what the faeries want to tell you
1 # • INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the Florence
Griswold Museum’s Wee Faerie Village. This cell phone tour will allow you to hear the faeries talk about their dwellings and the artists they
inspire. Be sure to listen for
their magic words. If you gather at least 15 you can enter a contest to win a faerie door of your very own.
The Florence Griswold Museum tells the story of the Lyme Art Colony, a
group of
artists first started visiting here more than 100 years ago prepared to paint outside or
en plein air, with their palettes, brushes, paints in tin tubes, and portable easels. They showed their fondness for Miss Florence by painting pictures on the doors and wall panels of the Griswold boardinghouse and many of their paintings are on view in the Krieble Gallery.
Invisible to most during these many summers were the wee faerie muses that arrived with each artist. These mysterious creative helpers offered the painters sparks of inspiration. Flying back and forth, the wee faeries told
the painters which colors to use and how best to render the subject in front of them. It was far too loud in the boardinghouse for the faeries to relax so they sought out dwelling places outside. They only needed to be near enough to hear their artist packing for a day of painting to fly to their side and be off for another day of artistic adventure.
Museum Garden Gang 2 # • ROSE PETAL
Hello! My name is Rose Petal and I’m the faerie muse to Captain Robert Griswold. He is not one of the artists, but the man who bought this small farm for his family so many years ago. Most likely I’m down humming with the humming birds by the river, but look around my barn and garden. The Captain and I spent many years sailing packet boats from New York to London. I just love to travel. After he retired from the sea he was able to devote a great deal of time in his gardens. I too just love plants, trees, and flowers, and that’s where my expertise helped the Captain. I like to think that I was most helpful in deciding what to plant where. You’ll see that our work paid off. These 11 acres are so beautiful and it’s that beauty that drew the painters here. Well the scenery AND the charm of the Captain’s youngest daughter Miss Florence, another lover of flowers. Just think, all those flowers and trees we planted are now in paintings in museums all over the world. A tree here is a tree there. Now that’s some powerful faerie magic.
Close by, you may see a hot air balloon. That belongs to my friend, Thorn, visiting from England. He often brings me flowers from England to plant in my garden, just as the Captain did. I also used a lot of seashells to decorate my gardens, the ones the Captain and I gathered on our many travels. Both the Captain and I have a great love of the sea and all things wet and watery. Did you see my pond made out of a large clamshell? I do enjoy taking care of my gardens and finding new plants to plant there, but, what I enjoy the most after a day of gardening is to fly up to my trellis house to sit and enjoy my view of the river. From there, I can spy on my faerie neighbors while sipping rose water tea, with just a droplet of honey. Ah, tis the life. Well, good-bye for now, or as the Captain was fond of saying, “Smooth sailing to you.”
Judy Preston 3 # • METTY
Hello there, this is Metty. M-E-double-T-Y, Metty. That’s short for “Metcalf,” my favorite artist, Willard Metcalf. W-I-double L-A-R-D, Willard. I live here in this little cottage C-O-double T-A-G-E on the tippy top of our secret underground mountain, but I’m out searching for birds’ eggs, E-double-G-s, for Willard’s great big collection of eggs, nests, butterflies, and moths.
Sorry I keep spelling out words for you, but I just love-love double letters and the words they make. Did you notice two T’s in my name and two L’s in Willard’s name? One of my favorite double letter words is green, G-R-double E-N. I try to be green, meaning “earth friendly” here by using lots and lots of natural building materials in my house like bird’s nests, and snail shells, that’s S-H-E-double L-S, and moss, M-O-double S.
Willard and I both like to spend as much time outdoors as possible. Whatever the weather, doesn’t matter, he and I will set out at anytime of year. One December, Willard stopped here at Miss Florence’s on his way to visit his Mom and Dad in Maine. I tagged along with him and suggested he try painting a snowy scene on Christmas Day, but I nearly froze my wings, (O-double F) off, while he painted this painting.
Sometimes we trek off together in the countryside around here, like when we painted a beautiful springtime scene of dogwood blossoms (double O’s and double S’s in there!). Maybe you’ve seen it in the art gallery here. While Willard painted I flew all around pointing out the most beautiful blooms on the trees for him.
I guess just about my favorite painting Willard ever made was the one in Miss Florence’s dining room called Poor Little Bloticelli. All those double letters are so fun to say and spell! P-double O-R spells Poor. Little os L-I-double T-L-E. Blotticelli, that’s a hard one, it’s B-L-O-double T-I-C-E-double L-I. Whew, that painting’s title is a “double-double-double”. Can you tell I helped Willard come up with that title myself??
Mahady Makrianes and Susan Zirlen 4 # • WHISP
Hello. You’ve reached Whisp, well at least my answering machine. My name is short for whisper because I like doing things quietly, like favors for people, but in secret. That’s one of the reasons my house is so far away from the others. I can plan my secret favors in solitude. In fact, I’m up at the house right now, fixing a hole in the green wallpaper.
I’m the faerie muse to Lewis Cohen, who I like to call Lewis C. Say it fast, it’s fun, Lewis C., Lewis C., Lewis C. I love my house in the giant old beech tree because it reminds me of a painting Lewis C. and I made that hangs up in the Griswold House called Willow and Brook. Lewis C. and I both love trees and we paint them whenever we can. We also did a door panel in the parlor of the house that shows trees. Lewis C. and I were part of a group of artists that redecorated Miss Florence’s house nearly 100 years ago as a secret surprise. It had gotten messy with all those artists coming and going, not to mention all those darn cats! Can you guess who’s idea the secret decorating was? You’re right! Mine! Secret, secret, secret.
Before you leave, look south down the Lieutenant River. You can see the stone ends of where the old wooden Bow Bridge used to be. Many of the artists painted pictures of that bridge that was right there, so close, for so many years. It’s gone now, but I might just have to try to rebuild it. You’ll see lots of paintings of bridges if you go inside.
Perhaps I’ll see you up at the house, but you have lots to see before then.
Jean Callan King 5 # • TWEEDIE
Hi and welcome to my home tucked away here in this ancient Cut Leaf Beech tree.
My name is Tweed. Some people call me Tweedie, which I think is incredibly familiar and annoying. In fact, you might be interested to know that my name was inspired by Mr. Henry Ward Ranger, because he always wore tweeds! Oh! I must tell you that I am the faerie muse for Mr. Ranger, the first artist to visit Miss Florence Griswold's boardinghouse. Then he encouraged all his New York artist friends to come to beautiful Old Lyme to paint every summer.
I'm sorry that I'm not here to greet you, but I am out in the forest at the moment. Please do come in and enjoy my faerie bower under the branches. Come in either the front or the back door... they are both always open (I never lock anything, because I just love company) and then take a run up the ladder to see my rooms. (And if you are a little person you can stand on the big rock to peek into my rooms.)
Look up in the tree and you will see all the 'guest bedrooms' I have— those hanging baskets and buckets are full of soft wool and grasses... the perfect faerie sleeping nests. Lots of friendly faeries spend the night here after a game of cards.
Before I sign off I must tell you about Mr. Ranger, as he is a VERY important artist. He is known as a 'tonalist'— that refers to the colors and tones he uses in his paintings. They are the soft, harmonious colors of nature— browns and umbers and greens and ochres. In fact, colors alot like the colors in the tweeds he loved. He often painted outdoors and was especially fond of woodland scenes and landscapes. Be sure to see his excellent paintings inside the Museum.
Besides his marvelous artistic talent Mr. Ranger played the organ and other instruments. (I am so proud of the organ in my house, too!) Mr Ranger loves company, too, and plays card games late into the night with his artist and musician friends. Of course, he always has his cigars on hand (very stinky, but he loves them!)
In my faerie bower I am proud to point out my comfy armchairs, just like ones that Mr. Ranger used to have when all his guests visited.
All of us faeries are one with nature, so I fashioned my tree home to look as much like the natural world as I could... a sort of tonalist aerie... a faerie aerie.
Robb Nestor and Bill Nestor 6 # • R. CADIA
Hello, R. Cadia here and you are standing in front of my wee faerie farm. It’s pretty idyllic isn’t it? Especially with the view up the river. It’s my personal version of Arcadia. And that’s me, R. CADIA! I’m the faerie muse for Louis Paul Dessar who likes to paint scenes of simple farm life, but let me tell you, his paintings are not simple at all. One of my gifts is to help Louis capture rural peace in paint, the same beauty that attracts all those who visit the countryside. I remember the first time I whisp, whisp, whispered into Louis’s ear and convinced him to paint the farm landscapes filled with hardy workers in the fields, or wood chop, chop, choppers in the forest, toiling side by side their along with the hardworking animals. His face just lit up!
We started painting farm scenes in France, in the village of Giverny, where the famous artist Claude Monet also painted. Unlike Monet however, we didn’tworry about lily pads and haystacks, but rather we painted the country folk working the land. We are pretty good at painting them too. I help Louis capture the mood of the day with his colors and the glow of the sun. Oh, and we really love twilight, you know, when the world becomes all soft and blurry. I try my best to get Louis to paint that way too, soft and blurry! We love the country too. Just the other day, I overheard Louis say that being in the country was “like another world to him—a world of dreams.” That’s Louis! If you go into the Griswold House later, be sure to check out our The Toilers painting on the second floor. It’s terrific! Also, if you see The Fox Chase, the long painting in the dining room, you’ll notice Louis is near the front of running artists in the race to catch the fox. He is fast, but not as fast as me! Enjoy your visit to my little farm.
Bill Vollers 7 # • FOOTSIE
You’ve reached Footsie but I'm not home right now. Feel free to look around my little house here in this twisted willow tree. I am the faerie muse to Will Howe Foote, hence all the things related to feet and shoes and such. I like to call him "Willie." He lives right up the street. He is one of the youngest artists of the Lyme Art Colony.
For my house I used a very old box I found in the barn. I think it held old tools for repairing shoes and other leather things. The feathers on the top are from my bird friend Chirp who thought I needed awnings. My bed is made from an old leather shoe. It's very comfortable except some times MY feet stick out.
Willie and I sometimes travel to Florida, and that’s where I found my teeny tiny shells that make terrific cups and dishes. One time we found two pieces of "feather like" coral that I put on the outside of my house for decoration. I think they look like faerie wings!
And I'm sure you noticed the shoe tree on top-what fun! I also wanted you to see my foot rug upstairs and lastly my collection of foot paintings. Can you guess who painted them?
If you get up to the Griswold House take a look for our work. Willie can paint the house better than most. There’s at least two paintings of the house by Willie and me in the house. One’s a painting and the other’s a panel. Willie is also in The Fox Chase, shown winning the foot race. Get it? “Foot” race.
Well, you better get YOUR feet in motion if you’re gonna see the whole village. Wouldn’t want you to be “defeated” in your attempt.
Tracy Kane 8 # • LUNA
Hello. You have reached Luna’s studio, and if it’s daytime I’m out because I prefer to work at night, by the light of my namesake, the moon. I’m the faerie muse to Childe Hassam, probably the most famous artist to come to Old Lyme. Well, you might think it lunacy, but it was me, that’s right, “moi” who inspired his artistic talents and made him famous! I met Hassam when I nearly flew into him setting up his easel on the beach in Maine when we were both painting there. It was obvious we were both drawn to the light breaking into dapples of color on the water. Together we spent many hours trying to capture this magical effect in our paintings.
Not to brag, but we kind of brought the style of French painting known as Impressionism, with its bright color and bold brushstrokes, back to America and specifically to Old Lyme. We both believed this country was ready for something new, colorful, and inspirational!
Our love for nature and water brings us down to this river to paint all the time. In fact, I once saw this weathered tree root floating down the river and I made it into my studio. Hassam already had a simple studio in the orchard. Take a look around. My studio roof reaches up like a church spire which gave me the idea to have Hassam paint the church in town. We made several paintings of the church and now it’s a famous landmark! The paintings even help rebuild the church after it burned down one night. The paintings helped the builders remember what it looked like since the plans were gone!
Hassam’s original name was Frederick Childe Hassam, but he decided to swap out a moon-shape for his first name when signing his art.
This of course was his way of thanking me! Take a look at his paintings in the Griswold House and see if you can find me, the moon-shaped dash of paint.
Au revoir for now, that’s French for “until we see each other again."
Sue Chism 9# FREYA POTTERSDOTTIR
Halló! [HA-loh]. That’s how we say “hello” in Iceland, where I grew up. My name is Freya Pottersdottir, but you can call me “Faerie Potter.” I am a spirit from ancient Iceland when the Vikings roamed the fiords, and I am the faerie friend of the Bessie Potter Vonnoh, who used to live right here in Lyme.
Bessie was one tough cookie, kind of like my Viking ancestors. When she got her start, very few women wanted to be artists when they grew up and even fewer wanted to be sculptors. Well, Bessie proved that a girl can do anything she wants. She can be a painter or a sculptor or a fierce Viking warrior like me. Okay, maybe I’m not so fierce. I am only three inches tall after all.
Bessie had a very exciting life as a sculptor. When she lived in New York City she made friends with many artists who told her about Miss Florence and the Lyme Art Colony. Maybe they even told her about our wee faerie village. Before that she lived in another big city – Chicago. Back then she made GIANT sculptures for the World’s Fair. She and the other girl sculptors had a funny nickname in Chicago. People called them “the white rabbits.” You might see some rabbits poking about around here. was one in a group of women who worked on the sculptors for Chicago’s famous World’s Fair Columbia Exhibition. That group of women came to be known as the “White Rabbits” because of how energetic they were. In fact, you just might see some whiterabbits peeking in and out of my Viking style abode.
I am so glad you came to look around my studio, and I’m so sorry I missed you. You should stop in at my home in the Cherry Orchard and see if I’m over there. I am very lucky to have two homes in the wee faerie village! Making sculptures the way Bessie and I do can be very messy, there’s lots of muddy, mucky clay being slung around in here. That’s why I keep my studio separate. Having it down by the river means I can just dive in to clean up before heading home.
Mark Guiliano 10 # • HAZEL
Gimme an H, gimme an A, gimme a Z E L. What’s that spell? HAZEL. HAZEL. HAZEL. YEAH!!! That’s me Hazel. I’m a little loud for a faerie, which is funny since I’m the creative muse to Bruce Crane whose paintings are kinda quiet and whisper-like. But I GOTTA BE MEEEEEE! I’m out singing my heart out in the woods otherwise I’d be there to meet and greet you.
My faerie dwelling is in this small tree which is so similar to the trees Bruce and I like to paint. I love my tree. It’s kind of a lookout tower where I can see what’s going on. And what about this new stick sculpture, The Rambles. Amazing. That was great fun to watch go up in just threeweeks.
Up high I have a lookout branch that affords great views of the property and I can see when Bruce is ready to head out for day of painting or perhaps just looking. Lots of times, Bruce and I will paint from the memory of a place rather than actually there. You can see my small easel with the empty frame. That’s where I practice remembering things Bruce and I have seen on our wanderings. We try our best to capture an impression of a place and the mood. It’s often hazy in Bruce’s paintings, and that’s because of me, Hazel! Make sure you look for our paintings in the Griswold House and especially a terrific painted panel we made for the dining room. It’s a classic Bruce Crane and Hazel scene.
Renee Wilson 12 # • Foxie
Hello and thanks for calling. My name is Foxie and I’m the faerie muse to Henry Rankin Poore. That’s why I call my home here in this river birch tree The Poore House. Take a look through the nature frame and see how lovely the view up the Lieutenant River is. You’ll also get a nice view of my home. Look around. There’s lots to see. Henry and I were some of the first to venture to Old Lyme to paint. We came with Henry Ward Ranger that first summer. Ranger started the tradition of painting on the doors in the House and he challenged us to complete the door by painting the panel opposite to his. It was my idea to add a dog howling at the moon. Take a took when you get up to the house. The other big project we did was the long painting called The Fox Chase. Henry Poore, not to be confused with the other Henry, was a real fan of fox hunting. That’s when we came up with the idea to paint the early artists as if they were running down Lyme Street chasing a fox. You’ll have to take a look. Just imagine when you look at it, that the people in the long painting are as tall as we wee faeries are. You can imagine me striking all those poses to help Henry figure out his composition. Look at me, I’m a runner. I’m a painter. I’m a hound dog. You see I have a miniature fox hunt in my house as well. I also have a small studio to paint and a place to read my books. When I’m not reading I like to play the harp just like Miss Florence, or I splash around in the waterfall that spills into my house.
John Himmelman 13 # • MOO
Hi. Moo here. Well, not here now, obviously. I'm out wrangling that young heifer that has wandered off the farm, up the road - again! She does it for the attention. Anyway, I think my home here at the Twin Trees speaks to my calling. I'm what some call a Buffalaery [pronounced buffle-airy]. My tribe has been linked with the big bovines since they wandered this earth. I know... the buffalos have been long-gone from New England. But these farm cows fill their hooves just fine, though.
You're wondering about the ladder, right? Well, we Buffalaeries can fly, but it's a mite strugglesome, as our, um - girth, can be a bit of a draw on our wings. I'm telling you that I cannot have happened upon a finer place to live, though. Here amongst the herd of human talent is an artist with the ability to capture what cows do for the non-bovine souls, meaning you and me. His name is William Henry Howe. The younger of the herd call him "Uncle". As good as he is, though, I'm not too modest to admit that I have a little something to do with it. See the cow faces in his paintings? They look as if they are in deep, peaceful thought. Here's a secret. While Howe is painting them, I sing to them – puts them in the right frame of mind. "Howe's Cows", as they've come to be known, become more than just cows in his paintings. On his canvas, they are the great but gentle gatekeepers to the pastoral age.
Make sure you find old Howe in The Fox Chase painting in Miss Flo's house. He's the one sitting on a stool painting a cow. And take a gander at Monarch of the Farm that he painted on a door in the front parlor! Imagine that. A bull in the parlor! I was very fond of that old guy, and he of me. Well, as I ramble on to you, that heifer up the road is wandering further and further away, so I should go.
Keith Ragone 14 # • RUSTY
Hello, Rusty here. I am the faerie muse for James Kent, Miss Florence’s gardener and handyman. Miss Florence needed James to hitch up Bessie, her horse for a ride into town, so we’re off! Then we will spend the rest of the day buzzing around the grounds, mowing, and mending, and fixing things up for Miss Florence and the artists. There’s always a lot of work to be done.
When I’m not helping James out with his work, I sit on his shoulder and entertain him with stories of the artists, not-so-tall tales about things I observed while out collecting things from the human world to outfit my little house, or just sharing some faerie gossip. You’ll notice I’ve built my home out of an old whiskey crate and some tobacco humidors. I’m a bit ashamed to admit that James is fond of both. But I’m fixing the place up real nice and just wallpapered with pages from a Montgomery-Ward’s catalogue which, for some reason or another, someone left in the outhouse. Oh well, finders keepers.
It’s amazing what one can find in and around the old house. You know that humans are so forgetful, always leaving their things behind. That’s when I find them and add things to my collection. I often use things in my collection to fix the things that get broken. I guess mending is just in my faerie blood, and that’s why James and I make such good a good team: he’s a fixer too. And you never know what next is going to need fixing. I am forever working on my little house here, and let me tell you, not a day goes by where another faerie neighbor doesn’t call me to help them with this task or that.
Just like James and the artists. Oh, the painters are a loud and friendly bunch, fun for a short visit and a quick laugh, but I am always glad to return to the solitude of the barn. Although, in the barn I do have to look out for Miss Florence’s many cats. Just be warned, cats are no friends to faeries. Maybe, I’ll catch a glimpse of you later if you visit the house.
Craig Nelson 15 # • COLUMBINE RAINBOW
Greetings and salutations! Many visitors to the village have seen a winged creature flittering in and out, but it is not a bird or a butterfly, it’s just me, Columbine Rainbowweb. I’d love to show you my home but unfortunately I’m out right now with my twin brother, Water Elffy. He is collecting dewdrops, and I’m looking for rainbows so I can collect beads of glimmering color for my artist will use to paint glorious landscapes. My brother and I are the faerie muses to Edward Rook, I charm him with my lovely voice, but despite my quick flittering he remains an amazingly slow painter. Take a look around my home and you might notice it looks a lot like an automobile garage. Edward and I love and collect many antique cars, which we admire for their beauty. We also share a love of beautiful and whimsical colors. When he is painting, I gently perched upon his shoulder and inspired him to use the beauteous shades of blues, greens, and purples to create a faerie-tastic scene.
Matt Greene and Jennifer Johnson 16 # • FLOCK
Hello, Flock here. I am the faerie muse for the Tonalist painter CarletonWiggins, who I call Mr. Big Wiggins. Mr. Big Wiggins had a son who was alsoa painter. I call the son Mr. Little Wiggins.
Mr. Big Wiggins was one of the artists who stayed in Miss Florence’sboardinghouse. I live between Miss Florence’s two barns. This is the perfect location for me as I have a small flock of sheep. I also gather natural objects such as wool and cows hair to use in my house. The wool makes great clothes and the cow’s hair acts as warm and fluffy bedding.
I love my little stone farm. I have super views of sheep grazing in the pastures. Mr. Big Wiggins and I are known for painting scenes like the one I can see from my window. We’ve even won medals for our sheep-filled landscapes -- in Paris, France no less. See why I think he’s such a Mr. Big Wiggins? You can see more of our work in the dining room of the House. Our Winter Twilight – Grazing Sheep is one of my favorites. While your in the dining room be sure to look at The Fox Chase panel over the fireplace. In it, you’ll be able to see a painting of Mr. Big Wiggins himself standing beside his easel in a blue and red striped shirt, smoking his pipe. I’m there too, but too small to see.
Lisa Kenyon 17 # • IRIS
Hi! I’m Iris. Just like the tall purple flower that blooms each spring in Miss Florence’s garden. But now it’s fall, and I’m out harvesting seeds for next year. If you look close, you’ll find many clues about me and my artist. You can call my house seedy and I won’t even be offended. I’m the faerie muse for Matilda Browne, who I like to call “Tilly.” You’ll notice my house is made out of a box of artist’s pastels that I found on the bank of the river. You know how those artists are. Sometimes they are so caught up in their work that they just leave their supplies behind. Lucky for me, tho’ because I was easily able to fashion it after my favorite Tilly painting Saltbox by Moonlight. Tilly’s a real hero to me, being one of the few women allowed to join the Lyme Art Colony. She and I even painted an important door in the house, the one leading to Miss Florence’s bedroom. It’s a fancy door, with a cat-shaped door-knocker and all. We painted both panels of the door with a single scene of calves grazing beside a river. We just love to paint cows and we were not alone. Many of the painters came out to the country to paint cows and oxen. And these paintings of old farms are big sellers in the city.
Tilly and I are also known for paintings of gardens which should come as no surprise since I live smack dab in the middle of one. I just love it here. It’s just perfect to be surrounded by vegetables, herbs, and flowers while being serenaded by the buzz, buzz, buzz of the honey bees. The honey is not too bad either.
Speaking of sweet, another painting you have to see in the House is the The Fox Chase. You’ll have no problem spotting Tilly because she is the only woman in the painting. She has her arms in the air as if she’s shocked to see Childe Hassam painting with his shirt off. Shocked! Please. I’ll tellyou something shocking. Not to brag or anything, but Tilly is also the only female artist asked to paint a panel in the entire house! She and I started painting when she was only nine years old, which just proves that it’s never too early to get started. Do you paint? If not, you should get started. Maybe you’ll have a painting in a museum someday!
If you see my neighbor Flock, let him know that a few of his sheep are getting away. Nothing worse that sheep on the lamb.
Stephen and Carol Huber 18 # • GLOAM DE CREPESCULE
Bonjour. You’ve reached the home of Gloam de Crépescule (which means twilight), but I just can’t bring myself to answer the phone right now. I do most of my work at night, and I keep it very dark in my house, as you can see, so I can take lots of naps during the day. If I’m not napping, I might be out grinding black walnuts making more dark paint for the Tonalists. I’m the keeper of their colors, and, just like me, they enjoy working in the evenings, or on the edge of evening, like dawn or dusk. They just can’t seem to get enough warm browns, murky greens, and golden yellows. Ah well, a faerie’s work is never done.
I think I’m the oldest faeries in the village. I arrived here more than one hundred years ago with the very first Tonalist painter Henry Ward Ranger. He and I were a good match, we both liked to spend our time in the deep dark forest. Originally I am from France where I learned to paint. I met so many young American artists there that I decided to visit here for myself and I have never left. Speaking of American, my dwelling is built like a Native American longhouse. We have nothing like it in France. So you see I am a little bit French and a little bit American, just like so many of my Tonalist friends.
Take a look inside the house or the galleries and you will see several nighttime scenes. You can be sure I mixed the paints for those myself. Perhaps you will find some of the younger faeries at home, like that keeper of the Impressionist colors Roygbiv.
He is always flitting around in the bright sunlight. I don’t know how he does it.
Sandy Garvin 19 # • VIOLETTE
Welcome to my cottage under the great black walnut tree. I’m Violette and I’m out scouting new painting locations for my master artist Frank Vincent DuMond. As you can see, my humble home is made of old paint cans. Since Frank teaches painting here at the Summer Art School, I was able to find many things for my home left by the students who always drop things. Their lost paintbrush becomes my new broom. Paint, paint, sweep, sweep.
You can see from our busy calendar inside, that Frank also teaches in New York City during the week! Speaking of faeries, and now I mean the boat kind and not the magical kind, can you believe that Frank and I take the nighttime ferry from New London to get to New York by morning. It’s pretty exhausting, but I do love the students. Over the years we have taught some pretty famous artists such as Norman Rockwell and Georgia O’Keeffe. We also taught painting to President Woodrow Wilson’s first wife to right here at the Griswold House. You can see her painting of the porch of the Griswold House in Miss Florence’s bedroom. It’s Frank’s connection to the Wilson’s that got Miss Florence invited to a wedding at the White House.
Do you like my house? My little fence inspired Frank to do a painting called Top of the Hill. It’s inside the Griswold House and is full of beautiful greens. Green is one of my favorite colors and that’s why it’s faerie-tabulous to be so close to Miss Florence’s garden. The garden is where we faeries meet at night to dance and share stories about the artists. Acorn is my BFFF, you know, best faerie friend forever, and we laugh and laugh about all the crazy things the artists do like dress up in costumes and parade down Lyme Street!
We are a mischievous bunch, but are always ready to help our artists with their ideas about compositions and colors. In fact, the prism on my chimney causes the sunlight to fill my house with dancing colors that give me ideas for paintings. What would they do without us?
Maureen McCabe 20 # • UNDINE
Hello, my name is Undine. My name means WAVE. I am a famous WATER FAERIE who helps artists paint water (you can Google me). I might be home or I might not …. Sometimes I just change into water! The twinkling lights are how faeries talk to each other.
What you are looking at is a collection of objects that artists like Harry and Beatrice Hoffman have given me. Can you find the brain coral, the magic runes, the little ladders or the club-spined sea urchin? How about the starfish, the nautilus shell, pumpkin, or the golf flag (I’m the one in charge of golf’s water hazards)?
Let me tell you a story of how I met Harry and Beatrice. My cousins THE MERMAIDS told me there was an artist who wanted to paint Undersea pictures (actually they told me this because they wanted to be in his paintings… and yes…. They got in them!).
My adventure with Harry started after he and Beatrice saw movies of the coral reefs in the Bahamas. Exploring it firsthand, I remember him saying: “Magical! A new world is before you. Never have you dreamed anything like it!” Next we went to the Galapagos Islands with William Beebe – Harry was the marine artist for this trip.
Harry and Beatrice are lots of fun to be with – they have elaborate parties
and their house in Old Lyme is decorated with paintings from our travels.
Beatrice is a marvelous artist – her tapestry Tangs and Sponges is stunning.
We will soon be off on our next water adventure. Can you guess where that
will be?
I have invited all of the faeries to my birthday party in the wishing well on All Soul’s Day November 1st, the last day we will be here. In the meantime, you can celebrate with us: take a ribbon, make a wish, and tie it onto the well. Good luck and bye bye.
Billie Tannen and Robert Nielsen 21 # • ROYGBIV
Greetings! My name is Roygbiv, which stands for all the colors of the rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violette). I’m out collecting droplets of dew that swirl with all the colors that I lighten and brighten for the Impressionist painters. So, what do you think of my home? It’s built inside a cold gray stone wall, but the door reveals all the great color inside. Inside it’s an oasis of color, almost like living inside a rainbow.
Unlike the Tonalists, the Impressionist painters enjoyed working on bright sunny days and needed bright sunny colors to paint everthing they were seeing out in nature. They needed yellows for the blooming flowers and greens for the swaying marsh grass, and blues for the sparkling rivers. I spend days putting these colors into tin tubes, like toothpaste tubes, that make it easier for the artists to carry their colorful paint out and about. The Impressionists wanted to paint en plein air, or in the open air, and having paint they could easily carry was vital to their success.
Although you cannot see inside, I bet you can see examples of all my colors in the sparkling crystals on my front door. They remind me of colorful dots and swishes of paint.
The Impressionists also used bold brush strokes to capture their impression or feeling for a scene. My paints can do that and more. You’ll see many examples of paintings with my bright colors in them both in the House and in the Gallery.
David Rau 23 # • N
Hello. My name is N. That’s right, just the letter N, like the one on the top of the compass that stands for north. I am out looking for the reddest maple leaf I can find. Please look around my little house here in the Winter Garden. As you can see, it’s in an old pea crate that Barefoot Mary, Miss Florence’s cook, must have forgotten about after shelling all those peas. I just found it here in this pile of crates. I find a lot of things. Most of my furniture is made out of things the artists leave behind. The top of a tin makes a pretty nice table when you’re my size. And spools for stools. Look around. There are many clues about the artist I inspire. I am the faerie muse for Arthur Heming. I call him Art! He’s terrific. We live in Canada when we are not visiting the Lyme Art Colony. That’s why I love maple leaves. It’s the Canadian national symbol. You could have guessed this when you saw the map of Canada on the back wall. Do you see the pile of words I’m collecting. Art is both a painter and writer, and so I need to be ready when he needs a word describing this or that. Art and I are always on the go when we are in Canada. He loves to hunt and fish and hike and canoe. While you are visiting the Griswold House you might take a look at our painted panel in the dining room called Shooting the Rapids based on one of our trips into the wilderness. In the same room you can see a picture of Art riding on a horse in the long painting known as The Fox Chase. He’s dressed like a Canadian Mountie!
Christopher & Rhett Steiner 24# LYRA
Greetings, dear friends. My name is Lyra. I’m the faerie muse to Florence Griswold or “Miss Florence,” as she is better known around here. Miss Florence is the biggest toad in the puddle; well, I mean, you know she runs the whole art colony – with a little help from me, of course!
I’ve made my diggings just beneath the parlor of our lovely house. Honestly, it can get so noisy upstairs when Harry, Hass, Willy and all the gents come back inside after a day of painting pictures on the grounds. I rather do enjoy the company of the “arteestes,” but it is much quieter and more cozy down here, let me tell you!
By the by, you may have noticed in the foyer that charming portrait of Miss Florence and me playing our beloved golden harp. Did you know that we had to ship the harp to Monsieur Jongers’s studio in New York for him to complete the painting. Well, wouldn’t you know, when it was returned to us, the harp must have been dropped somewhere along the way – the soundboard cracked and theframe popped most of its strings. I do reckon it scarcely sounds the way it did before!
How I do miss hearing the sound of that beautiful harp when Miss Florence and I played together. Miss Florence said it couldn’t be repaired, but I say there’s nothing a little faerie magic can’t fix! So I’m trying to bring the old beauty down here to my workshop in this old musty crawl space so that I can work on it. I’m telling you now, I must be wakin’ snakes at night with the ruckus of my saws trying to cut through those thick floor boards. But when I finally get her down and fix her up fair and square, oh what a joy to play the harp again with Miss Florence. I hope you’ll come back and hear us play someday.
Museum Docents 25 # • HARPA
Hello, Harpa here. I am the faerie muse to the portrait painter Alphonse Jongers and I’m out painting a portrait of Lady Bug Aster. As you can see, my home is in an old cigar box. I was lucky to find one left behind by Al’s friend Henry Ward Ranger. It sure makes a fine little home and studio. Most days, I just roll out of bed and land right in my studio.
Let me tell you about my artist Alphonse, or Al as I like to call him. He was born in France and then moved to Canada. That’s why we sometimes like to converse in French. I might just slip and start saying words like bonjour, croissant, and la musse. That last one means “museum.” Al is a pretty famous Canadian portrait painter. He sure has helped me hone my skills as a painter. I practice daily. My studio is open to the daylight, so it’s always nice and bright inside.
If you were wondering, yes, I always paint my faerie friends for free. I do charge the dragonflies, grasshoppers, and small animals that sit for me, however. I don’t charge money, but presents. As you look in my dwelling you most certainly can see some of the wonderful treasures I have received in trade for my whimsical portraits. And of course, there’s my little harp. Just like hers, my harp is stringless too.
It can sometimes be difficult to get to my studio so I have fashioned a “mousetrap” door and ladder from the harp strings that are no longer in Miss Florence’s harp, but do appear in Al’s portrait of Miss Florence just inside the front door. I couldn’t see wasting a good set of harp strings. Et voila, a magnificent staircase. Maybe next time you visit you will catch a glimpse of me or I may glimpse you, and if so, I will do a painting of you!
Sue Chism 26# FREYA POTTERSDOTTIR
Greetings, I am Freya Pottersdottir and welcome to my Cherry Orchard home! I bet you already stopped by my studio down by the Lieutenant River and I’m so glad am very excited to show you my other dwelling. I hale from Iceland and am the Viking faerie muse of American sculptor Bessie Potter Vonnoh who spent many summers here in Old Lyme. I come from a long line of strong female Viking faeries and I quite admire Bessie’s accomplishments as a sculptor at a time when very few women were sculpting at all!
Bessie and I get along very well because she is quite tiny like me. While not as small as me, she barely reached 4 feet 8 inches. But that didn’t stop her from making magnificent sculptures, both big and small. Bessie loved to sculpt mothers and children. I often flutter above Bessie while she is working and whispering hints in her ear. I think many of her sculptures look like my Viking ancestors because of the suggestions I’ve made.
Oh, I do hope you explore my Cherry Orchard! You might even see some little statues that Bessie made just for my humble little home. You can see a much bigger sculpture by Bessie in Miss Florence’s house. That’s the big yellow mansion where so many of the artists stayed in the summers. If you take a peek in Miss Florence’s bedroom you’re sure to see it.. Heavens to Bessie, it is just lovely!
I hope you enjoy looking around my Cherry Orchard home. Bye!
Julie Solz 27 # • FINNIA
Hello. Finnia here, but you can call me Finn. I am out gathering more willows for my house since I lost some in that last storm. I so love living by the brook.
I am the faerie muse for Walter Griffin. Walter is originally from Maine and his father carved ship figureheads which you can see around my site. Living in my house is like living on a ship: I can hear the water while I sleep, I have a hammock for a bed just like the sailors at sea, and my high-up lookout is like the crow’s nest on a ship.
Walter and I like Old Lyme a lot because it reminds us of landscapes in France where we painted and first studied Impressionist painting techniques. Walter has his own secret painting style. He mixes his paint colors right on the canvas instead of on the palette like other artists do. This makes his paintings thick and rugged, the same texture I have in the weaving on the front of my house.
We also like horses. Walter and I bought a white horse named Reuben for four dollars to use as a model. You can see Walter and me riding Rueben in The Fox Chase painting in Miss Florence’s dining room, but I’m pretty small. See you next time.
Craig Nelson 28 # • WATER ELFFY
Hello, Hello, Hello. My name is Water Elffy and I just love water. In fact, I’m sorry that I am not home right now, but I’m out collecting dewdrops to add to this babbling brook with my twin sister, Columbine Rainbowweb, who, as always, is collecting rainbows. I live here on the outskirts of the wee faerie village in this mill with its working water wheel. The mill is one of the favorite painting subjects of my artist friend Edward Rook. My sister and I are his faerie muses and my love of water, especially when it’s splishing and splashing, is one reason Edward and I create so many paintings of the Bradbury’s Mill, just up the road a ways in Old Lyme. But he can be stubborn, so my twin sister helps me to enchant him. She has a lovely voice. Edward is an interesting artist to say the least. He is pretty rich so he doesn’t paint pictures to make money. We do it because we love it. Oh, take a good look. Can you find the cotton? This was left over from the time we painted a picture of mountain laurel. You see, Edward is a very slow painter and sometimes when he’s painting flowers and stuff the blooms fade before we finish them. In order to complete the painting I had the idea to attach cotton to the branches to mimic the look of the laurel bush. While you are visiting you can see several of the paintings of Bradbury’s Mill we’ve created. There’s one hanging over the fireplace in Miss Florence’s parlor. Edward and I did this one instead of painting a door or a panel. We thought Miss Florence deserved a big painting in a gold frame rather than a silly little panel. There’s another mill painting upstairs called Swirling Waters. I love that one the most because what’s swirling is THE WATER. I convinced Edward to paint the Mill because it reminds me so much of my home and I just adore the sound of the water rushing down the brook. Oh, and my sister helped choose the beautiful colors with her knowledge of how to mix the cool watery colors!
Barbara Stevens and Barbara O'Connell 30 # • ACORN
Top of the tulip to you. This is Acorn and I am not home right now. I am out looking for, you guessed it, more acorns. The caps make great hats or wonderful bowls. And the bottom part is like a ball that all the woodland faeries like to play with. Pardonnez – moi, but I speak with a French accent because my artist studied in Paris. I am the faerie muse for Allen Butler Talcott, who I like to call A.B. I love to say A.B. SEE this or A.B. SEE that. It’s fun. I am such a lucky faerie to live under this big oak tree. A.B. loves to paint oak trees so my wee house in an old oak log is just perfect. I also have a tree house above it where I love to doze and dream up ideas for A.B. Look at the panels on the inside of my Faerie House door for a hint. Allen also loves the rivers, the marshes, and the meadows. He paints many of them in a style known as Tonalism, which uses very few colors in muted tones.
When A.B. was in school, he would sketch classmates and teachers in his notebook? Can you see my sketchbook with some of my drawings? Do you see my blue coat? It’s just like the one A.B. wears in The Fox Chase painting in the House. You know, A.B.’s love and knowledge of nature earned him the title “the painter of trees”. And you know that us woodland faeries love and respect the beauty of nature and I bet you do too.
Christopher Eaves 31 # • DIANA
Bonjour. Hola. Ciào. Salaam. Namaste (na-mus-thei). Konnichi wa (kon-ni-chi-wa). Ni Hao (nee-how). Hello. My name is Diana. I am the faerie muse to the painter Frank Bicknell, and although you cannot see me, I am golden from head to toe and carry with me a bow and arrow.
A moment ago I greeted you in eight different languages in honor of Frank; artist and world traveler. Frank made 10 transatlantic voyages in his lifetime, during which he sketched and painted and collected works of art from throughout the world. I reside here by the automobile parking lot, as Frank enjoyed easy access to transportation should he decide to depart at a moment’s notice. Frank was a frequent visitor to Miss Florence’s. Don’t tell anybody else but, Miss Florence referred to Frank as her ‘favorite.’ Frank felt just as strongly for Miss Florence. If you visit the house you will see a panel in the dining room Laurel Birches Beside a Lake by Frank. He did it for Miss Florence as a gift.
After traveling the world, and after living in very tall building in New York City, Frank surrendered to the charm of Old Lyme and lived in a house just up the road from Miss Florence’s boardinghouse. As you see, I created my faerie dwelling from suitcases just like the ones that Frank used when he traveled the globe. I have filled my faerie dwelling with objects that remind me of Frank. If you visit my faerie dwelling at night you will find it lit with light from the inside as I often give merry faerie parties for the other faeries—just like the parties that Frank gave for his friends. That reminds me, if you ever do meet a faerie, ask them to visit me here on Hopscotch Pine Island. I’ll tell them the beautiful stories of the artist and world traveler Frank Bicknell. Remember, the more the faerier!
Ciao Bello! Au Revior! Adios! Goodbye for now!
Mary Ann Besier 32 # • PORTIA PETERS JOSEY
Hello. My name is Portia Peters Josey. I’m not home right now. I am out shopping for scones and jam for this afternoon’s tea. Please look around my little house here at Chadwick Corners. As you can see, I live in an old Chinese jar. My favorite artist William Chadwick dropped it while he was painting in his studio. He was so upset he pitched the broken jar right out the window and it rolled under this tree. I think it makes a lovely place to live. It sits on this tiny bluff overlooking the Lieutenant River.That’s why I call my house “Bluff House.” Sometimes I find things the artists have cast off—the like seashells they have found in their travels to Bermuda, the Bahamas and other tropical places. My artist is English and so am I. He came to America with his parents when he was five. He loves to paint the mountain laurel along the river. You could have guessed that when you saw the banks of pink laurel cascading down the hillside here at Bluff House. Mr. Chadwick is always inspired the paint these particular scenes when the laurel bursts into bloom in mid June. He even painted a tiny version of the painting Laurel for me. Just take a look. It’s hangingright there on the wall.
I also want you to see the straw hat piled high with lovely summer roses. It’s sitting there—on the table by the front steps. That’s the hat I’m wearing for the garden party tomorrow. Mr. Chadwick loves it so much it inspired him to paint a beautiful painting called On the Piazza. He painted right here on Miss Florence’s back porch! You can see the painting if you go over to the house. I’ll let you in on a little secret. No one knows the name of the person he was painting. But I know—it was me! Drawn much bigger than life. If you look around the village you may see the lady in the painting walking through the village. Be sure to say hello!
Chad Floyd 33 # • CORNICE
Hello and welcome to the wee village of Ivy Palisades inside the Wee Faerie Village. My name is Cornice and I’ve been working on building my humble home (or homes) since they built this big new museum called “The Krieble Gallery” here. You’re listening to my message right now because I’m way up on the roof of the Krieble Gallery keeping a lookout. I’ve got a great view from up there. I can see the river, gardens, and the entire Faerie Village. I can even see you too! But my favorite part is the architecture—all the different kinds of buildings, from barns to mansions, you’ll find here atMiss Florence’s place.
I think the very best kind of building is the new kind. Sure a lot of people like the old buildings here. Did you know Miss Florence’s grand yellow house is almost two HUNDRED years old? Someday maybe the Krieble Gallery will be that old too. But for now it’s just 7 years old, which makes it the very best building, in my opinion. Inside, the Gallery is filled with paintings inspired by the faerie muses you’ve been listening to. But the Gallery is more than just an “inside” place. You should take a look at the outside of it as well. I think the greatest part is the shiny silver roofthat swoops up and down and up and down.
But I’m more than just lover of architecture, I’m also the faerie muse to the artist William Robinson. He and I get along because he can appreciate great architecture too. He helped plan that building out by the road where
the artists of the colony would put their paintings on display for the whole
world to see every summer. Good old Will used to live all year round in
Miss Florence’s house, when many other artists only visited in the summer.
It could get a little crowded around here with all those artists and
faeries, so he built his very own private studio nestled into the laurel
where he (and I) could work anytime.
Will kind of inspired me too. I think of Ivy Palisades as my village within a village. I picked out some of my favorite bits and pieces of the buildings I see everyday and built my own private place here. I’m glad you had a chance to see my work.
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