Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Stardust Festival of 2007

Turning on the "Way Back Machine" in honor of the birthday of Charles Vess. Posting a copy of a Live Journal entry I wrote, in 2007, after visiting the Stardust Festival in Abingdon Va, and meeting Charles for the first time. We were ambassadors from one Faerie Realm to a Master Wizard if you will. Sent by Faerie Magazine to meet Charles, and represent the Faerie Festivals. It was a joy.

Originally published on Live Journal September 12, 2007:

Well, I recently got to meet one of my favorite artists.
Charles Vess of www.greenmanpress.com

Charles has been an illustrator in the comics and graphic novels scene for some time. He worked with Niel Gaiman http://www.neilgaiman.com/ going back to the original Sandman series. Niel and Charles co-created the Stardust novel in 1997-98. Now this has been made into a major motion picture. http://www.stardustmovie.com/ featuring Clare Danes, Robert De Niro, and Michelle Pfeiffer. The movie is marvelous and although very different from the novel, its perhaps one of the best, and most fun, adult faery tales every filmed.

Charles is a direct inheritor of the tradition of Arthur Rackham, a major artist of the faerie fantasy art from the turn of the last century.
In honor of the release of the movie, the William King Regional Art Center in Abingdon, VA, where Charles lives, put on the Stardust Festival and Fairy Market. So here is a piece of Charles' art and follow on for a trip into faerie...






I carpooled with two fellow artists. Lynne Jones, Fairy Wing Maker of http://faerietrail.squarespace.com/, and Cynthia King of http://www.magicmoonshadows.com/

These two wonderfully talented ladies are very dear friends of mine from many years of Fairie Festivals. We had a long delightful and chattery drive down, six hours of happy artists and beautiful mountain scenery.




The Shenandoah Valley of Virgina is possibly one of the most delightful drives in the world and I never seem to tire of it. It took me some time to settle down and enjoy the ride, as my darling wife Leah, along with our kids, Jared and Ellawyn, were going on to the Maryland Renaissance Festival to work that show. It took us some consideration to decide to split our stock and strength for the weekend. MDRF is our primary yearly income and we are a very tight team. However the career choice of meeting Charles and socializing at this event was important to us. We long ago realized that we had something fundamental to contribute to the Mythic Arts and we try to take any opportunity we can to connect with those who are leading it and driving the field further. Doing this while supporting a full time family of four is the dance we have chosen for ourselves. I am always a better man for it when my companion and wife is at my side. She gives me strength.

Once in Abingdon, which is a remarkable art town in the midst of the mountain majesty, we found the William King. They were in the midst of setting up, and as we were to be located in larger tents all together, we couldn't start until the following day. So we were packed off to the Alpine Motel. A classic motel, well restored by it's owner, a family living in the building, set upon a mountain side.




and the view from the parking lot...




I was desperate to finish my masks, the ones I brought needing a final clear coat and to dry over night. As we only had a few minutes before we had to leave, I got to work spraying them. So my friend Lynne took this image of me at it..



We were rushing out to attend a special dinner/meet and greet for the artists and Charles. This was hosted at the home of couple who are art collectors and creators themselves. Their lovely home was filled with art and artifacts and the good times were impossible to describe. This is where I finally got to meet Charles for the first time and we sat about at the table chatting. Here is Charles signing my copy of the Green Man Anthology he illustrated. I got a tree drawn on the title page...




Also at the table is Maureen, a good friend, artist, and super fan. She was also staying at the Alpine and we just had a ball hanging out. We are joined on the end by Erica Vess, the niece of Charles Vess, and an accomplished artist in here own right.

I should say here that the evening I spent in a motel room by myself was very surreal. My entire family is home with us all the time, and my daughter Ellawyn lives in my wife and I's loft bedroom with us. So I am used to a house full. I have not spent an evening away from my family in some years and the experience was odd.

So the next day was the exhibit and festival. Here is an overview of the tents...



It was an easy set up, as I had only brought so few masks. Those of you who know my work, know how small of a display this was...



Here are a few of my fellow artist.
Lynn Jones and her marvelous wings...



Cynthia King and her glowing glass...



C.J. Bloomer and his wife with his art...



Erica Vess, and her stunning floral prints...



And, of course, Faerie Magazine, with Mary and Michael holding the fort...



Being that the show was on Pavement, I got to lay out a Labyrinth...



Which the little fairies enjoyed throughly...



A Faerie Court was assembled with Charles and his Lovely Queen and Wife, Karen Shaffer as the royalty. Now Karen is a passionate advocate for the arts herself and involved in many programs of importance. Learn more about them both at their Biographies.
Her smiles and obvious delight in the festival were a big source of joy for me. Karen is, naturally, the one in purple that Charles is assisting.



Here is Pat Jessee, the organizer of the event and staff member of the William King, introducing Charles, with Karen looking on behind them...



There were a few clever costumes, and this one deserved mention. She has taken a cornucopia and wrapped it with wig hair to mimic her own...



This is why I love being a mask maker, we get to be the icing on the cake. This young lady showed up in this garb, the lipstick and our mask matched perfectly...



 Charles paused in the midst of the signings, which seemed to be constant for him which he handled with grace and tact, for a picture with the Faerie Magazine Crew. I have seen lots of artists do signings and it is rare that one will be so gracious, even for our requests, as we are all fans as well as peers. I applaud his patience, my own would not have stood the test...



Additionally, I am very Honored and Pleased to announce that Charles Vess accepted Honorary Membership and Brotherhood into the Beloved Order of the Green Man (B.O.G) http://www.bogbrothers.org/ We extended this request to Charles in light of his continuing gift and contribution to the Mythic Arts and to the image of the Green Man. BOG is a collection of men dedicated to the community that we are all involved in founding. If I can bring men like Charles and some of the other leaders in the mythic arts into the Order, and through that we can all become better, then we shall have truly accomplished out purpose as an Order. We strive to be of service, and our community of the Mythic Arts is where our service lies. Thank you Charles...

Charles and I, along with some of the other participants and patrons were interviewed by the local paper from Bristol, VA. A young girl impressed upon us her story of being a meteor fairy and how I only needed to glitter her legs. So this is why we are in this artistic field. To encourage this sort of stories among children.

Now we move on to the exhibit, which was housed in the William King Center. If you are ever passing through Abingdon, please stop and visit. This museum is of the best quality and supports their local arts with style. Technically, the public wasn't supposed to take pictures of the exhibit, but as we were with the magazine, a few for illustrative purposes are here.

So here is a picture, that had I noticed this, I would have taken it differently. This is Mary of Faerie Magazine, in front of a banner print of a scene of the Faerie Market in Stardust. Mary was sitting on the bench and I snapped this. Later I noted that she matched it in dress color but the opportunity for a creative posing was passed.



The exhibit was two rooms displaying paintings from the Stardust novel. In one corner was perhaps my favorite part. A mock up of Charles' studio area as it was in the William King when he was an artist in residence there during the creation of Stardust. I am not sure why I have such a visceral attraction to the creative process and environment, sometimes more so than the art itself. But so it is. Charles did a great job of putting it together and even had his calendar from that period. Little did I know, I would get to visit the current studio later...


The two rooms of the exhibit were divided by a wonderful faerie tree sculpture, which attracted and created a sense of wonder amongst us all. Naturally the silly fairies that we are, we had to ham it up a bit...







In the hall beneath the tree was displayed the bronze puck sculpture. This is one figure from a monumental eighteen foot bronze of Titania and faeries with comedy and tragedy masks, that is being created for the town and a local theater. Charles has sculpted some of it and designed it all, here is puck...



This is the concept sketch for the sculpture. You can see that the Puck will be a small component of a huge installation...



Tucked amongst the vines of the trees were dolls from Charles and Karen's collection. Many of which were the work of their friend and fellow artist, Wendy Froud. Those amongst you who are fans of the Frouds will recognize Jen the Gelfling from the Dark Crystal...



Here are a pair of smaller sculptures, I believe done by Charles...



It really was a beautiful exhibit and its really a shame it can't stay together longer.

So as the festival day drew to a close, plans were hatched to pack up quickly and run to see Charles' studio before dinner and the movie. His studio is there in town near the art center. So off we flew, wings a flutter to the home of Green Man Press. I got a tee shirt of this logo and you will note my look of sheer bliss...



The studio was a classic artist creative area, with vast piles and drifts of books and art about, the walls covered in the brick a brac that we all need to fuel our creative energies. I am sure that there are artists out there who prefer a well ordered work space, but it is my experience that most get a continuity from the bits and bobs. Each piece, figurine, art image, book, etc. contains a story, like a thousand shards making up a stain glass window. Together, inspiration will pour through it all as multi-colored sun on the church floor, illuminating the stories that the artist is bringing to "light".

So here is Charles, leaning upon one book shelf. This one divided his actual drawing area from the rest. A reclusive nook with a drawing table in the midst and bay windows at his back for the clean light we value so.
The books are the best of inspiration, several of which were old ones containing the illustrations of Arthur Rackham...



And the nook of a drawing space was so central to it all, and being the area in which so much of the beauty and inspiration pours out of, Cynthia, in that delightful vocabulary that she arises with, referred to it as the "Center of the Vortex". So aptly named that is. You see, it is the 2D art and Literature that so many of the rest of us draw from. These tell the stories that we hint at. And from those art forms all others tend to arise, like mist over those wonderful mountains or golden liquid spilling out from a fountain. So here stands Cynthia and Charles in the "Vortex" and I stood there as well. I hope some of that liquid inspiration got on me, but it may just be an ink stain...



(Addedum: We have since visited Charles and his studio of inspiration many times. Here is a photo gallery of one of those: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151409788302803.537889.667712802&type=1&l=8ebbcc943e )


So from there we dashed off all to dinner. Plans for a local Tavern were crashed by the popularity of the place, so pizza and beer was had at another. The meal, although brief, was one of the heights of the weekend for me. The company of other artists is vital to us all. Good friends and good food make for happy conversation always, but combine that with talent and mutual interests and magic might come of it. In some ways, that little dinner was the reason many of us were there.

From there it was to the local cinema to see the movie. Charles has designed a series of murals featuring favorites of kids and himself all following the Pied Piper to the show. It is being executed by local students but it is most certainly still recognizable as his design.





The movie was filled with fans of the show, and patrons from the Festival. Amongst our group of a dozen artists, I was the one who hadn't seen the movie. So a place was made for me to sit next to Charles, which I was very honored by. As he had seen it several times, it was hard not to talk a bit during it, but as I spent most of my time in rapt amazement at the screen, this was avoided. The movie is a wonderful interpretation of Neil's story with shining moments of Charles' design coming through. A wonderful romp and more importantly it will bring him more of the artistic attention he deserves. A loud cheer and applause went up at the end to "Based on a novel by Niel Gaiman with illustration by Charles Vess" in 3 foot high letters. And at the end of this breathtakingly romantic portrayal of what love means, I said, "Oh man, I need to go back and see my wife...". I sure missed her over the weekend.

It was a severely delightful time over all. There were some promotional difficulties that could be worked out. Attendance at the festival was VERY low, and only a couple of the booths made any profits. But in some ways we were all there for each other more than the festival. This is so at most events, but sometimes it shines through our mad scramble for income. And as often is the case, when one visit the realms of faerie, we returned, transformed. My inspiration is up, and we are madly preparing for FaerieCon on October 12-14. Perhaps we shall see you there, on the other side of the Wall, in the land of Faerie...