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Not All Fairies can Fly

I first fell in love with Samantha Bryan’s Fairies in the early 2000s when I saw an exhibition in the Craft Centre and Design Gallery in Leeds. The invention, the humour, the whole premise and the beautiful construction entranced me and I bought my first Fairy. Who knew that fairies don’t simply fly but have to learn? That they wear L plates to warn others of their inexperience? That they need various intricate contraptions to help them learn to fly? That they do stretching exercises before setting off on their roller boots, or with a lifting device, under an air balloon or with a propellor? That they need special protective equipment? My quirky collection of ‘Brains Fairy Aiding Inventions’ shows all these and more.

My first Fairy

Fairy doing an exercise designed to strengthen leg muscles in preparation for impact during landing

Waiting for repaired wings and looking a bit sad 2004

Air balloon assistance

Beautiful detail

I love her pleased expression

Brain’s revolutionary V.T.O.L. Apparatus (assists fairies in vertical take-off and landing) 2003

Improved pedal powered fairy vehicle

All the Fairies have labels typed on an old typewriter adding to the quaintness of the whole.

When I retired from teaching in 2006, I was also mentoring student teachers and commissioned Samantha to make me a Fairy piece showing a Fairy being encouraged in her efforts to become fully fledged and ready to go out on her own. Samantha sent me four beautiful designs that she had sketched and this is the one I chose.

Mentor with fairy in training 2006

It’s time I added to my collection!

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Posted by mybeautfulthings on August 6, 2020 in art, craft, Happiness, Postaday2020, sculpture, sewing, Uncategorized

Tags: brain's fairy aiding inventions, Craft Centre and Design Gallery, Leeds, Samantha Bryan

Beautiful Treasures to Save if the House is About to Explode!

19 Nov

A bit different today! Two nights ago when we had the gas leak but hadn’t called the emergency number yet (Don’t ask me why!) I didn’t sleep but lay awake worrying and making lists in my head.

The first list was What Will I Save If I Have Only A Few Minutes Before The Place Goes Up and the second, less interesting, What Do I Need If We Are Evacuated While Things Get Sorted. I was thinking, as I lay there, of all the people in Cuba, in New York, in Jamaica, in Palestine, in Goma, everywhere where Sandy or some other destructive force, natural or man-made, has been and thinking that they have faced or are still facing all this for real.

As I lay in bed and ‘walked’ myself around our house, I began to realize that there were only a very few things that I would truly want to save, that were totally irreplaceable.

My first list:

Mr S. We met about 46 years ago and have been together ever since.
Photographs – and that means grabbing two small suitcases where all the early photos of our growing-up family are kept and the computer where all the digital photos are stored – memories of family, those still with us and those who have gone and friends, those still with us and those who have gone.
The Family Bible where so much family history is stored ( have a look here if you missed that post)
My locket, which has been passed through generations and worn by the Bride in so many family weddings. (Have a look here for that post)
Two small pieces of clothing – the beautiful christening dress that my Granny was christened in, then my Mum, then me and my little sister… (That post is yet to come) and the little sweatshirt from the Killingbeck Cardio Thoracic Unit in Leeds that reminds us how lucky we are to have our son, D.

and that really is all. I found that to be such a liberating realisation. The stuff that surrounds us really doesn’t matter. There are pieces of furniture that are family heirlooms, there are pieces of art that I love, there are all my music things, there are many, many books but ………

I wonder what your few treasures might be if those were really all you could save?