(Red Riding Hood, all images copyright Terri Windling)

“Fairy tales have much to say on the subjects of heroism and transformation; about how one finds the courage to fight and prevail against overwhelming odds. They are tales of children abandoned in the woods; of daughters handed poisoned apples; of sons forced to betray their siblings; of men and women struck down by wolves or imprisoned in windowless towers. Such tales were passed down through the generations by word of mouth, woman to woman, mother to child”using archetypes as a mirror held to daily life . . . particularly the lives of those without clear avenues of social power. Why do we continue to be enspelled by fairy tales, after all these centuries? Why do we continue to tell the same old tales, over and over again? Because we all have encountered wicked wolves, faced trial by fire, found fairy godmothers. We have all set off into unknown woods at one point in life or another.”

~Terry Windling, Women and Fairy Tales

Continue reading Friday Favorites: Terri Windling →

(Cover image for the new Stardust hardcover)

The results may not always reflect it, but I have been planning various aspects of the Once Upon a Time challenge for many months. One of the things I have done in preparation was to hold off on posting about artists whose work I thought would be more appreciated during this challenge. What I didn’t plan on was the way that Stardust would dominate my mind this week. How perfect is it that my desire all along was to present the work of Charles Vess as the inaugural Friday Favorite artist for this challenge period?

Continue reading Friday Favorites: Charles Vess →