Wee Troll Girl

There’s something that has been on my dream list or bucket list for my entire adult life.  I never thought it would actually happen for me.

You see, I am an avid Froudian, meaning I admire and follow the work of Brian, Wendy, and Toby Froud.  If you’ve seen the movies Labyrinth and Dark Crystal, you are already familiar with the Froudian aesthetic without knowing it: both of those movies were visually inspired by Brian Froud’s art, to an extreme extent.  Both films are like seeing his paintings come to life.

Wendy Froud makes sculptures or dolls.  That’s the very cold and short summary, but in reality, Wendy Froud channels the Realm of Faerie to bring to life creatures that are so completely full of character, personality, and energy, you can’t even take it all in when you see them.  To see a Wendy Froud sculpture is not to admire the craftmanship, though that is part of it.  When you see a Wendy Froud sculpture, you meet and introduce yourself to a pixie, a troll, a dwarf, a goblin, and so on, who has his or her own story, past, future, and personality.

I’ve dreamt for years of owning a Wendy Froud piece.  And even saying that sounds wrong…one does not own one of her sculpts, one is honored to be friends with and accepted by one of the creatures she has channeled.

My favourite Wendy Froud pieces are the charismatic creatures with quirk.  And my favourite of those are her trolls.  Ever since I read the book Trolls by Wendy and Brian, I wanted to have one of the young trolls like the protagonist of the story.  When I saw a photo of this troll child from an exhibition at AFANYC, I realized that a troll girl, rather than a troll boy, was the perfect troll for me.

She arrived yesterday from New York City, in a massive box.  Inside were packing peanuts, another box, packing peanuts, bubble wrap, and a protective bag.  So it took a while to get her out.  I lit candles, got my seeing stone, and sat there shaking as Tom unboxed her. And the second she was out of the box, she was more beautiful, with more LIFE and MAGIC to her, than I had even hoped.  (and I had high hopes)

I gave her a seeing stone I’ve had for almost fifteen years now.  A seeing stone is a rock that has been naturally drilled (by water usually) with a hole through it.  By looking through that hole, a human can have a way to see into the Faerie realms.  My wee troll girl of course doesn’t need such a thing to see Faerie, but it is filled with magic, is one of the objects that is very dear to me, and is…well…..a stone.  Trolls are often drawn to rock and stone, being their earth element.  I thought it would make a nice welcome gift.

I couldn’t take my eyes off her all night.  I still can’t.  She belongs perfectly here.  

Someday soon I hope I learn her name.  So far I am simply calling her “Wee Troll Girl” with affection, until we know each other better.

After unboxing her and giving her the stone:

Her knit fingerless gloves, the spiral beads from her hat:

Her little oxblood red leather slipper shoes with pointed toes:

Her hat with its unique shape and stripes.  Also her tail, very dainty for a troll, wrapped in the same striped knit as her leggings.

Just…just LOOK at her!!!

I was already in my jammies, but couldn’t resist a picture with her.

And today in daylight.  This is likely where she will spend most of her time in the house.  (Obviously the Christmas tree won’t always be there)  All of my Pre-Raphaelite and William Morris books are on this bookshelf in the upstairs hallway, and it gives her a great view of the upper level of the house.

She really likes the seeing stone.

A side view of her.