News: Bear Visits Goldilocks

European brown bear by Claire Scully*

From AllVoices Local to Global News online:

Date: December 15, 2011

Headline: Bear Visits Goldilocks

The bear, who had been seen in the neighbourhood, made his way into the man’s basement and was sleeping when the cable repairman found the 500 pound ursine in his Hopatcong home Wednesday afternoon. 

State Conservation officer Michael Madoni arrived at the home and ensured the bear would not awake by shooting him with a tranquilizer. The bear was then relocated to the Berkshire Valley Wildlilfe Management Area and a return to its wilderness home.

Read the full article, with bonus cute baby seal home invasion story, HERE.

Gotta love it - if we could confirm the man was blonde this would be a doubly awesome story. :D Very glad no one - and no bear - was hurt and a merry Christmas snooze could then be had by all (after bear-proofing the house anyway!)

Why does this story seriously make me want to go write a fairy tale short story now? :D

Silverlocks by Ali Shaw

And for your bonus material, may I suggest having a read of Ali Shaw's great post about Goldilocks, bears and Scrapefoot HERE. 

Ali Shaw is the author of The Girl With Glass Feet (you can see my review HERE) who has a clear love and understanding of fairy tales, along with a talent for sketching fantastic and unusual things. I always wish there were more to look at!

His next book, The Main Who Rained, is about to be released on January 1st 2012. Although I haven't read it (and it has nothing to do with Goldilocks, Silverlocks or Scrapefoot that I can tell) I do recommend Mr. Shaw's writing and tale spinning.

And for a "beautiful things bonus" go visit Claire Scully's portfolio. The "Bejewelled" section is full of beautiful artistic tributes to animals and nature like the one at the head of the post, and fits the idea of respect that "Bear Visits Goldilocks" is telling us, at least in between the lines, we should have.

Fairy Tales & Architecture - 3 Part Series w/ Kate Bernheimer & Andrew Bernheimer

 

This month we learn that our friend of fairy tales Kate Bernheimer has been doing some groundbreaking work in an unusual field - at least regarding fairy tales. Now that the subject has come up I wonder why I haven't seen it tackled before? The series is called "The House on Chicken Feet"and is co-produced by fairy tale writer and teacher Kate Bernheimer (editor of one of my favorite fairy tale study books, Mirror, Mirror On The Wall among other fantastic works) and her brother and architect Andrew Bernheimer.

Here's the introduction to the concept and header for each part in the series:

Fairy tales have transfixed readers for thousands of years, and for many reasons; one of the most compelling is the promise of a magical home. How many architects, young and old, have been inspired by the hero or heroine, banished from the cottage, lost in the woods, who risks everything to find a forever-space?

In this series, which appears in three installments this week on Places, we look at fairy tales through the lens of architecture. Participating firms — Bernheimer Architecture, Leven Betts and Guy Nordenson and Associates — have selected favorite tales and produced works exploring the intimate relationship between the domestic structures of fairy tales and the imaginative realm of architecture.  

Houses in fairy tales are never just houses; they always contain secrets and dreams. This project presents a new path of inquiry, a new line of flight into architecture as a fantastic, literary realm of becoming. We welcome you to these fairy-tale places.

— Kate Bernheimer & Andrew Bernheimer

The series start HERE and there are links to the second and third part on each page.

 

The various architectural firms take inspiration from three tales and revisit the designs of key structures in the tales at the same time as they look at the stories and consider the significance of such buildings. Considering Kate Bernheimer is a master at getting people to think about the relevance of fairy tales with regard to their lives and to the general populace, you know you want to read these articles! They're fairly short and easy to read but chock-full of unusual perspectives and information.

The three tales are Baba Yaga, in which they look at the hut on chicken feet, Jack and the Beanstalk in which they consider the beanstalk itself and Rapunzel who gets a design update on her cocoon, er, prison, er, childhood home. The stories all get a brief consideration in their own right (from the fabulous perspective of Kate Bernheimer of course!) then the architects and design firms are asked a few questions related to their re-imagining of the fairy tale structure.

Can you tell I'm fascinated? I'm only disappointed there isn't more. (Hint, hint Bernheimer siblings. ;)

Plum Pudding & Other Fairy Tale Food

Miss Plum Duff by Kristin Tercek

UPDATE 12/28/11 THANKS TO RENEE OF THE FAE: See end of post.

This illustration by Kristin Tercek (of Cuddly Rigor Mortis) reminds me of a favorite childhood classic tale from Australia,  The Magic Pudding, written and illustrated by Norman Lindsay . Although isn't set specifically at Christmas, it works with the season because every Christmas in Australia seems to require pudding and fruitcake. And how can you resist the idea of magical pudding?

I must admit, this Magic Pudding is on the grumpy side and quite a trouble maker, giving his companions  - who spend all their time guarding him against pudding thieves - a lot of grief. In fact, he's only happy when he's being eaten, though he can never be fully consumed, being magical and all.

The Christmas season tends to involve a lot of food and festive meals so thinking about fairy tale food also seems appropriate at the moment.

While I don't recall many (if any) fairy tales in which the food itself is magic (in that it has personality), there are plenty of examples of magical food in fairy tales, that is, food that is magical, makes magic as it's consumed or contains something magical. Food in fairy tales is always important, even when it isn't specifically magical as well. (I've commented on this a little recently with regard to apples and Snow White in ABC's Once Upon A Time.)

Off the top of my head here are some tales where food, or a food item, are of supreme importance in the tale:

Like Meat Without Salt (another of my favorites as a child)

Hansel & Gretel (remember the breadcrumbs as well as the candy house!)

Princess Manyfur & Donkeyskin (the soup made by the princess in disguise with an 'extra' ingredient)

Rapunzel (Radishes? Lettuce? Take your pick but the vegetable garden holds the roots of the story.. ;)

The Juniper Tree (I almost didn't include this but that meal is, sadly, very key)

The Princess and the Pea (a pea, obviously, but also breakfast revelations)

Cinderella (pumpkin in the best known version but if memory serves there are oranges and lemons as well - aristocratic delicacies)

Snow White (the famous apple of course but also what the queen asks for to add to her dinner)

Stone Soup (everything BUT the stone!)

Red Riding Hood (a basket of bread and wine for Grandma, and wolf food of course)

Love For Three Oranges (cheese and oranges)

Jack and the Beanstalk (not just beans but also milk and all the significance of that drink, not to mention the fee fi fo fum dinnertime. The other Jack o- f Giant Killer fame - also has pudding - see image earlier in post)

Beauty & the Beast (each night at dinner...)

Momotaro (Peach Boy - a little boy born in a peach)

The Tin Soldier (the fish sliced open for dinner)

Baba Yaga (rice)

Tom Thumb (his big troubles start with falling into a pudding)

The Girl Who Trod On A Loaf (bread and all it represents)

Goldilocks & the Three Bears (porridge and breakfast)

Strawberries in the Snow (or the Twelve Months)

The Nutcracker (not about nuts at all but lots of sweets instead)

This is not a definitive list. Just those I could list without heading to my fairy tale library. What obvious ones did I miss? What are your favorites? And what food or meals are involved besides the obvious ones (especially if they're in the title)?

UPDATE: Thanks to Renee of the Fae's comment below, I was reminded of The Talking Eggs by Robert D. San Souci. It's an American variation on Diamonds and Toads with lovely language and gorgeous illustrations. Check it out (there's a very small preview of a couple of pages on amazon.com). If you haven't got it already I'm predicting you'll add it to your fairy tale wish list. ;) Thanks Renee!

Kevin Tong's "Once Upon A Time" Posters Update

There's been so much fairy tale news and seasonal things going on I haven't kept up with the poster releases for ABC's Once Upon A Time. Here's a quick update of the set of six being created by Kevin Tong:

Rapunzel

Released December 8

 

Little Red Cap

Released December 15

Sleeping Beauty

Released December 22 (today)

Still to come:

 - Snow White
   Being released December 29

 - Rumpelstiltskin
   Being released January 5

 - Cinderella
   Being Released January 12

I really like the included details - and check the Sleeping Beauty and Prince profiles on the most recent poster - nice. (Of course once I saw them that's all I could see!) Both the gold and silver versions of these posters must be stunning in person.

If you want to get a limited edition print you can keep an eye on their release HERE and order from HERE.

The current bonus download story from ABC is Snow White. You can find the PDF link HERE (scroll down).

Disney's Snow Queen Out Of Development Deep Freeze & Now "Frozen"

She's baaaaack..

Great news and perfect for the first day of Winter (this is barely hours old as of this writing): it appears Disney Feature Animation is back on track to animate The Snow Queen, only this time under the new title of "Frozen".

Here's the old temp logo:

 .. but it looks like the new name (and probably the new logo) are going to get the Tangled  treatment, staying away from princesses and queens (though they'd do better with that if all their marketing and merchandise wasn't aimed at little girls!)

There's been a little confusion about whether or not it's a Pixar project and a dinosaur project but (see HERE for an explanation of how that can get confused with The Snow Queen) but all news appears solid for a new fairy tale adaptation coming our way from Disney:

Turns out that Frozen isn't a Pixar movie at all, but rather a new, possibly 2D-animated, film out of Walt Disney Animation. ...In reality, Frozen is an adaptation of Hans Christian Anderson’s The Snow Queen, which the studio has been trying to get made for years now without any luck (the image at the top of this story is concept art from a few years ago). The 2D animation thing is up in the air, as the site's source recently responded to questioning about the format by saying, “Don’t put your name to that…not quite yet.” 

 It's going to be 3D (see HERE) and I'm most curious about an adaptation they feel they can finally run with...  There's so much potential with this story I'm frankly confused as to why they've had so much trouble to date. But hopefully that's all in the past now and we can be excited again - for real this time! (Yes, I'm choosing to be optimistic about this!)

Though there's no "Frozen" artwork anywhere yet I thought I'd give you something new and pretty and Snow Queen related to look at anyway.
 

Note: this is NOT from Disney Development but from this talented artist HERE.

Yay for fairy tale ratings and excitement over next years fairy tale films the last few months. I have no doubt that has more than a little to do with this development - and I'm very, very happy about it. ;)

Cinderella's Carriage At Midnight

Here's a beautiful fairy tale ice sculpture for the first day of Winter.

The Clock Strikes Midnight

The moment in the Cinderella fairy tale where the carriage begins to turn back into a pumpkin and mice.

I never thought of the magic in Cinderella's carriage as "melting" away before but it's very appropriate to the tale to show it this way. Glass slippers, ice-cold hearts and melting magic... this would make an awesome Winter tale.

You can see more amazing ice sculptures HERE, including a couple more from Cinderella's story.

The Hobbit Trailer & More

It's here...



And it's making people very excited.

There's more news for Tolkien fans too:

Apart from fun looking sets, what's exciting about Legos tackling Lord of the Rings is that there will be even more unique fantasy pieces and building options. The Harry Potter line opened up a huge range of possibilities and we've seen some nice fairy tale Lego creations since. I'm hoping that the combination of a new LOTR Lego line and all the fairy tale zeitgeist in the air will inspire people to get really creative with their bricks and delve into the world of fantasy and fairy tales.

Oh and the other cool thing about a hugely popular fantasy movie? Merchandise - lots of it! Makes for fantastic props for fairy tale cosplay, parties and general fairy tale feel around the house, especially if they produce versatile pieces that aren't all "branded" with the movie logo. I have a feeling Folk & Fairy will be very busy finding a LOT of fairy tale-ish awesomeness next year... ;)

Happy Winter Solstice!

1912 John Bauer (Swedish 1882-1918) ~ Julbocken (Yule Goat) from “A Polar Bear’s Tale”

Today is December 22nd - the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the official beginning of Winter or Winter Solstice. Bring on the Winter tales and folklore up here! I'll start with "A Polar Bear's Tale", except I can't find any online text for this tale; just a few wonderful illustrations and ink studies by John Bauer. Obviously I need far more research time... (hint, hint to my fellow-researchers out there ;). I think it's in Swedish Folk Tales, which I have but can't reach to confirm as it's in storage.

Frost fairies, Jack Frost tales, snow-maidens, Father Winter, Snow Queens and ice palaces... enchanted bears visiting your doorstep (either in need of a good brush or to help scare off pesky trolls), frozen hearts and magic footprints in the snow and Yule goats... I love it all. :)  

Bonus: For a little "Google Magic" this season, if you use Firefox or Chrome, type "Let it snow" into the Google search box (https://www.google.com/) and hit return. It should start snowing (and fogging up!) on your screen. You can even make smiley faces with your mouse and when your Google goggles have had enough there's even a "defrost" button to help bring you back to cyber-reality. ;) If only I could just make it work while having a fairy tale page open - then it really would be magical! (Still very cool though. Heh.)

Do you have favorite Winter or snow-based/years-end tales? (Or any info on the tale the Bauer illustration was done for?)

Happy Wintertime Northern Hemisphere Folks!
(All those south of the equator: prep the barbie- it's Summertime and the rellies are due over any minute..! ;)
Yuletide blessings to you and yours this season, wherever you are.
 

“Les Funerailles de Blanche Neige” - Sculpture Collaboration

“Les funerailles de Blanche Neige” collaboration by Lacombe & Martinez

This doll is a very special collaboration by Benjamin Lacombe and doll maker Julien Martinez based on Mr. Lacombe's Blanche Neige designs from his beautifully illustrated picture book. It's currently in a gallery showing with other works by Lacombe and other doll collaborations with Mr. Martinez in Paris. Lacombe calls it his most personal work and exhibition to date.

From Mr. Lacombe's blog:

It is called "Memories", like my souvenirs. Memories also served to define the mortuary photographs, the last memories of the dead in the early twentieth century.

In the first room, we can then see about twenty of these pieces there, made expressly for this exhibition, they are shorthand with curtains, bells and even a stained glass window!  In the other room will be made forty illustrations from my recent books (Rossignol, Snow White, The Herbarium of the Fairies and Notre Dame de Paris), as an echo. 

Madame Butterfly collaboration by Lacombe & Martinez

Working on this show helped me understand many things about me, about the origin of certain graphics and thematic obsessions.

You will also find all 5 volumes in collaboration with the great Julian Martinez , one presented together for the first time! It was a lot of work started long time ago. It was better because each of 5 dolls need sixty hours of work!

There's a lot more information on the exhibition HERE, along with the address and contact details for the show. 

You can see many more of Julien Martinez's doll sculptures HERE.

Here's the illustration of Blanche Neige/Snow White in her coffin from the book as comparison. You can see what a beautiful job they've both done for this exhibition. My only wish is that the doll had a lighter background like in the illustration but perhaps it fits better with the tone of the show which seems rather somber and reflective.

 .

David Petersen Illustrates Muppets & Fairy Tales

Don't you just love Miss Piggy as the Evil Queen? She could definitely take on Regina from OUAT!

I know the Muppet fairy tale comics have been out for a while but I thought the artwork by David Petersen, creator of the award-winning Mouse Guard graphic novels, was worth a revisit. Not only is he a phenomenal illustrator he's been back in "fairy tale news" with his latest project, illustrating some old fairy tale affiliates we recognize and tackling some lesser known tales too.

I am, of course, talking about the new Jim Henson's The Storyteller graphic novel anthology. (And yes, this is on my  fairy tale wishlist too - which, admittedly, is actually a lot longer than the one on Heidi's blog!) Mr. Petersen was the artist behind the lovely cover/promo-poster artwork and he also illustrates The Tinderbox in the anthology (another of my favorite stories!).

Here's an excerpt of what he says about this project, from his BLOG:

I was lucky enough to be asked by the folks at Archaia to do a pinup for their Jim Henson's The Storyteller Anthology Graphic Novel.(This also marks the 3rd Henson property I have been fortunate enough to have done pinup/cover/promotional artwork for Archaia!) The show did a wonderful job of transitioning between the Storyteller character and his dog and the story he was telling. The characters from the tale would appear in the reflections of water in bowls, on the sides of decorative steins, and in the painting over the hearth. I focused much of my attention to a way I thought I could capture that transition idea in a single pinup.

The story I started with was called The Tinderbox by Hans Christian Andersen. The story starts with a soldier who, on the request of a old witch-like woman, climbs down the trunk of a hollow tree to a cavern where three giant dogs guarding piles of treasure dwelled, as well as a magic tinderbox capable of controlling the beasts. I only roughed-in these parts in my sketch and focused more on trying to get the linkess of John Hurt as the Storyteller and his Henson-furred dog. I scanned the sketches from my sketchbook and resized the elements (adjusting how close the Storyteller and his dog are sitting, where they sit in the frame, etc.) I also tinted the pencil work different colors to help me visualize what lines belong to which character or the window.

You can read more about his process and other projects HERE and below is the finished illustration of The Tinderbox that he shows some working steps for in his blog:

I'd love to see a panel with the Storyteller's dog meeting the three dogs with eyes like saucers. :D

I was so excited to pick up Jim Henson's The Storyteller book when it first came out. Although it doesn't approach the charm of the gorgeously puppeteered and animated TV series the collection is worth making a special spot on your bookshelf for. The comics, while having their own challenges in keeping the spirit of the series, once again pick up lesser known tales with a variety of illustrators and writers. While I'm picky about comics (I love the idea and much of the artwork but rarely find them truly readable) I can't wait to add this set (in hardcover if possible!) to my library when I can.

And, as promised, here are some of his beautiful cover pieces for the Muppet Fairy Tale comics:

I love Kermit as Peter Pan! It works really well.

I think this is from the King Arthur ones but it reminded me of Sleeping Beauty so I had to include it. :)

 

 

 

LOTS of info on the Muppet Snow White comic series HERE with behind-the-scenes insights on story and adapting the muppets to the characters and much more. You can also see additional illustrations for King Arthur and Robin Hood HERE and there's an additional illustration with Janice as Lady of the Lake HERE.

Since we're talking Muppets, as a completely silly segue I had to include a couple of the "Muppet Saga" posters recently released.

 

 

LOL! Now this is a version of Twilight I would like to see! :D