Faerie Enchantment

The Swan Ride Carnival!
This piece is called: The Swan Carnival Ride!

Sit back and remember the days when parks and arboretums with vast lakes and lilly pad invested ponds were filled with life sized swan boats, which floated whimsically along the waters throughout The US and abroad.

The Victorians loved the unusual, fantasy and the occult, they were fascinated by folklore and legends. They believed so strongly in the occult and that ghosts existed, one would often called upon a medium to perform seances to communicate with lost loved ones. The existence of fairies often crossed their minds, many believing they could exist. When the Cottingley Fairies were discovered, many thought this was the proof scientist needed to prove in the existence of fairies and fantasy creatures, one leading believer in this was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who often corresponded with the Cottingley Girls regarding their occurance.

As time went by and technology was improved many of these legends were disproved, The Victorian age was ending and the skeptism of our society was in full throttle, our desire to believe in a fairytale existence soon diminished, especially as we began to lead our adult lives. Reserving this dimension for television, movies and theme parks starting with The Ziegfield Follies, Cary Grant's Alice in Wonderland, Disney Movies, The Wizard of Oz, etc.

But for some, this desire to hold onto our childhood fantasies never disappeared, only strengthened. No matter where you look, the essence of fantasy is everywhere from Harry Potter to Spiderwick, Pan's Labrynth, Bridge to Tarabithia, The Disney Fairies and Barbie Fairytopia, its back, we are now reliving fairytales and fables from our past, re-visiting the works of Peter Pan, The Stories of Oz, Alice in Wonderland and Little Obelia. This movement is strong right now.

These stories and ideas are what inspire me most of the time, I love to re-create the stories and visions from our the pas, to bring others to a land of enchantment if only for a moment.

The following projects: The Swan Carnival Ride and Teatime with Alice and The Rabbit!are my versions of that time: I wanted to re-create the Swan Boats, which graced many Worlds Fair, Carnivals and Parks. I wanted to bring a visual to the Wonderland Stories with my Teatime with Alice and The Rabbit jar assemblage. It's my version of tea in the garden and of Alice.

I hope you enjoy my new works and re-live these stories and times!
Magic and Joy!
Lisa!