Shooting Star Flower Fairy: An Introduction to Plant Monsters and Fairyary 2024

After a very dry art season, necessarily so due to health and working on managing my newly high levels of anxiety, I decided that an art challenge would be just what I needed. I’d done Inktober in October last year, and I had found a list that gave all sorts of other, similar challenges for other months. I didn’t want to wait around for Inktober to do some more art. And, if I’ve learned anything about myself and doing art it is this: wide open freedom and rigid schedule frighten me in equal measure.

Enter Fairyary, a February challenge that seemed to be more focused on making traditional fairies, though not super exclusively so I set out, very loosely and gently, to make some plant monster fairies.

I’d stumbled my way into making these plant monsters quite by accident when, one day, I’d had no idea what to draw and I’d decided to try one of the various art prompt generators out there. This was one that claimed to have personality. And it did!

It all started with Lilleaf, mother of plant monsters, which I based on the spider plant I own that has been through hell in the distant past and still survived. These days she is thriving in my office window with so many little babies. I think she is happy. (I’ll share Lilleaf and her fuller story later, I hope)

Anyways long story short I found that I really love creating and bringing to life these cute-creepy-weird plant monsters and it helps me engage with nature in a way that makes me happiest. It has also helped me rebuild my adult relationship with my mother… because we both speak nature but in our own ways.

Life is too short to not follow your weird. This is mine.

Without further ado, here is the Shooting Star Flower Fairy:

Based, of course, on the shooting star flower.

The prompt this day was “mountain,” not a hard one except choosing which mountain flower gave me the most inspiration. Some days throughout the month gave me much pause and some were very loose interpretations but this was an easy one. And one of my favorites, so it is the first I’m sharing with y’all.

Art and creativity are both near and dear to me and what has kept me afloat when I’ve been less than fine. Even when I’m not creating art I do think about drawing, painting, and creating. I know I’m not doing well when even that goes.

Further, a holistic creativity is what I strive to embrace and to encourage. There is so much of over-productivity in even creativity these days. At least with the saturation of media and information it can seem so. Which is why I try to advocate for this holistic creativity where all parts of your life are connected and related to your creativity. Your mental health, your physical well-being, all of it. The time spent resting is good for your creativity. Creativity is not about creating 24/7. That is a productivity first, capitalist society and culture talking.

So, take care of your creative selves out there, rest, go at your pace, blossom slowly in deliberate, steady steps. Gently does it.

Much 💜

-Rachel