Wonky Fairy Tree

Into the forest of my art room I go
To lose my mind
And find my soul

The news of the last few days have left me saddened and infuriated and I needed to paint. This is what happened.

I love Australia. And, I love some of the Aussie expressions. One day I was having tea in a little coffee shop with an Aussie friend and a woman exhibiting clear mental illness behavior came in. My friend said, “Oh dear, she’s a bit away with the fairies.” I had no idea what that meant and inquired. We spent the next 30 minutes or so talking about fairies and mythical folklore. It was so fun! Then she took me to a park and showed me a beautiful tree with fairies carved into the tree. It was so beautiful and the perfect ending to the beginning of my education re fairies. I’ve loved fairies ever since and, for me, they are a soft place for my mind to land.

Fairies also remind us of our youngest granddaughter, Miss T. Our Miss T loved Tinkerbell (still does, I reckon, although T is all grown up now) and she had her own Tinkerbell sippy cup and then big girl cup at our house. No one else used those – ever. And, that reminds me of a story. I’ve always loved telling stories and when our girls were little, I would tell them stories about things that happened to them when they were smaller. One day a few years ago, our Miss T asked me if I would tell her a story about her. T’s older sister gave her a withering look and exclaimed, “Not everything is about you, you know.” Oh dear. Miss T replied, “I know. Grandma, could you please tell me a story about me … or about someone else.” I had to hold back my laugh as I told her a story about her. Such fun memories.

I hope you enjoy my newest wonky painting and I further hope looking at it will provide a moment of fun and restful escape for you. Peace to all.

r