Nephele
Nephele (a 21st Century fairy)
In greek mythology Nephele was a cloud created by Zeus. I thought it was a good name for my fairy as she represents AIR from the four elements. She is the sister of Wind Dancer and although she’s contemporary, the magic she relies on is ancient.
“When all the elements combine, great power will restore the balance so the earth may heal.”
Background
Ever since I started making fairies, I’ve wanted to reinvent them:
Back in the 16th century is was very common for people to believe in fairies, but they didn’t think they were eight inches tall, necessarily good or even sporting wings. For instance, if a baby was born with physical or mental defects, people referred to them as changelings and claimed that fairies had replaced them. Fairies were magical but were feared as more malevolent beings.
In was in the early 1900’s, probably as a result of the Peter Pan story, that the pretty little friendly female magic being became the common image of a fairy. It was about the same time that the Cottingley fairy photos hit the headlines and took the world by storm. This new image persisted for some time and when Disney released the animated film of Peter Pan in 1953, Tinkerbell cemented that image as the de-facto description of a fairy into the worlds psyche.
Ever since I started making fairies, I’ve wanted to reinvent them. I’m happy to go along with the magical female bit and even the force for good, but I’d like to promote a new, more contemporary image of a fairy: Fairies can be delicate, feminine with whimsical character traits who collect dandelion seeds and grant wishes for humans. I love making these characters, but they can also be strong sexy action heroes that exist to protect the world from evil.
Nephele was designed to fit this new contemporary fairy concept. She has a sharp contemporary hairstyle and sports a figure hugging superhero dress made from leaves. The way she is appears to be levitating, supported by the magic forces emanating from her fingers has a more space age feel.
