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10/01/2007 |
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A faerie tale
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By: Nicole M. Ekleberry , Contributing Reporter |
Imagine a place where skill, talent, and creativity collide
- this is Marchella's world.
Local artist Marchella of Linden, who does not reveal her
last name, has been creating faeries since 1996. The love of
her art eventually led to the birth of her business,
Gossamer Glen, established in 2000.
"I create every aspect of every faerie. This is what makes
them a true one-of-a-kind work of art and completely
unique," she said.
Marchella sculpts her faeries using blended polymer clays,
and then finishes them with various mixed media. During the
creation process, no patterns are used and every skin tone
is custom-made for each faerie. When creating her work,
Marchella does not use any molds or sculpting aids, which
makes each one an original piece of work.
"Every strand of hair is custom colored myself. Every
intricate detail, every vein, every color variation of every
wing, is hand painted, front and back, the old-fashioned way
- with a paint brush in my hand," she said.
Because each one is different from the next, it can take
anywhere from several hours to weeks to create a faerie.
"It depends on the size and intricacy of the faerie, but it
can take from 30 to 100 hours, which translates into weeks
usually," she said.
According to Marchella, her favorite place to show her work
is the C2 Gallery in Charlevoix, and she has sold her work
to men and women between the ages of 18 and 75. Men purchase
as many faeries as women do, she said.
"Every faerie I create is created for one specific person,
and that person always finds their faerie. They know it's
theirs the moment they see it," she said.
Recently, Marchella received some exciting news when she was
contacted by the founder of FaerieCon held in Philadelphia,
Pa. According to Marchella, the founder of FaerieCon wanted
to extend invitations to the artists she wanted to meet.
Guests of honor at FaerieCon 2007 will be Brian and Wendy
Froud, whose work has been an inspiration for creations in
films such as "The Dark Crystal" and "Labyrinth."
"It's such an honor since she works with only the best and
most well-known artists in our genre. It came as quite a
surprise when she called and told me that she had been aware
of my work for quite some time and would like to meet me,"
she said.
Marchella accepted the invitation and plans to attend
FaerieCon this year, and show her work there next year.
A native of Holly, Marchella graduated from Holly High
School in 1982. From there she went on to pursue her
cosmetology degree at the Oakland Institute of Cosmetology
in 1984.
"My degree in cosmetology has been beneficial to the faeries
in many ways, as well as my background in art," she said.
According to Marchella, her love of faeries began when she
was a child.
"My family, being of Irish descent, raised me on faerie
stories, fairy tales, and folk-lore. I suppose it was only
natural that faeries and fantasy creatures would eventually
become the main subject of my art," she said.
A collector from an early age, she found it difficult to
find faeries that had perfect faerie characteristics.
"I was often disenchanted by not being able to find faeries
that fit my vision of what faeries look like. So, in 1996, I
began sculpting my own unique visions, and have been
creating them ever since," she said.
And being of Irish descent, she would love to visit Ireland
someday.
"I would love to go and meet the brilliant Irish artist
Andrew McManus of Broken Glass Design, who created an
original painted glass work featuring my Faeries of Gossamer
Glen," she said.
Aside from her faerie creations and all its details,
Marchella enjoys music when she is not busy with her works
of art.
"The faeries are my passion and demand much of my time and
attention, but when I do get a few moments away, I enjoy
playing my Celtic harp," she said.
More information regarding Marchella's faerie creations is
available through the Web site http://www.gossamerglen.com.
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