Artist Caitlin Conte, 55, of Bangor may have the best reason of all for protecting the Penjajawoc Marsh – faeries. Her studio looks out on the woods that border the marsh, which in the recent past was the center of controversy involving plans for a Wal-Mart Supercenter. From the vantage of her studio, she watches what goes on in the natural world just beyond her windows.

“I call it Ravenswood,” she said, “because ravens live there.” Sometimes she sees a blue heron fly out of the marsh. But for Conte, who was for many years a recreation therapist at Bangor Mental Health Institute, the woods bordering the marsh is more than a place for watching birds. It’s where she finds inspiration and some of the materials for her art.

The faeries and the impetus to create them, she said, came to her in a dream when she was studying shamanic meditation. She knew then that she had found a new path in her life.

“I want to lead people back to the faeries,” she said. “Faeries are about innocence, the mystical and mysterious.” Those qualities, she believes, have been lost and if they were reclaimed, the world would be a better place. Faeries also may be viewed as the embodiment of the spirit of nature, which evokes the sacredness of nature to the human condition.

“When you are ready to learn,” she said, “a teacher will appear.” She found teachers to give her lessons in Gaelic language, Celtic culture, and the nature poetry of Ireland and Wales.

Each of Conte’s faeries, measuring 6 to 8 inches high, is meticulously handmade. Each face is individually sculpted, each soft cloth body is stitched and stuffed and given a wire armature, which makes it possible to ‘pose’ the faery in a lifelike way.

“Turning the bodies right side out is the most frustrating job,” she said.

Each faery is dressed in whimsically elaborate costumes reminiscent of some mist-veiled medieval era in Ireland. Skirts are made of silk flower petals, breeches are made of velvet. Dresses are made of gauzy, glittery fabrics. Furry, feathery and other airy and ribbony trims embellish each one. Some of the faeries have real hair donated by friends who have had their long hair cut short. Many are embellished with materials Conte finds in the woods behind her house – acorn caps, feathers, mosses and twigs. No two of her faeries are alike and each one has a name.

“The names come to me as I work,” Conte said. They include Merina, Tansy, Aibrean. Afton and Danu. She has made hundreds of faeries since 1998.

“A lot of my inspiration,” she said, “comes from Irish mythology and my son.” Her son is a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, which re-creates the pageantry of medieval times. “I used to make costumes for him.” The same elements used in those costumes – the shape of a hat or the cut of a vest – are adapted to the faeries’ costumes.

Conte’s faeries are for sale at local shops and craft fairs. Her favorite craft fair, to be held Saturday and Sunday Nov. 8 and 9, is at the George Stevens Academy in Blue Hill. Many children attend the fair with their parents, she said.

“I just love it at that fair,” she said, “because there I see the children … I see how they still believe in the magic of faeries. The belief is in their eyes. Boys as well as girls. I like to think I am lighting a lamp to show the way back to the faeries.” To learn more about Conte’s faeries, call her at 942-7135, or visit www.mysticalwoodlands.com.

Snippets

Quixotic Quilts, a show featuring quilts by Sally Field, Liane Giambalvo, Gerry Williams, the Mary Ellen Gilley family and members of the Bear Paw Quilters, are on display 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Saturday, through Dec. 10, at the gallery at Boyd Place, 21 Boyd St., Bangor. Call 941-2837 for more information.

Quilt enthusiasts may want to take part in the quilt show and luncheon on Saturday, Oct. 18, at the Alton United Methodist Church in Alton. Call 394-3912 or 394-2892 to learn more.

Hospice of Eastern Maine is raffling a quilt in the jewel box pattern. Call 973-8269 for ticket information.

Ardeana Hamlin welcomes comments, suggestions and ideas. Call her at 990-8153, or e-mail ahamlin@bangordailynews.net.