Ah, the magick of FaerieCon!! ^_^

This past weekend I went to an AMAZING, MAGICAL, WONDERMOUS event called FaerieCon.  It is a weekend FULL of myth, folklore, wonder and magic, all about nature spirits (faeries), and the art, music, literature, media & growing culture that surrounds them.  They have vendors and writers and performances galore, and on Friday & Saturday nights, they offer up these 2 tremendous galas, called the Good Faeries’ Ball and the Bad Faeries’ Ball, respectively.  Each night has an opening act or two and a FABULOUS main act, and this year we had the incomparable Faun join us again, who’ve come over from Germany! :D

This year I went allll in red for the Good Faeries’ Ball (not a STITCH of black on me- outside of my monocular cord- I know.. I was scared too- ;)) and attended as a very bellydance-y little satyr/faun/fiery nymph.  (W/horns made by yours truly. ^_^)  And for the Bad Faeries’ Ball I was a dark Sidhe, one of the Unseelie Court.  (I guess some could have called me a leanan sidhe that night. ;))  Both outfits were very bellydance influenced, and I brought my candles to play w/Friday night, as well as my sword Saturday to dance with. :)

Sadly the place was so packed up in front where I was I didn’t get to dance w/my sword Sat. night, but Friday night while the bands were warming up I fiddled a bit w/my candles, and had a bit of fun there. :)  I’m sure there was more dancing in the back where there was more room to romp, but in the front where I was, it was pretty much standing room only.  (But boyyyy, did I work my 2.5 feet of square space!! *lol*  I shimmied and hip-lifted and clapped w/the best of ‘em, you can bet!! :D)  Next year, I’m kinda hoping they keep a goodly-sized space open in the front for both concerts, so folks can both dance AND see. :)  

Either way, this whole weekend was TREMENDOUS.  I met some truly fantastic people, sang a little bit here n’ there, and DEFINITELY did a little shimmying now n’ then. ^_^  (Like through Faun’s WHOLE concert. *lol*)  -And I wasn’t the only one.. there were a few other bellydancers there, too!  We were only but a handful, but man, give a bellydancer full reign to shine, and by gawd, she will! XD  And there’s no wonder; TONS of the music there is GREAT for bellydancing, and I’m sure even non-faerie folks would love it. ^_^ *beams*  From Adam Hurst’s stellar cello grooves to the world-music inspired pieces by every band that played Fri. & Sat. nights, there was PLENTY to dance to at FaerieCon. ^_^  And they even had a drum circle/workshop! :D  Plus there was a vendor there who had SCADS of Kuchi and bellydance jewelry for sale- for STUPENDOUS prices!!  Check out Father Dunn’s Jewelry here, or on Facebook, and tell ‘em the short, fluffy bellydancer who kept them open at the end of Sunday afternoon (during closing time) sent you. ;)

I hope the other dancers, singers, writers and wanderers had a good time there as well, and if you’re a fan at all of all things mythical, fantastical, or faerie, I humbly invite you to join us!  (Be your heart & mind open & your spirit warm & bright. ;))  It is an experience that I assure you you’ll treasure for a long time to come (if not a lifetime- or two); whether you attend for the workshops, the panels, the authors, the artists, the music, or just the major shopping opportunities and the eye candy! :)

Blessed Be, and THANK YOU to all who helped make this FaerieCon so magical!!
♥♥♥
Ylluria 

As it’s close to Halloween and this is costume/makeup related (not to mention partially Tribal bellydance-inspired :)), I thought I’d share this w/you all. :)

So.. what you see before you is a sampling of the pics I took for my horns & ears pieces last night. :)  I’m pondering various outfits for Raven’s Night & FaerieCon coming up, n’ this was both a means for experimentation, and a way for me to show folks how they might wear my weird, crafty little bibbledybobs. :)

These shots are PURELY for fantasy’s sake, and inspired by everything from good friends who do GREAT makeup, the interpretations I’ve seen some Tribal dancers do in the spirit of more ancient, aboriginal-style face painting, shamanic and warrior designs used by various tribes of peoples around the world, & faerie-related events; like the aforementioned, fast-approaching FaerieCon. :)  

This was also my first attempt ever at doing makeup in this kind of style- so please be gentle. ;)  (It was harder and more exacting than you’d think! ;D)  And boy.. I cannot TELL you how truly & INCREDIBLY empowering this experience was.  I dunno if it was the makeup, the shirt, the accessories or a combination thereof, but I do not exaggerate when I say that for the first time in my life, I was able to look in the mirror for once and not see ANYTHING lacking.  I felt fierce, powerful, beautiful, edgy, magickal and STRONG, and I cannot relate how special that feeling is.  For once, I was -completely- in love w/image I saw staring back at me- and that’s huge. :)

I have always found beauty and exotic, powerful qualities in others, but never, EVER believe myself capable of such things.  Sure, at times I’d feel “pretty” or “well,” or “smart,” or even “strong..” but I neeeever thought I had the epic kind of “wow” that some others exhibited on stage- or elsewhere.  I freely admit that I have HUGE confidence problems, likely an inferiority complex that it’d take a bulldoser to unearth, and I wouldn’t be surprised if I needed a truckload of counselling surmount it.  But last night, I got a taste of that epic confidence, and that was amaaaaaaazing. ^_^  ..I kind of no longer feel like I entirely lack the Epic gene. ;)

If you’ve ever felt that before- like you were always wanting, but never had, or if you too have had an experience similar to this, you can imagine how powerful and transformative a moment like this can be. :)  Now that it’s over, I sure as Heaven hope the power of that realization stays w/me.. always.  ..But now that the makeup’s off, I can still feel that kind of gravitas and appreciation of my OWN beauty shining through.. so.. maybe this one’ll stick. ;)

I’m not exactly sure what or how it happened, but regardless, I am ENORMOUSLY grateful.  I guess the lessons I learned from last night were “venture outside your comfort zone once in a while,” “have faith in yourself,” and “don’t be afraid to do what truly inspires you inside.. ‘cause the end result could mean SO MUCH more to you (and others) than you’d ever POSSIBLY imagine.” *beams*

If you’d like to see more, you can find other pics from this set on my FB page here.  Mehopes you like what you see, and that you have a moment like this too sometime soon, if you haven’t already. ;) ♥

Great Big Hugs & Love,
♥♥♥
Y