous pair, thematically pairing their costumes together each day and being "Celebrafaeries" of unequaled appeal. I think you will agree, that this image of Gin, is remarkable...and disturbing, as Unseelies should be.
The talent around the Faerie Magazine booth is always inspiring, and I can't name them all, for fear of leaving someone out. So please look back over my previous Fairie Festival and FaerieCon entries and you will see some of the remarkable artists who were there. As it is, I will stick to those I have pictures of.
This is the every colorful, and amazing, Linda Ravenscroft.
Also in attendance was Charles Vess, illustrator for the novel Stardust, sculptor, Honorary BOG Brother, and so much more. On Saturday, Charles gave a lecture on drawing and illustrating that Ellawyn got to sit in on. She brought back a lot of memories from that, not the least was to use your eraser and not be afraid to make mistakes.
Charles is also the illustrator of a remarkable new book. Blueberry Girl was written by Neil Gaiman and is a poem and prayer for a young girl growing up. I have written about it before Here, and it was my distinct pleasure to read this book to a group of the little girls in my life and their mothers, at our camp. It was the highlight of my weekend, and I have to repost the YouTube of it animated with Neil reading now, because we each have a "Blueberry Girl" in our lives.
Click to viewAnd speaking of those girls, lets have a round of pictures of them all.
Here is Eden bubbling, a picture by Theo.
And Eden and Harmony, looking the pair, even wearing blue.
Myself, antlers askew, with the two Blueberries...
And here is Abigail, Jenn's daughter, everything is better with a cute baby picture...
Heather's littlest, Anya, dancing with her daddy, who is a gnome. Its a good thing she gets her ears from her mother's side.
Who I decided to terrify at one point in the weekend, which is always good for bonding...
So this is Anya looking sweet...
My own Blueberry, working the bubble bowl with Jingle Jamie. As you may imagine, she is getting to be an awesome bubbler.
And one more of Harmony and Eden, with friends from the festivals, being goofy, and doing the "Latooshie" dance...which is too hard to explain and you will just have to come to the festival and dance it yourself.
Of course, Latooshie is an equal opportunity chance for foolishness and the parents got to participate as well...
Now, I would be incredibly remiss if I didn't mention the boys as well. There are boys in our tribe. And here are Karen's two.
Eli, the Moss Hob, in the midst of the bubbles.
And Jahy, the Fireling, up a tree.
Did I mention I had a son as well? We didn't see that much of him over the weekend, despite the weather, he had friends come and we sent him off, as he works hard for us during the week.
Jared and his signature hat, taken by Jenn.
Apparently, he is photogenic, as a photographer from the festival capture a number of great shots of him in the crowd. These are from Here, and if you like looking at pictures of the Fairie Festival, give it a visit, as he has captured so much.
Here is Jared in the drum circle, and I need to get him a large drum for these.
And the photographer captured an entire series of him using his juggling sticks at the festival.
He looks so intense when he is concentrating, a trait he gets from me.
Here are some images of the various characters and events that happen around our little corner of the festival, Glimmer Place Courtyard, and the Faerie Magazine Booth.
Here are a pair of friends. This is "Otter" the River God, and one of my best friends, Mike Wuyek of www.wykart.com. I love this shot.
The wonderful Tom Harbold, Aka: Robin Greenwood, education director for Spoutwood, Chaplain of BOG, amazing writer, and my friend.
Theo captured this image of me hand bubbling.
This one really sums up the spirit of the Festival. Maugie the Minstrel is a fixture at the local festivals and sings a vast repertoire of all my favorite songs. This spot, with Maugie playing away despite the weather, is right next to our booth and means that his playing is a background track to our day.
Of course, the entertainment is awesome. Great Celtic and Tribal Rock bands, but a real favorite for everyone this year was a Brass Marching Band, fronted by Dingo. Here he is.
You never know when a juggling routine might break out. This is my BOG Brother, Zach, who is also a skilled mask maker himself, meeting up with Trinket.
The Amazing Trinket, actress, juggler, balloon knotter upper, and all around awesome gal, deserves her own picture, which Theo provide.
The Fairie Fests are a microcosm of the various subcultures of fandom. Lately there is a distinctive feeling of Steampunk creeping in, which is fine by me and Jared, as we both enjoy the aesthetic. This is Dave, a friend and staff of Faerie Magazine who has been doing some excellent Steamy builds lately. He is wearing his ocular device, which has various magnify devices, working laser pointers, and yes, that is a functional ear piece...
We aren't the only Mask Makers at Spoutwood, and here is a fan of Wing and Talon Leather in a remarkable bit of garb.
This is Adam of Magic & Moonshadows.
This guy is a character indeed! Billy Bardo of The Bardo Brothers and Future Relics Jewelry.
Here is a wild wolf. Me wearing out "Big Bad Wolf" Mask for Ell and I's bit, where she wears her Little Red Riding Hood and I chase her about. Lots of fun.
And this was a nice memory from the show. Bibi Hahn, vendor cordinator of the festival, a very hard working lady, Ari Berk, writer, Bogie, Prof. of Mythology and Folklore, and myself, sharing a chat.
The characters of Spoutwood Fairie Festival come in all shapes and sizes. All of them, regardless, are actually part of the festival. Even those who don't like the festival. It seems that the town of Glen Rock has fundamentalist church who show up each year, stand along the fence, and say terrible things to children. However, what is fascinating to me is that they use it as a community event themselves. Apparently others of their network of congregations travel from out of town and they have a bit of revival when they aren't at the festival site. Yep, Spoutwood does it's part to foster community everywhere.
This one, showing her smiling for the camera is fascinating to me. The thing I found entirely ironic in this photo is the logo on the her jacket. A little research turns up the Chelsea Football club and the image is a heraldic lion holding a staff. Of course, Lions in Heraldry have a long and mythic past stretching into the prehistory. What so many forget, is that mankind has spent more of it's history being "Pagan" and Mythic than not. You can't escape it and it is part of every aspect of our culture, part of our fiber and fabric as it may be.
I won't offer a link to their website, but it is a bit funny that they have a picture of me on it. It was from a couple of years ago when the Green Man March went out to the fence line and had a bit of confrontation with them. A mistake on our part and one we don't repeat. Now we leave them alone, they come and do a few hours of their thing and continue to piss off the rest of the community who likes the festival.
Speaking of the Green Man March, there was one. Saturday dawned drizzly and misty, but gave way to an excellent day for the Blessed Order of the Greenman (B.O.G.) to stomp about and bless the booths. This was an important March for us, marking the 1st March of our 10th Marching Season. A Decade of stomping about, tossing acorns, and make a spectacle of ourselves! I never would have believed it! So we had some nice times dressing for it, Groved the new May King, Marc Hudgins, and generally created a ruckus.
Here is a pair of Bogies dressing for the March. That is Brother Zach on the right, and on the left is Brother Joe Tate of Tate and Company: Faerie Glen.
This is Brother Rob Wood, patron of Spoutwood, all around awesome Green Man.
A nice portrait of Brother Chris Mason, who is a major volunteer for Spoutwood and lives up to his name being a real rock of strength for the show.
Here is our group picture, and awesome cluster of bogies, forming a hedge.
While stomping about, we came across Sean and Jenn, with baby Abby, and I was glad to offer her a blessing.
We even got a little video made of us asking a blessing from Queen Chrissy, getting our pictures taken by the Queen and then forming up to offer a baby blessing to Brother Chris an his wife, who are expecting a sprout.
It is a real honor to be such a well loved fixture of the Faerie Festivals. BOG is a bit surprised to be doing this for ten years and we consistently hear from folks that we are one of their favorite events at a festival day. Thanks to all who welcome us.
When the March was finished, we dispersed back to our booths. Theo captured a last couple of shots of me before I stripped off the greenery.
I will leave you with this, a parting blessing, and a memory of things green.
Kubiando.......