"States of Dress" by Robin Barcus-Slonina

The dress 'sculptures' this artist makes are quite often the stuff of fairy tale. Rather than try to describe what it is she does, here's a description from her blog:

(Regarding) the art project "States of Dress" by Robin Barcus Slonina. Barcus-Slonina is an installation and performance artist creating a site-specific, interactive "dress" sculpture in each of the fifty states in the USA.

From what I understand, Ms. Barcus-Slonina took/takes 'found objects' and created a dress-form that was 'worn' (I use the term loosely, for these are not the sorts of outfits you can easily put on and take off), photographed then displayed in an exhibition she had. You can see some examples in this post.For me, these photos remind me not only of Ophelia with her flowers and her tragic drowning but also of many Russian myths and tales. I can't find anywhere that Ms. Barcus-Slonina feels her work is influenced by there's no doubt there's a fairy tale feel about many of these creations.

Here's a lovely film of her process (please note, it begins with her road trip to the state - Wyoming - in which this dress was made and the actual creation begins a few minutes in).

You can find out more about her work in her blog HERE and see more of the 'ongoing traveling sculpture project' on her website HERE.

New Ebook from Heidi Anne Heiner of SurLaLune: "Frog Prince and Other Frog Tales From Around the World"

Heidi Anne Heiner, long-time fairy tale advocate/ambassador and the genius (and incredibly tireless worker) behind-the-scenes of one of the best fairy tale resources on the web - SurLaLune - has been busy working on a new series of books and just released her first one on August 19th.In perfect timing with the current buzz about princes masquerading as amphibians (thanks to Disney's upcoming animated feature "The Princess and the Frog" in December), this volume is titled: "The Frog Prince and Other Frog Tales From Around the World".

This is super exciting, as the tales in these collections can't be found - either put together or the complete texts of such - anywhere else on the web!

Heidi was kind enough to give me permission to re-publish her blog entry here at Once Upon A Blog:

Last week I announced a new series of "Women in Folklore" books I'm publishing in Kindle eformat and potentially in paper versions, too. The first volume in the series is The Fairy Tale Fiction of Anne Isabella Thackeray Ritchie. You can read all about the format choices and thinking behind this series at the original post here.

This week I've also launched the first book in the SurLaLune Fairy Tale Series, The Frog Prince and Other Frog Tales From Around the World. For now it is available in Kindle format only, but I am working on other formats. (If you have a preference, please post or email me so I know where the demand is focused.)

Here's the description:

From wise creatures to hapless victims, frogs appear in numerous stories around the world. Edited with an introduction by Heidi Anne Heiner of SurLaLune Fairy Tales, this volume contains over 100 fairy tales, fables, myths and ballads about frogs from around the world, including several variants of the well-known Frog Prince tales made famous by the Brothers Grimm and most recently adapted into a feature-length animated film by Disney. The book is divided into several sections, including “Frog Kings, Princes and Bridegrooms,” “Frog Brides,” “Frog Wooing and Courting,” “More Frog Tales,” and “Fables.” Also included is Mark Twain’s famous short story, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.”

This book is much more involved on my part since I spent many weeks researching and then editing and formatting the texts. I searched hundreds of books and found roughly 100 tales about frogs to include in this volume, including tales that stand alone and others that are variants of each other. Most of these tales are not available on SurLaLune nor are they gathered in such a large collection anywhere else on the web or in print. I've also written short introductions to many of them in addition to the expanded article I've included as an introduction to the entire collection.

You can find the rest of the entry discussing publishing options, upcoming installments and the wonderful work her graphic artist husband did with the covers HERE.Please go support Heidi's amazing work, both with SurLaLune and these wonderful new series. Her blog (also focusing on fairy tales) is HERE, the website (very possibly my favorite on the web) is HERE and you can buy some wonderful products HERE (at CafePress) and HERE (at Zazzle), all of which help pay for the running costs of the site, which we sincerely need to stay active and available!

As for the ebook, Heidi has told me PDFs are on the way, so for all of us still without a Kindle, we'll be able to get our own copy very soon. In the meantime, here's a 'teaser' (from Amazon.com):

From the introduction:

A FROG with a crown on its head. A girl kissing a frog. If you pay attention, you’ll notice the images appear frequently in the world around you. These and other variations — many humorous — appear on t-shirts, in advertisements, on book covers and novelty items to name just a few. Their shorthand message: You have to kiss a lot of frogs to meet your prince. Just about anyone will tell you it’s from a fairy tale, some may be able to tell you the story. Not many people know that the familiar story isn’t really an old tale but a fairly new variation of several tales that have been circulating for centuries.

‘And so the princess kissed the frog, turning him into a prince before her very eyes.’ A frog transformed into a prince with a kiss. That’s how “The Frog Prince” fairy tale ends in modern popular culture, but it’s not the way our ancestors knew the tale. Most often, violence was the key to ending the enchantment in the earliest known versions traced back to Scotland and Germany.

The Scottish tale is most familiarly known as “The Well of the World’s End” and first appeared in print in The Complaynt of Scotland in 1549, predating Shakespeare. The title is romantic, but not nearly as easy to remember as our more familiar “The Frog Prince.” The tale is considerably different, but obviously related to the tale of today.

You can also find a whole set of pages at SurLaLune dedicated to the tale of The Frog King, or Iron Henry (also known as The Frog Prince) HERE.

From us all, Heidi, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all your work with and for fairy tales. We're very lucky to have you on the fairy tale team!

Twisted Princesses

Want to see what the Disney Princesses would be like if they went to the dark side?

Jeffrey Thomas (aka *jefftoon01 on deviantART) has done a wonderful job of exploring exactly that and has a very cool series going in his gallery. If you appreciate dark fairy tales you'll love it, not to mention vampires, zombies and other monsters we love.

I recommend clicking on 'full view' as there are a LOT of cool details and story nuances you won't see in the thumbnail versions.

Here's a few examples - no passive princesses here!(Um - wow! I do NOT want to meet this Aurora in the woods!)(The Cheshire Cat here is exactly how I envision him!)Yay for fan art!

I hope there's more coming - the idea of "The Princess and the Frog" or "Rapunzel" getting this treatment sends story idea galloping through my head... *dashes away to grab pen and paper*

*Pops head back in quickly to say:*

You can find the rest HERE in his deviantART gallery.

"Awesome stuff Jeff! More please!"

NOTE: A sincere thank you to Bryan Prindiville for alerting me to these! He's a fabulous cartoonist/illustrator himself - go check out his WEBSITE and enjoy - a lot of things to make you smile there.

Neil Gaiman's Retelling of 'Diamonds & Toads'

I admit it: I'd heard about the book but never ventured further in my investigations - I should have.

[A note: Initially this post had a lot of exclamation points - a condition I slip into when I get excited about something. I've tried to edit most of them out but I'm sure a few have slipped through. Instead of speaking in frogs or sapphires I've been spouting exclamation marks!]

"Who Killed Amanda Palmer" by Neil Gaiman, has a retelling of Diamonds and Toads as part of the text.

This is one of those fairy tales I came to know as a child and so didn't realize it wasn't well known till much later. It's one of those tales that has many (MANY!) variants in many countries and is begging to be explored. In the Western world it's also known by the titles: Mother Holle (or Frau Holle) and The Fairies. SurLaLune - the best fairy tale resource on the web for text, annotations and interpretations - has a page on the VARIANTS around the world and the list is very long. Clearly, this is one of those stories that resonates across time and culture very well.

One of the short stories that has stayed with me is a retelling of this very tale and can be found in "Twice Upon a Time", edited by Denise Little. The title is "How I Came To Marry A Herpetologist" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman and turns the usually perceived curse of speaking toads and snakes on its head. To this day, I'm on the fence about whether I'd choose to speak jewels or reptiles as a result.

So, back to Neil Gaiman's version: Amanda Palmer (yes, the same Amanda Palmer as the title) was recorded reading the Diamonds and Toads retelling at one of her concerts. She does a lovely job of telling it, as you can see below:

Thanks to the community at Told This Time for alerting me. I couldn't help but expand on this news and add a little extra information about the tale for those curious. You can see the original post HERE.

NOTE: The illustration is by Lealand Eve, who has other illustrations exploring 'discomfort in fairy tales'. This tale definitely qualifies. You can find out more about Lealand Eve and see more work HERE.

V-Ray Tales by Silvia Bratanova

Discovered on deviantART, this 'V-Ray Tales' series is advertising the power of the V-Ray rendering engine for 3D computer graphics but I think these images (not including the accompanying text) show us yet another interpretation of our old favorites.

The artist is Silvia Bratanova (SOOO on deviantART) and is an 'experimental photographer/designer', working as part of 'Wings Creative Studio' team.

There is text on each image with the 'tale' (according to V-Ray). Clicking on the images will take you to Silvia's deviantART page where you can click 'Full View' and have a closer look to read what's written (there's an example at the bottom of this post).







NOTE:
Copy for The Princess and the Pea V-Ray Tale:

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a beautiful princess, cursed in a most peculiar way - whenever she saw a bad pixel, it would turn into a pea underneath her mattress. She would lie awake every night praying for a new v-rayvolutionary product - reliable and accurate enough to render out all the pixels and break the curse.

V-Ray - no more sleepless nights!

NEWSFLASH: Fairy Tale Magazine in the works - submissions open

And now for a

FAIRY TALE NEWSFLASH:

Kate Wolford of Diamonds & Toads and associates are working on creating an online fairy tale magazine! The magazine will be titled "Enchanted Conversation" with the first issue planned for early 2010.

Each issue will be themed and the first theme is - you guessed it - 'Sleeping Beauty'. The magazine will be aimed at people interested in fairy tales (from studies and analysis through to general enjoyment) but it won't have an academic 'tone', the aim being that it's accessible to, and enjoyable for, anyone.

Think fun - and enchanting - with substance!Submissions of fiction, poetry, articles and art are now open to anyone over 18 but, as with all professional publications, please be sure to read the guidelines before submitting any work. Please note that an editor will have final say of any accepted pieces and there is no guarantee of publication for submissions.

Submissions close November 15th, 2009 or whenever the Editors have enough quality content for the issue.You can find information on what the desired submissions are HERE on the right of the page and submission guidelines HERE, and don't forget to check out the submission tips!

While the magazine home site is still very much under construction, work has already begun on the first issue and submissions are encouraged.

Please visit www.enchantedconversation.net for more information.

The key to making this online magazine work is exposure (i.e., lots of readers!) along with excellent content that 'enchants' readers so they come back for more, so start spreading the word! I'll let you know of any updates through Once Upon A Blog.

I'm very much looking forward to the 1st issue!

The Great 'Sleeping Beauty' Rewrite (IV of IV) - Winning Entry

Please note: there's both an interview AND an excerpt so this post is a little longer than usual for this blog. Don't worry - it's not the new standard!

In the past week we've been having a look at the short stories written and entered in the Diamonds & Toads "Great 'Sleeping Beauty' Rewrite" contest.

Today, I'm happy to present the winning author, Tahlia Merrill, in a brief interview and show you an excerpt from her winning story, "The Prince With Good Manners".

Here's what Kate at Diamonds & Toads said about why her entry won:

Her charming retelling, "The Prince With Good Manners," won for the following reasons: It had a completeness to it that showed a good management of the 1,000-word limit. It was very much a retelling, with a sense of newness to it. Tahlia's story also featured a non-passive princess. Most of all, her story found a very clever way to have the princess and prince get to know one anotherbefore she woke up.

Tahlia was kind enough to agree to a quick interview withe the fairy tale news hound for Once Upon A Blog, about her story and her love of fairy tales.

____________________________________

Fairy Tale News Hound: First of all, a well deserved congratulations on winning the contest! Tahlia: what an appropriate name to win a 'Sleeping Beauty' contest with!

Tahlia: Would you believe that I found out after the contest about that rather uncanny coincidence? I've read a lot of early versions of fairy tales, but somehow that one slipped through the cracks! I have a pretty uncommon name and I thought I knew all the cultural appearances of it in literature, but I definitely missed that one!

FTNH: What do you think of the first written version of 'Sleeping Beauty' in The Pentamerone (Sun, Moon & Talia)?

Tahlia: Well, it's not really a surprise that it's nothing like the Disney version, but it's amazing to see how drastically the entire spirit of the story has changed over time. When I read it for the first time, it actually reminded me a lot of a Greek myth, because it has the same crazy soap opera drama feel to it.

FTNH: Diamonds & Toads posted a small bio for you so instead of repeating that information I thought I'd ask you some questions about your story and your enjoyment of fairy tales in general. What is your favorite fairy tale and why?

Tahlia: Probably the original Hans Christian Anderson version of "The Little Mermaid". It was the version that I was brought up on--we had a beautiful picture book version of that used dolls in the photographs. I also listened to it on a record over and over again when I was little. It's like an Andrew Lloyd Webber song--it grabs your emotions and connects you to the story in a way that many fairy tales fail to do. The image that always sticks in my mind is the little mermaid's new legs allow her to walk and dance with grace, but every step feels like she's walking on knives. It's that push and pull of wanting the thing that will hurt you that fascinates me every time I read it.

FTNH: What are some of your favorite fairy tale retellings and why do they appeal to you?

Tahlia: I will admit to being a sucker for Cinderella retellings. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine was the first retelling that I read for the first time and just thought, "Whoah!". I've read that book half a dozen times because it doesn't just retell the story, but it takes it to a whole new level that I never knew fairy tales could reach. Her Princess Tales series is also delightful. Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix is a slightly grittier version of Cinderella that I appreciate because of the daring twist it takes at the end. Vivian Vande Velde's The Rumpelstiltskin Problem is what initially inspired me to write my own fairy tale retelling because she puts SIX radically different spins on the story into one book. That's the book that got me starting to think about all the practical problems that classic fairy tales seem to overlook.

FTNH: What made you decide to give Deidre a 'voice' prior to being woken up?

Tahlia: Well, I started thinking about how awkward it would be to wake up to some random guy you've never met kissing you! That was my initial thought, and then I started wondering if there could be any way for the sleeping princess and the prince to actually get to know each other before the kiss. So I came up with a way to let them communicate and fall in love so that when they kissed, it actually meant something to them. Many fairy tale retellings are all about trying to break the damsel in distress stereotype, but I wanted to focus more on the prince and his feelings about the whole situation because he's the one who ultimately has to break the spell! Once I started running dialogue in my head between the two characters, everything else just fell into place.

FTNH: What did you learn/receive from the experience of retelling a fairy tale, especially one that had to include certain elements (besides the lovely prize, of course)?

Tahlia: For me, I have spent most of my writing years working on manuscripts for novels that I hope to publish someday, so it was extremely hard to keep this story under 1000 words. It was originally 7000 words, with a much fuller plot arc and character development. I had to save that copy and then cut out the first 3/4 of the plot and start the story there. So I learned the invaluable lesson of how to mercilessly cut down a story while still preserving the spirit of it. Thinking about creative ways to twist Sleeping Beauty has also given me lots of new ideas for more fairy tale related stories.

One unexpected gift that this contest has given me is a large spike in visitors to my website (guardianghost.wordpress.com) that features the current writing project I'm creating with my friend. I've never been published or won any writing contests before, so it's really helped me feel more confident as a writer and gives my parents some hope that I might not have to be the starving artist type.

FTNH: If you had been in an enchanted sleep for one hundred years what sort of breakfast would you order on waking up?

Tahlia: All perfect food is made by my mom, so that would be my first of my criteria. I think I'd want a berry smoothie with bacon and cheese quiche, some raspberry tarts, and LOTS of homemade doughnuts. Oh, and pancakes! And poptarts! And just the marshmallows of Lucky Charms! Gosh, I hope my prince has a good appetite, because there's no way I'm going to be able to eat all of my first breakfast without some help!

Thank you so much for chatting with the Fairy Tale News Hound today! We wish you every success in your studies and your writing.
________________________________

You can find out more about Tahlia HERE at Diamonds & Toads on the August 6th entry.

Here's an excerpt from the beginning in which you can see this is no ordinary Sleeping Beauty:

“This is the last quest I am ever going on,” Patrick muttered to himself.

He struggled up the never-ending staircase, sweat weighing down his tunic. At the top, a door was finally in sight. Before he could reach it, his brother Prince Conrad burst out of it and rushed passed him, muttering to himself, “…didn’t work…bad omen…voices of ghouls…” Before Patrick could say a word, Conrad was gone.

“Well, I’m not giving up now that I’m here!” Patrick called to the sound of retreating footsteps. Plodding behind Conrad for hours chasing this legend had been bad enough. For Patrick, there was no turning back. Moving closer, he could read a stone plaque on the door.

“Here sleeps Princess Deirdre of Acrasia, until after a hundred years have passed from the twelfth day of Yune, 988. Whence that time arrives, she shall be awakened by a kiss, and the rule of the royal family shall continue.

“That silly ninny!” Patrick laughed out loud. “Con was a whole year too early!” It was the year 1087, not 1088. Stepping into the room, he saw an ornate canopy bed with the princess on it. “What?” A female voice said. “Back for more are you?”

Patrick spun in a full circle, frantically searching for the speaker. Confused, and a little frightened, Patrick crept over to the bed. The princess talking must not be asleep after all, maybe she was just pretending. There she was, lying on top of the covers. Her breathing was deep and relaxed. She certainly looked like she was sleeping.

Patrick swallowed hard and tried to remember his manners.

“Sorry to disturb you, err, Miss.”

“Oh! You’re a different one,”

You can read the rest of the story HERE.

Here are some more interesting interpretations of Sleeping Beauty. Click on the covers for more information on each. You can find even more HERE at SurLaLune.

NOTE: The illustration at the head is by Ivy Izzard. You can get a closer view and see more of her work by clicking on the image or HERE. The black and white illustration is by the legendary Gustave Doré. Click on the image or HERE to be taken to more information about him.

4th Podcast Episode of "CAGES: A Steampunk Retelling of Grimm's Jorinde & Joringel" is up

Part IV of V of my steampunk fairy tale retelling is up at Supernatural Fairy Tales!

You can read the text and/or listen to the podcast
(me reading with a little music added)
HERE.

There is a small button labeled PLAY below the header for the audio.

Part I can be found HERE.
Part II can be found HERE.
Part III can be found HERE.

If you'd like to read the fairy tale that inspired it, you can find it HERE, at the amazing fairy tale resource site of SurLaLune.

The next and final episode - V - will drop on August 28th, along with a PDF of the whole story that will be available for FREE download and distribution.

Dorlana Vann has been wonderful for hosting this short story podcast series and very patient with me as I figure out the technical details of recording a podcast for the first time. :D

Thank you Dorlana! You are awesome!

Enjoy Part IV!

Disney's The Princess and the Frog - Conjuring the Villain NEW Featurette

Just a little something that popped up today - getting a behind-the-scenes look at what went into creating the villain in the Princess and the Frog.

Have you ever noticed that in fairy tales the greatest villains are the humans? It's not the witches, the Baba Yaga's etc - they're just forces of nature. Dangerous, yes - if you meet a wolf you'd better know how wolves behave in order to survive the encounter - but these individuals are rarely downright evil. It's the humans like Vassilisa's stepmother, scheming to make life miserable (occasionally aiming to kill their family members), that are the truly scary characters in a story. Give these malicious people access to a little magic and, well, let's just say it's a lot harder to escape their clutches.

In Disney's The Princess and the Frog, Dr Facilier is a smooth-talking, scheming, nasty piece of a human, who also happens to be a witch doctor - one who really know his voodoo. Here's a behind-the-scenes look at his creation, courtesy of Cartoon Brew:

The Science of Fairy Tales (Series) - Awakened From Coma By A Kiss

So this whole guy wakes girl with a kiss thing works! At least, it happened in this case, in January of this year:Emma Ray suffered a heart attack and never regained consciousness, falling into a coma. After a period of two weeks in which doctors and husband tried everything they could think of her desperate husband asked his comatose wife for a kiss.

From the news article:

'What happened next was beyond my wildest dreams,' he said. 'She turned her head towards mine, puckered up her lips and gave me a little kiss.

'I couldn't believe it. My heart felt like it was going to leap from my chest - it suddenly felt like a huge weight had been lifted.'

It should be noted, this was the second kiss her husband gave her. The first was actually the 'kiss of life' when she suffered the heart attack in a shopping center and collapsed. When doctors were finally able to start her heart and it wasn't possible to'wake' her, they warned her husband, Andrew Ray, that her condition might be permanent.

Thankfully, their story has a happy ending.

But things are still not easy. When Emma's heart stopped her brain was deprived of oxygen, resulting in damage which is still being worked through. Short term memory loss and the inability to walk without assistance are constant reminders of the incident. Her grateful husband and family, however, are just glad she's with them.

Bless you all, Ray family, and thank you for sharing your heartwarming story.

When it comes to the tale from which Emma earned her new nickname however, I wonder: although I've read retellings where Beauty has to cope with time passing and must reacquaint herself with the kingdom, has anyone ever considered Beauty dealing with internal damage from what the curse put her through?

You can read the rest of the amazing 'real life Sleeping Beauty' story HERE.
Note: The above painting is by Thomas Ralph Spence. You can find more information on him HERE.