Some of my new little fairy furniture.....

More videos about our beautiful Fairy House!

More wonderful videos of our nature art!

This is a somewhat older video that we made when we first came out with our wonderful movie "The Enchanted Treehouse" but it still will give you an idea of what our movie is like. See the last video here, too, that shows the first few minutes of the movie. It's so cute! Hope you'll visit our website to see more about it. You can order it there, too! It was $17.95 but we are charging $20.00 for it now. It's definitely worth it, though! It's a sweet, fun and charming movie for every age!

www.enchantedtreehousemovie.com

Beautiful videos of our fairy furniture!

More beautiful fairy furniture you can learn to make!!

Some of these lovely pieces are featured in our new book "Fairy House" and others you can make, too, as they are similar to the pieces in our book.

Debbie's philosophy of nature and art.......

As a child, I grew up by the ocean. I can remember running out to the waves, the warm sand and sun were like welcoming friends. A few years passed and we moved to the forest and lived in an old hunter’s cabin high up on a mountain. Our view was a quiet and fascinating wildlife refuge, a marshland filled with birds and fish. Behind us was the forest, where deer and raccoons wandered, hidden in the trees. Many of my days were spent paddling quietly in our small boat amid the rushes and reeds of the lake near our home, as I listened to nature’s beautiful sounds. Walking in the woods, I could feel the quiet presence of everything around me. I can remember feeling amazed at this beautiful world and always wanting to be a part of it.

Those years of living with nature had a lasting effect on me. This comforting and fascinating world I was so happily absorbed in has stayed with me throughout my life and now seems to be blossoming freely. The creations that spring from my imagination and spirit seem to come from the inspiring childhood that I had. I have come to realize what a very important part nature has in life. It is a spiritual world and we are connected to it in ways we do not always realize. It’s quiet, amazing voice can teach us everything that is good and peaceful and real.

I am continually moved by the simplicity and yet great intelligence of nature and I am humbled to find motivation to create from it’s well spring of beauty and magnificence. It is a joy each time I sit down to begin a piece; the outcome as much a surprise and delight to me as it seems to be for the spirit of the natural materials I use.

All the wonderful “gifts” I have always loved in nature have opened a new world for me and now give me happiness and creative freedom. To be able to share these “stories of my life” with others is a gift as well. There is so much to see in nature if we look closely and if we remember how, as little children, the world of nature was an incredible, wondrous place.

My love for children and remembering my own wonderful childhood with comforting and happy feelings strengthens my belief that we need to hold on to those joyous and carefree times. Those precious experiences are what carry us through this world, overwhelming and difficult as it often is.

I began creating these natural furnishings because I wanted there to be more of childhood in the world. I wanted to show that life is still wonderful, still filled with amazement, beauty and happiness. Nature is simple; it is the purest and the most artistic creation. To work with flowers, leaves and grasses and myriads of other natural materials is an awe-inspiring experience, for in the process of creating with nature, our childhood smiles return, our vivid memories of summers and running through the trees come back as if it were yesterday. I create to bring back the dreams of childhood. I hear the voices of nature and age slips away, stories unfold and time is just a word. I create with nature because I can’t believe that the world is bad. I know it is a beautiful garden and it is endless.

Mike's philosophy about nature and art......

My absolute fascination with nature began early in my life and has run all through it. I remember watching bugs and ants and looking at leaves very closely as a child. I remember hiding behind bushes in the front of our house so I could be alone to feel nature more. I remember getting down in the grass and imagining I was a bug crawling up a blade of grass.

Upon meeting Debbie, my vision of nature was magnified even more. In my experience in taking walks with Debbie, I discovered she, too, was marveling at the designs and colors found in nature. We would not have to walk very far before we found something that caught our interests. The kinship we had for appreciating the artistic value of nature was amplified.

We had an irresistible urge to use nature, as findings, to create imaginary furnishings so that our daydreams and visions could come into fruition. I believe we needed to step out of the solemnities of our present world into the peacefulness of a make-believe world. I believe this kind of creativity can have merit as art therapy. I believe we are all creative. I have found that holding nature in my hands and using it as a medium is satisfying and rewarding in itself. Grasses compliment woods, woods compliment flowers and lines and forms compliment colors and shades in endless variety.

I try to frame nature into a more magnified view. It is like seeing the stars over the ocean on a clear night. They seem so close that you can almost touch them. When you look at where you are on a map, you realize that you are but a speck on a big planet. Yet, when you create art by the work of your hands, using nature and seeing it “up close”, the world doesn’t seem so big and ominous. It looks intriguing……like the stars.

I began to see each piece of nature as possessing spirit and voice. I could hear the branches telling me of their delight in being chosen to represent their original plant form as delegates in the chorus I was creating. The flowers knew that what I was making was going to bring them attention and appreciation. The pods felt they were being eternalized with other delegates into a memorial to nature as art.

All of the seeds, the leaves and the rest of the natural materials were telling me they would now be recognized for their artistic value. When my final selection had been made, organized and arranged, they could take their assigned places and sing and shine in harmony.

Now, deservedly, all of these beautiful gifts from nature have finally made their way into galleries and museums as art. The original artist may be appreciated and thought of with more depth and closeness. I feel that I am only the collector and arranger of these pieces under the inspiration of their real creator.

Hence, I know that each one of us have God-given talents; it is evident to me when I am working on my art, I can feel that knowledge. I always have the audience in mind when I begin creating; soon though, I forget myself and get deep into the work. I will keep creating for the joy and happiness of those around me.

I love making extraordinary paintings, toys and sculptures. I love classical, abstract and folk art that is actually fine art. I love the whimsical, the mysterious, the colorful and the sublime. I love art that is emotional, intuitive and heartwarming. I love art that makes a new room in the heart. I like the surprise that life is to me when I sit down to create something new that has never been made before.