Lotte Reiniger ~ 'Fairy Tales' brought to life

Charlotte "Lotte" Reiniger (2 June 1899 – 19 June 1981) was a German film director and the foremost pioneer of silhouette animation. Reiniger made more than 40 films over her career, all using her invention. Her best-known films are The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) – the oldest surviving feature-length animated film, preceding Walt Disney's feature-length Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) by over ten years – and Papageno (1935), featuring music by Mozart. Reiniger is also noted for devising a predecessor to the first multiplane camera.

As a child, she was fascinated with the Chinese art of silhouette puppetry, even building her own puppet theatre, so that she could put on shows for her family and friends.

Reiniger enrolled in the acting group to which Wegener belonged, the Theatre of Max Reinhardt. She began by making costumes and props and working backstage. She started making silhouette portraits of the various actors around her, and soon she was making elaborate title cards for Wegener's films, many of which featured her silhouettes.

Reiniger, in devising the predecessor to the first multiplane camera for certain effects, preceded Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks by a decade. Above her animation table, a camera with a manual shutter was placed in order to achieve this. She placed planes of glass to achieve a layered effect. The setup was then backlit. This camera setup was later popular in cell animation.

Reiniger had a distinct art style in her animations that was very different from other artists in the time period of the 1920s and the 1930s, particularly in terms of characters. In the 1920s especially, characters tended to rely on facial expressions to express emotions or action, while Reiniger's characters relied on gestures to display emotions or actions. She also utilized the technique of metamorphosis often in her animations. This focus on transformation greatly benefits her tendency to work with fairytale stories.

Love and light,

Trace

xoxo

Chance and Bethany

Richard Madden Lily James

Chance and Bethany

The mental imagery of 'A carpet of purple flowers’ inspired me in such a magical way, that I felt compelled to write my first novel. Once I started to place pen to paper, the story began to grow into a much greater tale. Maybe, every creative whimsy that I have ever envisaged and not acted on, has waited until now to be brought to life.

My mind raced as folklore came entwined with love, fate entwined with choice, science entwined with spiritual teachings - all guiding me to write a romance that revolves around a karmic cycle. Let me share with you a secret place in which only a parted veil exposes. To an ethereal plane in which otherworldly, angelic type beings, tend to a well of souls. In the book, I take the reader on a brief, visual journey to the home of these elementals called, 'The Sindria', their realm, 'Calageata'. It is here that the purple flower of Vororbla grows, emitting a thick mist ready to greet the essence of a soul.

What keeps us going when the world can feel so harsh?

Where do we draw our strength from in times of need?

What urges us to carry on when things become extremely overwhelming and too much to bear?

We all know the answer... it comes from within.

Somewhere, deep inside, a light refuses to fade.

This light (our inner strength) may become less bright for a time, but in its fading, it is re-energising, and will again, awaken from sleep. Once, our inner light screams out its very last ray of hope, the sleeping energy awakes, re-igniting the inner dimming ray. It is reminiscent of an illuminating birth of a far away star, and from apparent nothingness, wondrous brightness can evolve.

The Sindria teach… 'To be able to shine more brightly, one's light must first fade.’

In the book, I mention to 'keep your light bright' as we've all experienced at some point in our lives, a time when nothing makes sense, a time when life can feel like it's too much to bear, and I really wanted to send out an important message to my readers – that you are so much more than what you initially see, and to remember, a fading light secretly masks an eternity. Our light never truly diminishes, and we can always shine bright, again.

Bea lives a simple life residing in a South London second-hand bookshop. It had been an especially difficult year, first with Bea’s uncle dying, then splitting up with Brandon, her philandering, druggie boyfriend. The shop's trivial daily conversations, local faces, and calm, was all she desired, but that was all about to change.

            ‘Four Souls & Three Hearts’

The future is not set in stone and the choices that we make ripple through the cosmos. No matter what form your soul takes, there are consequences for one's actions in which time has no relevance – 

we call it karma, they call it Vo-ror-bla.

No-one expects to bump into supernatural beings, let alone two opposing sects of a forgotten race. Bea’s quiet existence turns into turmoil as she slowly starts to unravel a secret past. A lost history in which love, revenge, betrayal, magic, power, and karma are not mere cycles of a soul, but a sacred journey upon a web of many possibilities.

Tantric sex is an ancient Hindu practice that has been going for over 5,000 years, and means 'the weaving and expansion of energy'. It's a slow form of sex that's said to increase intimacy and create a mind-body connection.  In this way, you're sharing all of yourself with your partner. 

The heart breath to tune into each other. Stand opposite one another and look into each other's eyes placing your left hand on your partner's heart. He should then place his hand over your left one and you should try to match each other's breathing for at least two minutes.

 Crossing the veil between worlds…

A light bright
a loud cry in the night
makes way for a soul in the dark
gliding through time
a passage ethereal sublime
a story forgotten renewed

mingling the past into the future
a haze blinding most
glamour hides a host
the spiritual warrior has eyes to see
but not until he falls to his knees

the figure in shadow feels the heart of the broken
crushing love not forgotten
gripping mist
chasing dreams
karma eludes or so it seems

circles and cycles
souls entwined
something at work
possibly divine

by Tracey-anne

 Souls forever entwined

***Amazon U.K Bestselling*** 

Inspirational Romance  ~ Fairy Tales ~ Mythology & Folk Tales

Love and Light,

Trace

xoxo

Dorcha Crùn Theatre ~ 'The Alptraum of Alithia'

Dorcha Crùn Theatre 

(Fictional title - Scottish Gaelic meaning ~ Dark Crown)

Sarolta Bán

 'The Alptraum of Alithia'~ (The elf dream/nightmare of Alithia).

A play mentioned in the book 'A Carpet of Purple Flowers'.

Dylan Cole

The Dorcha Crun Theatre is not your traditional theatre. 

Inspired by the old theatres left in decay dotted about SW London. Such as - STREATHAM -  REGAL CINEMA (aka ABC & Cannon). Unfortunately in 2004, the auditorium was demolished & apartments were built on the site with the original cinema facade and foyer retained as an entrance.

Stage ~ Ruins

The play is a bizarre mix of ballet and less traditional expression. 

It serves a purpose for the character, Karian, and isn't meant to represent an actual theatre or specific method of delivery. It is fantasy. 

 Realm of Fantasy by Anacorreal.

Het National Ballet - Romeo and Juliet.

Haunting Denied Love

 Jacques Dequeker

Alithia and the Well

Connecting Worlds

Below, the superb dance of 'Sergei Polunin' reminds me of a certain scene played by a male role in 'The Alptraum of Alithia'.

Full Dance

Wanted for murder ~ On the run

Portal Escape 

Finding Love in a New World

Love and light,

Trace

xoxo

Enchanted Rose Tutorial Video

Tutorial ~ Enchanted Rose

Link HERE

A video to get the creative juices flowing to make a fairy tale prop. Wonderful. 💖 I can't wait to make one of these for my room, guess it'll need to be lilac/purple. 😉🌷

Below are some more images for inspiration. Enjoy. 

Pink or Red?

A mirror would be a great addition if wanting to stick with a Beauty and the Beast Theme. 

Enchanted Rose from 'Beauty and the Beast' Prop Tutorial

The Fairy Tale

A table, a mirror, an enchanted rose, and a good book. 

Enchanted Rose by Daniel kendi

Love and light, 

Trace

xoxo