Content area
Full Text
Publication: The Daily Campus, University of Connecticut, Storrs CT.
By Brendon Field, Staff Writer
World-renowned fantasy artist Brian Froud along with his wife and longtime collaborator, Wendy Froud, gave insight into the mystical world of faeries, found in their new book, "Faeries Tales."
Continuing a series he and fellow artist Alan Lee began in 1979, "Faeries Tales" is an anthology containing over a hundred pieces of paintings, sculptures, photography and writing, each focus on unique and original faerie.
The Frouds describe their faeries as, "the spirit and life of nature, not just the nature out there, but within ourselves."
They are elementally based, typically of stone, wood or flora, with an anthropomorphic design and androgynous appearance, although sometimes barely distinguishable from humans. Brian said that the faery must display an element of distortion but must also have integrity, as to be believable by the audience.
"They show up in places of drama or beauty of the landscape, but are also the spirit of that place," said Brian, who drew all the characters in the book in both two and three dimensions.
Brain said that he has difficulty finding voices for his creations, which is where Wendy comes in. Describing herself as a "faery translator" because she gives them names, backgrounds and emotions - sometimes mischievous and other times whimsical.
All the stories presented in the book are brief, delivering a character sketch through a...