For the Birds

We are still a few weeks away from unveiling some of Aaron Miller's terrific artwork for the Wee Faerie Village in the Land of Oz so I thought I'd share the images we commissioned back in 2011 for Of Feathers and Fairytales.

The concept was that Miss Florence began to read some of her favorite fairytales to her cats one sleepy afternoon in Old Lyme. After she finished reading stories of princes and castles and fair maidens she remarked aloud that the stories were "for the birds." That's when the cats began to listen more closely and began to dream about all those fairytale (and perhaps tasty) birds. This illustration is based on a painting by William Chadwick of Miss Florence sitting on her red sofa in the front parlor.

The first thing we needed for our avian adventure was a storybook castle for the birds. 

 Then came Prince Chirpin. That was our best play on "charming."

 We had a contest to name the fair maiden, but in the end Princess Wrenivere seemed too perfect.

Lastly, we needed a little drama and magic in the castle and poof! Majicaw.

David D.J. Rau
Director of Education and Outreach

David D.J. Rau coordinates as well as participates in the Museum’s October creative endeavors. You can contact him at david@flogris.org.

Upcoming Blog Entries:

• Illustrating the Museum's October Events
• Meet the Museum’s New Fantasy Illustrator Aaron Miller
• Just C’Oz: Other Creative Endeavors Inspired by Oz