Artist reaches beyond this world
Posted Feb 2, 2012 By Mark BerginEMC Lifestyle - "When a new baby laughs for the first time a new fairy is born, and as there are always new babies there are always new fairies."
"Every time a child says, 'I don't believe in fairies,' there is a fairy somewhere that falls down dead." J.M. Barrie
Fairy tales are far removed from their primal and atavistic roots. No longer a source of traditional wisdom, the stories are cute, quaint and entertaining. They are two-dimensional cartoon-fodder. Like Victorian women, faeries were expected to be dainty, meek and safe. Faeries became depicted as sweet little children or near-sexless females.
The word faerie slowly morphed until fairy became the more common spelling. The change is interesting. Fairies: fair, meek, saccharin-like. Faeries: from the fae, the creatures of the Celtic Otherworld. Powerful. Playful. Potentially dangerous. Think three-dimensional beings.
They're called Peri in Persian, Fata in Italian and Greek, and Hada in Spanish. In Ireland, they're called sídhe (pronounced shee). The creatures are underground and otherworldly. You've likely heard of the Irish banshee, the word derived from the Irish beansídhe, which simply means female faerie.
Cheryl Sinfield thinks in a three-dimensional manner. You might even say four- or five-dimensional. She believes in faeries. She draws them, builds houses for them, and creates doors through which they can enter our world. And she calls to her husband before he cuts the lawn: "Don't forget to tell the faeries you're going to mow the lawn."
She doesn't want any faeries cut down in the process. And when you've been married for 17 years you can say that kind of thing.
"My husband Steve is my best friend and soul mate," she said. "He is my biggest fan and supporter of my faerie art."
Sinfield has two children: Brett, 12, and Ida Rose, 8.
"I am teaching them about how to treat Mother Earth respectfully."
Sinfield said Europeans are more aware of the existence of faeries.
"I feel my art is helping this part of the world open up and see the little people again," she said. "I believe I was put here to make people aware of them."
Sinfield graduated from Queen's University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1994, specializing in sculpture. She started drawing much earlier.
"I always drew, even as a child," she said. "From Grade 6 on, I started getting really serious."
During high school she took every advanced art class available.
"My art gives that magical, child-like feeling," said Sinfield. "It makes you go into another realm. People are attracted to the faeries around me. Children are very attracted to my work because of this feeling. I want people to know that the faeries are real, even if you cannot see them. I believe they are with me to help create my art. Art makes people aware of the faeries, and the more people who really believe, the more work faeries can do, which is to be guardians to our animals and help heal Mother Earth."
Sinfield's also trained as a reiki practitioner, whose work in the Japanese tradition involves using the hands to manipulate energy.
"Reiki energy is faerie energy," she said.
Sinfield practises reiki at Lotus Wings Wellness Centre in Perth. You can also see her faerie art on display there.
Sinfield said that when her father was dying in 2007 all that came out in her art were faeries, dragons and other such creatures.
"People kept talking about the faeries around me," she said. "I started building faery houses, then doors, then faeries."
Sinfield explained that the faerie doors she creates are pieces of art that welcome faeries into the house or garden.
"It's a magical gateway from their realm to our realm."
She said her art makes people happy and she loves seeing the smiles on people's faces when they see her art.
But how does she deal with doubters?
"I ask them if they believe in angels. They usually say, 'Yes.' I tell them faeries are part of the angel realm, but with different jobs and appearances. Faeries can be the size of a small child or the size of a thimble."
Sinfield teaches two workshops.
"(After The Faerie Door Workshop) you leave with your own faerie door that you have created with your own hands," she said. "Participants also learn about faeries and faerie meditation."
Her other program is the Faerie House Workshop. "It captures that child-like feeling that some of us lose when we become adults," said Sinfield. "I read stories and teach you how to build a proper faerie house in the wood with only natural materials."
Upcoming workshops will be held on Feb. 17 and 18.
Sinfield is organizing the second annual FaerieFest, which will be held in Perth from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 10.
Lest you think this columnist has gone over the edge, may I remind you of the work of William Butler Years, one of the prominent figures in 20th century literature. He served as an Irish senator, founded Dublin's Abbey Theatre and was the first Irishman honored with a Nobel Prize in Literature. If you read Yeats' The Celtic Twilight, you'll discover his deep appreciation for the faerie world.
"Faeries, come take me out of this dull world,
For I would ride with you upon the wind,
Run on the top of the dishevelled tide,
And dance upon the mountains like a flame."
Let me end with an Irish quote, made famous in the BBC film series The Celts, based on Frank Delaney's book of the same name.
"If you ask the Irish if they believe in faeries, they'll answer, 'No, but they're there.'"
You can reach Cheryl Sinfield at faeriecece@hotmail.com. You can view her art at http://faeriecece.redbubble.com. To contact her for a reiki treatment, email cheryl@reikiassociates.com. The Lotus Wings Wellness Centre website is www.reikiassociates.com.
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