If you count yourself among the many people who are fascinated by fairies and mermaids you will be delighted to hear that the Gift Shop has just received a selection of beautiful suncatchers featuring these mythical creatures. Each item is a unique lampworked glass sculpture created by local artist Kristina Gray of Rubius Glass. Hang one in your window or on your Christmas tree. Either way they look amazing. Here is a sampling of her pieces.
The ethereal spirit is the most common depiction of fairies in contemporary times. Small, angelic beings that live in forests, possess magical abilities and wings, these types of fairies are often associated with nymphs. Such creatures are usually benign, if not playful and flirtatious. Often they are protectors of nature, are wise and helpful to humans, and sometimes are even sexually attracted to male humans.
Fairies are often depicted in books, stories, and movies. A number of these fairies are from adaptations of traditional tales. Perhaps some of the most well-known fairies were popularized by Walt Disney, including Tinkerbell, from the Peter Pan stories by J.M. Barrie. In Carlo Collodi's tale Pinocchio, a wooden boy receives the gift of real life from a "lovely maiden with azure hair," who was dubbed the "Blue Fairy" for Disney's adaptation. (New World Encyclopedia)
One of the earliest mermaid legends appeared in Syria around 1000 BC when the goddess Atargatis dove into a lake to take the form of a fish. As the gods there would not allow her to give up her great beauty, only her bottom half became a fish, and she kept her top half in human form.
In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are sometimes associated with perilous events such as floods, storms, shipwrecks, and drownings. In European folklore, mermaids (sometimes called sirens) and mermen were natural beings who, like fairies, had magical and prophetic powers. They loved music and often sang. (Wikipedia)
