Good Faeries/Bad Faeries

Author: Brian Froud

Product Type: Hardcover

Published: 10/15/1998

Publisher Marketing: "Once upon a time, I thought faeries lived only in books, old folktales, and the past. That was before they burst upon my life as vibrant, luminous beings, permeating my art and my everyday existence, causing glorious havoc..." In the long-awaited sequel to the international bestseller "Faeries", artist Brian Froud rescues pixies, gnomes, and other faeries from the isolation of the nursery and the distance of history, bringing them into the present day with vitality and imagination. In this richly imagined new book, Brian reveals the secrets he has learned from the faeries-- what their noses and shoes look like, what mischief and what gentle assistance they can give, what their souls and their dreams are like. As it turns out, faeries aren't all sweetness and light. In addition to such good faeries as Dream Weavers and Faery Godmothers, Brian introduces us to a host of less well behaved creatures-- traditional bad faeries like Morgana le Fay, but also the Soul Shrinker and the Gloominous Doom. The faery kingdom, we find, is as subject to good and evil as the human realm. Brilliantly documenting both the dark and the light, "Good Faeries/Bad Faeries" presents a world of enchantment and magic that deeply compels the imagination. Publisher Marketing: Preface from "Good Faeries" Once upon a time, I thought faeries lived only in books, old folktales, and the past. That was before they burst upon my life as vibrant, luminous beings, permeating my art and my everyday existence, causing glorious havoc. Until 1976, I lived in London and worked as an illustrator, creating images to go along with other people's words. Then I moved to a small country village in Devon, along with my friend Alan Lee and his family. As I walked through forests of oak and ivy, across the wild expanse of Dartmoor, among stone circles, Bronze Age ruins, and tumbled stones of old castle walls, I began to hear words and stories whispered by the land itself. I listened to those stories, soaking in the spirit of the land with its wealth of folklore and myth. Together, Alan and I created "Faeries, " a book of pictures and faery lore, which went on to become an international bestseller. This book was considered by many to be a definitive guide to the faery realm...but I soon discovered that my journey through the land of Faery had only just begun. I learned that the denizens of that land weren't confined to stories from an age long gone -- they were all around me, tangible pulses of energy, spirit, emotion, and light. They took on form as they stepped into my art, cloaked in shapes of nature and myth. I'd attracted their attention while creating "Faeries, " and they weren't finished with me yet. In the years after the publication of "Faeries" I worked on many other projects, each of them steeped in magic. For Jim Henson, I designed two movies based upon my art: "The Dark Crystal" and "Labyrinth." I published other books such as "The World of the DarkCrystal, Brian Froud's Faerielands, Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book, Strange Stains and Mysterious Smells, " and "The Goblin Companion" (the last three with Terry Jones of "Monty Python" fame). Yet of all these publications, "Faeries" seemed to have captured the imaginations of the greatest number of readers. When I ventured out of my Devon studio to work on projects halfway across the world, people sought me out clutching wellworn copies of the volume. They were of all ages and from all walks of life, but they had one thing in common: an intense relationship with the book and an immense affection for the imagery within. The faeries had entered their lives, and shaped their dreams, and touched their hearts. It has been twenty years since "Faeries" was published, and in that time I have never stopped my own personal intensive exploration of the faery realm. During these years I met my wife, Wendy, a sculptor and doll maker, on the set of "The Dark Crystal; " our son, Toby, was born; and we moved to a seventeenth-century Devon longhouse built on Saxon foundations. Faery paintings and drawings began to crowd me out of my studio, spilling into the rest of the house alongside my wife's mythic sculptures, woodland masks, and faery dolls. My paintings are not illustrations drawn from specific stories or folklore texts; rather, they are images painted intuitively, springing directly from visions guided by faery muses, a paradoxical mix of chance and intent. As this body of faery imagery grew, I also followed the faeries' footsteps in the study of world mythology, archetypal psychology, and magical esoterica. Through painting, I discovered much about faery nature in a daily, verypersonal way -- and then found these discoveries echoed in myth, folklore, art, and visionary writings from cultures all around the world. "Faeries" was a book that concentrated on the Faeries of the past, found in old British tales. "Good Faeries/Bad Faeries" is about the magic in our lives today; it links faeries of the past with faeries of the present and the future. I'd always wanted this book to be more than just a presentation of my faery art. I'd also hoped to address the process of creativity and imagination that enables direct communication with the luminous, living faery realm. In folklore, they say that those who can see the Faeries are blessed with "second sight." Where some people perceive only empty fields, a man or woman with second sight can see a host of faeries dancing in a ring or the shining entrance to a faery hill. Where some notice only an ordinary street of shops or a marketplace, others see faeries in human disguise, paying for market goods with magical coins that will turn into mere stones and leaves when the faeries have gone. Through painting pictures and listening to the spirit of the beautiful land where I make my home, I have discovered that the second sight is not limited to people in old folktales. We can all learn to have the sight to see the faery world around us. It shimmers in every autumn leaf and lingers in every cool blue shadow; it give Publisher Marketing: "Once upon a time, I thought faeries lived only in books, old folktales, and the past. That was before they burst upon my life as vibrant, luminous beings, permeating my art and my everyday existence, causing glorious havoc...." In the long-awaited sequel to the international bestseller Faeries, artist Brian Froud rescues pixies, gnomes, and other faeries from the isolation of the nursery and the distance of history, bringing them into the present day with vitality and imagination. In this richly imagined new book, Brian reveals the secrets he has learned from the faeries -- what their noses and shoes look like, what mischief and what gentle assistance they can give, what their souls and their dreams are like. As it turns out, faeries aren't all sweetness and light. In addition to such good faeries as Dream Weavers and Faery Godmothers, Brian introduces us to a host of less well behaved creatures -- traditional bad faeries like Morgana le Fay, but also the Soul Shrinker and the Gloominous Doom. The faery kingdom, we find, is as subject to good and evil as the human realm. Brilliantly documenting both the dark and the light, Good Faeries/Bad Faeries presents a world of enchantment and magic that deeply compels the imagination. Review Citations: School Library Journal 04/01/1999 pg. 164 (EAN 9780684847818, Hardcover) Contributor Bio:Froud, Brian Brian Froud is an artist and author who has created such bestselling books as Good Faeries/Bad Faeries, Lady Cottington's Pressed Faery Book, and Faeries. The conceptual designer for Jim Henson's films, The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth, he lives in Devon, England.