Pixie!

Well, here it is in all its glory! The bits I've shared over the last month of wings and mask-making come together in one fabulous Pixie King costume. 

Thanks to my brother for some helpful photography capturing the entire outfit. 

The finished mask - did a little selfie. 

Do not mess with the Pixie King.  

I couldn't think of a decent title for this entry

'Pixie King' Work in Progress

For all the new skills I've been developing with my design work, I still really do love the simplicity of paper, pencil and pen when it comes to creating an image. I think it's because nothing ever really beats the feeling of potential I get when I look at a blank sheet of paper and hold a freshly sharpened pencil in hand. It's a mindful process, in which I can focus not on what I'm drawing, but on how the actually act of drawing feels. The soft scratch of the lead catching the minute contours of the paper's surface, the smell of the rubber when I erase little bits, the smoothness of the ink as I outline the pencil - all of it gives me a sense of calm and well-being, much the same as when I do Metta meditation.

This is just a little something I started today, for no particular rhyme or reason, other than I wanted to do it for the pure joy of it.

Lovely.

Halloween

This is what a Pixie King looks like.

As a child the year was not divided by months nor seasons but by holidays. Summer was a significant one, obviously, followed closely by Christmas. But one of the holidays I looked forward to most was Hallowe’en. I’m not a huge fan of candy and if I never saw a single horror film in my life I wouldn’t see it as a loss. For me the appeal of Hallowe’en is rooted in the making of my costume.

Each year I would seek to create something unique. As all of my friends would prepare to be de

ad brides, zombies, devils and ghosts, I would plot and plan and often agonise over the perfect costume. Instead of a black cat I’d be a white one. Instead of buying a mask from a shop I would build my own from papier mache. I would choose characters from books like Harriet the Spy or Gollum (Long before Lord of the Rings was made into a film, when none of my classmates knew who I was or had heard of The Hobbit.) or I would make characters up, like a Killer Marshmallow or a personification of the night sky.

This year my costume is actually still in progress. I made the top and bottoms myself and put together a crown of ivy. I used my prosthetic mouth and ears and grease paint for the face. It's not done but it was done enough to suit me for this Halloween. I need to make wings yet, and perhaps some nice Pixie feet, but I like it as a working project as I want it to be wearable again and again. To tweak it each time I wear it out will involve unveiling another bit. Perhaps this is a costume that will never quite be done, especially as Pixies really do come in great variations.

The Pixie King and the Devil