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The Fuin Fairy comes out this time of year. (Fuin: the ancient word for "the end.") She is a symbol of the end of summer and the beginning of fall; the end of natural light, the beginning of winter's time. The commencement of the dark half of the world.  The Irish divided the year into two parts—Summer from the 1st of May until the 1st of November, and Winter from 1st November to the 1st of May.  She is a mystical fairy who embraces the darker world, a force of calm within a season of anxiety.  She's made from bands of both white and red birch bark, very powerful. With a corsage of bygone summer wildflowers.  Her skirts are made from the candied colors of autumn leaves: purples, browns, burgundies.  If you see her in the woods this time of year, leave her be.
The Fuin Fairy comes out this time of year: She is a symbol of the end of summer. Here she is resting on hydrangea.  Here she is without filter.  Her applique is made of rose petal, petals of cornflower and a sprig of green.  Her skirt is made of chenille and sprigs of green.  I'm making more of these, which will soon be taken to Brambles, the shop in Belfast that carries my fairy dresses.  She is known as the "fuin" fairy, a symbol of the end.  It is the end of summer, the end of natural light, the beginning of winter's time. The commencement of the dark half of the world.  Her bodice has been made from grasses that were once part of the Green World, but now have dried and withered.  Her adornment is from the petal of a hydrangea bush that has turned purple with the fall cold and a curled dried leaf.  Her skirt is made from the dried bulb of Queen Anne's Lace, brambles and the white fluff of plants gone to seed.  She is a symbol to honor the change of the cold and dying season. It is also the season of renewal for all of the plants that have died and decayed nourish the Earth for May's growing season.
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Tonic of the Woods
the inspiration behind the creations Photos, stories and concept ©Kay Stephens
Look up the story behind a fairy dress by clicking on the name below
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