I'm writing this on the morning of the shortest day of the year. Today is the winter solstice, one of the crossing over points of the year. The days that have seemed to be closing in, shortening, swallowing up the light, will now, from tomorrow, begin again to lengthen and lighten. I know that although I won't physically be able to tell for some time yet that the year is on the turn, in my heart and soul, I'll be able to feel the lightening of the days - the lightening of my spirit.

It's been a strange year - a learning experience that I hadn't in any way anticipated. Last New Year, in fact the day after New Year, I was diagnosed with type one diabetes and rushed in to hospital as an emergency case. I'm somewhat of a medical mystery because type one is the kind that children get, while type two is the common type to get in middle age. So - my life changed drastically, but not, I must say, for the worse. In many ways this has been a year of rejuvenation - rejuvenation of spirit as well as body. By having to change, by having to listen to my body, I have also learned to reconnect with my inner spirit and with the nature spirits around me. I always feel a connection to the world of Faerie but sometimes it is a distant thing. When I let everyday worries and (especially) fears dominate my life, the connection between the worlds thickens and hardens until it is a faint presence somewhere too far from my conscious mind to interact with. It becomes a wall instead of a veil. One of the most important things I learned this year is that no matter how distanced we feel from that "other" world, it IS there, waiting for us to acknowledge it and reconnect with it again. Within that world we can find those things that may be missing from our mundane lives - healing, solace, a light heart.

I've actually done a lot this year. I taught more workshops than ever and loved every minute of them. I'm planning on teaching many more this coming year as well. They feed my soul. I love to see the people in my classes creating something that, in many cases they had no idea that they could create. I love the sense of fun and exploration that we share and also the sense of accomplishment at the close of a weekend workshop. Much of this is thanks to my brilliant workshop co-coordinator Sherri Morgan. Without her support and skills, I wouldn't have attempted to do anything this year. She made it possible for me to venture out into the world again with confidence. I'm also extremely grateful to Toby who was my amazing co-teacher for all of the workshops. He has become a brilliant teacher in his own right. He and Sherri and Sherri's wonderful daughter Sarah made this year so very special and I thank them all.

I also recorded a new DVD on character sculpting. It is come out soon (even I don't have a copy of it yet!) and you can pre-order it here on the website. I do hope that it will inspire and help people to take their sculpting and doll making ever further than before.

Brian and I had an exciting exhibition in Paris. As well as being a success, it gave us the opportunity to make many new friends. We so enjoy spending time in Europe as well as in the states and plan to be over much more often in the future. Brian has had his share of distressing times this year. He was unable to attend FaerieCon because of a torn retina. Very scary for him (and for all of us) but he is feeling much better now and hopeful it has healed itself. He is working on new projects that will appear in the coming year. We'll be able to tell you more about them in the New Year but they're going to be quite amazing!

Toby brought laughter (and a few tears) to people at Faerieworlds and FaerieCon when he puppeteered Ignatz. Ignatz and Fumber (performed by our wonderful friend Todd) are two characters that we filmed in conversation this summer. This is an ongoing project and I'm sure we'll all be seeing more of them in the coming year. Toby will be performing Ignatz in January at the Good Faeries & Bad Faeries Masquerade Balls in Eugene so look out for the two of them there. We thank Robert Gould and Emilio & Kelly Lopez for continuing to organize these fabulous Faerie events. It's a labour of love that I know, at times seems like a Herculean task at the very least. The sheer scale of organization is something that we tend to forget about. Unlike the shoemaker and the elves, it isn't all done by magic when morning comes! So - thank you!

And finally... I thank the Faeries for guiding me, inspiring me, and most of all for believing in me as much as I believe in them. We need each other to live our rich and beautiful lives. I'm looking forward to the New Year - the lightening of the days, the lightening of the world spirit (which I truly believe will happen) and the joy of discovering what this year will be bringing. I have a secret that I will be sharing with you all in the next message. It is a big part of the joyous journey of the coming year so... until then, we wish you the happiest of holidays and a joyous and light filled New Year.

With love from Wendy, Brian, Toby, Sarah, Buster and Elfie

Wendy Froud
December 2008

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