Harry Potter and the Green Man

Happy Birthday, Harry Potter! Our family has very fond memories of attending birthday parties for Harry at the former Borders Books and Music.  But, I digress.  What does Harry Potter have to do with the Green Man? Actually, there isn't a connection, but there is a great set in the movies that is adorned with Green Man faces. Due to copyright, I cannot copy and paste the photo here...but, here is the link to the photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/orangeaurochs/6938855414/in/photostream/
Enjoy! 

Famous Olympic Green Man

How exciting to watch the opening ceremonies to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London!  Even more exciting was seeing the Green Man commercial by Dow Corporation!  Check it out here if you have not had a chance to see it: http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/dow-chemical-olympics-2012

  Hey, was that Sylvia waving from the one window in the commercial?  Amazing!  Enjoy!

Garden Smiles

Green Men are a favorite venue for garden art.  My family and I are always on the hunt for Green Men. Once we found a fountain (which, in truth, was extremely ugly) with Green Men all around.  Many are portrayed as Dionysis.  George Carruth is one of my favorite sculptors of "Nature Faces."  He has a variety of Green Men faces -- all with a touch of humor.  Sometimes I think our home is an alternate gallery of his Green Men.  I wonder if any readers have started seeing Green Men in sculpture? If you are in a city -- look up!  New York's Barnes and Noble bookstore in Greenwich Village has Green Men.  Townhouses near the Walter's Art Gallery have Green Men adorning them.  Down town Chicago has a plethora of Green Men as you walk the streets near the art museum.  Carruth's work is at our National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.  Just a few examples on U.S. soil.  It is my dream to travel to Europe to go on a Green Man hunt.   (Carruth's work can be seen at: www.carruthstudio.com)

Many Names...

The Green Man is a universal archetype.  Throughout history he has had different guises and many names.  Buddha is considered to be a Green Man as he was born in a tree.  Osiris, Adonis, Dionysis, Al Khidr are also Green Men.  More contemporary Green Men are Robin Hood, the May King and even the Jolly Green Giant.  Some say even Yoda is a Green Man with his wisdom and teaching of Luke Skywalker.  There are many more names for this egnima.  The Green Man continues to pique our interest.
The Green Giant (greengiant.com)
  Al Khidr (www.khidr.org)


Buddha - http://www.patheos.com/blogs/monkeymind/2009/04/marking-the-buddhas-birth.html
Interesting article on Buddha and trees: http://sacredsites.com/asia/india/bodh_gaya.html



Robin Hood

Green Cats

I am an animal lover and adore our two Siamese in our menagerie of animals.   An interesting Green Man fact is that there are actually Green Cats!  I first learned of this via Mike Harding many years ago [http://www.mikeharding.co.uk/greenman/] and found a terrific site that covers Green Cats and Green Dogs more in depth: http://www.green-man-of-cercles.org/articles/green_cats_and_dogs.pdf
Here's a favorite photo of a Green Cat:  and an interesting article by blogger Ana the Imp: http://anatheimp.blogspot.com/2010/03/myth-of-green-man.html

My own take on Green Cats is a painting and ephemera of "Catnip"  at: http://www.cafepress.com/outinthegarden

Enjoy!

Question to readers

Dearest Reader,
(and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading the book: The Greening  as well as this blog.)

I have a question for you, dear reader.  I am working steadily on the second book in the Green Man series --tentatively titled: The Growing.   Do you like the murder sooner than later in the book?  In an article I was reading recently, one of the 'top ten tips' for mystery writing stated to have the murder happen within the first three chapters of the book.  Do you feel this way? 

Personally, I love being sucked into a story, word by word, paragraph by paragraph and page by page...  To be honest, in the new book, the murder currently stands at about Chapter 13 or page 125. Is this a problem? 

I look forward to answers.  I'm hoping someone is reading out there in the continuum!
Below is a Green Man pic for the day.
Sincerely,
Sharon
 from: http://incanroads.blogspot.com/

On Fantasy

Revisiting Terri Windling's articles and site, gives me pause to wonder and wander through her wise words.  A quote from fantasy artist Patricia McKillip from the Endicott Studio site:

 "'At its best,' she says, 'fantasy rewards the reader with a sense of wonder about what lies within the heart of the commonplace world. The greatest tales are told over and over, in many ways, through centuries. Fantasy changes with the changing times, and yet it is still the oldest kind of tale in the world, for it began once upon a time, and we haven't heard the end of it yet.' "
http://endicottstudio.typepad.com/news/   

Terri's more recent blog discusses how stories are a magical part of writing.  I can't explain the magic, but I just know the story is there.  Sometimes it knocks in my head so loudly to be written that I must follow it's badgering.  It's sometimes a magical dreamlike state (no need of recreational drugs with stories, coffee and a good red wine!)  The second Green Man novel is titled: The Growing.  There are a few surprises in store for the reader with the characters that are in the first novel. 

Here's a link to Terri Windling's blog on the magic of writing: http://windling.typepad.com/blog/

Here is a wonderful Green Man visage:
http://wisteria.org/green-man-tavern.htm
Enjoy!