A very good question!

I sculpted the original myself out of polymer clay. Then I created a mold and cast it in resin to make a sturdier figurine. (The original fairy sculpture is so small and delicate that the original had already been broken once before I even finished sculpting it!) After that, I hand paint each little body to resemble a naturally mummified specimen as realistically as possible.

If you’re interested in the process I use to make them, you can find vidoes in both my Instagram and TikTok accounts, linked at the bottom of the page.

I get this question a lot, and yes they are! I source all my wings ethically, which means all insects whose wings you see in my pieces lived their full lives and died naturally.

And now for the usual follow up question: Where do you get the wings?

For the most part, the insect wings I use in my pieces come from butterfly farms, also called lepidopterariums. Insects in such farms are raised from eggs, cared for carefully, and allowed to live out their full lifespans in safety. In the wild, only about 5% of insects survive from egg to adulthood. Most are killed by predators, disease or parasites. In farms, virtually 100% survive to adulthood and allowed to reproduce. To put that into perspective, a single butterfly might lay 100 eggs. In the wild, only 5 of those would survive to adulthood, and even then life as an adult butterfly is dangerous at best. In the farm, even if only 50 of those 100 butterflies is female and allowed to reproduce, that means the next generation is 5,000 strong. And from them, 500,000. So from one single butterfly, hundreds of thousands of future caterpillars may be born. 

But these farms are not only good for the species, as they work to conserve and supplement the wild populations, but the ecosystem and economy where they’re based. 

I hear you asking for more information, and I’m here for it! 

How does raising insects preserve the ecosystem? Don’t they eat plants? 

Well, yes. Taking butterflies as an example (though all nymph stage insects share similar needs), caterpillars eat a lot while they’re growing. And I mean A LOT. So when you’re raising hundreds or thousands of them, you need A LOT of plants to feed them. If you don’t want to completely decimate an entire copse of trees for one generation of butterflies, which is not at all sustainable in the long run, you need vast amounts of land. Land with the right type of plant and environment for the species of caterpillar you’re raising. So butterfly farms purchase and preserve the land, including rainforests and other endangered ecosystems. They manage the use of this land so that they don’t take too much foliage from any single plant, so that they can keep going, sustainably, into the future.

Okay, that explains the ecosystem thing, and that’s really cool how they plan ahead so that they don’t hurt the environment! But what about the economy? Surely preserving a lot of land takes away from the people who needed to farm or build businesses on that land?

True, you can’t farm or build on that land, but the butterfly farm doesn’t run on its own! People need to tend to the insects, plants, and buildings. Members of the local community are given well-paying jobs, which also cuts back on the need to clear cut neighboring areas for less lucrative farms. Where do the farms get all this money? Why, from scientific research agencies and public, educational tours, and people like me, who purchase the insects after they have lived their full lives and contributed to the next generation. 

There are only two other sources I might get insect wings from.

1) I might find a predeceased insect in my yard, or someone else might send me one that they’ve found. This is often the case for small, common or annually abundant species of cicada.

2) I might find a species that isn’t normally farmed in an old scientific collection. These specimens are occasionally swapped out for newer-looking individuals, and the old ones sold to collectors, so they don’t go to waste.

Whatever the case, you can rest assured that no living thing is ever harmed specifically to make my art. I care deeply about the environment, and all living creatures.

For more information on butterfly farms, check out these sites, where they go into specifics a bit more thoroughly than I have the space to do. :)

Wikipedia
As usual, wikipedia has a lot of information, but it can sometimes be a bit of a dry read.

Bug Under Glass
As an insect collector myself, I appreciate others who enjoy this hobby enough to make a living from it, and Bug Under Glass has a pretty comprehensive section on where they get their stock, which is similar to my own sources. (And their page is a lot more fun to read than the Wiki page!)

I sure do! My waitlist will be closing soon, so if you are interested in a custom, make sure you fill it out!

https://forms.gle/zJ8mADGSanoZ54rV8

Due to high demand, the wait for a custom can be up to several months. Please keep this in mind, and try to answer promptly when I contact you, even if only to let me know you are no longer interested.

I usually have a number of premade fairies available for purchase every month, though the date of release varies somewhat. I try to have them ready in the first week, but if I’m attending any local shows, or any personal matters arise (planned trips, family emergencies, jury duty, etc…), that may get pushed back a bit. Please bear in mind that I am only one person, so release dates rely entirely on how much time I have to work on new pieces. To get updates on when the next release will happen, you can sign up for news and updates by entering your email address in the field at the bottom of the page.

I ship internationally, so chances are: Yes, I do! You should be able to check out with any address, but if you run into any problems, please let me know and I’ll look into it right away.

It is not recommended that you open the dome, but if the glass fogs up and doesn’t clear within a day or so, you can detach the dome by adding some acetone (or nail polish remover) to the seam where the dome and the base meet, and allowing it to soften the adhesive. You may then carefully work the dome loose.

To close the dome again, simply place the dome back onto the base and add a bit more acetone to the seam. When it dries, it will have re-sealed the dome to the base. Be careful to only lift from the base after this, however, as the adhesive will likely be more fragile than it was originally. 

CAUTION: 

If you have one with a black base, please try not to get any acetone (or nail polish remover) on the base aside from the exact seam where the dome meets the base; it will melt the lacquer, causing imperfections on the surface.

This is a complicated question, and it has a complicated answer.

First of all, I feel like there are a lot of people out there who make ‘pretty’ fairies, so you have a multitude of choices for that. I don’t really want to compete with department stores, who mass produce their figurines and can sell at a much lower price.

Secondly, I wanted to make something that could potentially be real. Like the suspension of disbelief you feel from a well-made CGI movie, where you are not actually sure if it was filmed or computer generated. Even with the most realistic ‘living’ fairy sculpture, there would always be the surety at the back of your mind that what you’re looking at is just a sculpture. It doesn’t move or breathe, the eyes don’t blink. It’s a pretty statue, and nothing more. With these ‘mummified’ fairies, however, the illusion is complete. Because mummies aren’t supposed to move or breathe or blink, that subconscious reassurance that it has to be a statue because it doesn’t display any visible signs of life vanishes. And you’re left with the little doubt in the back of your mind that says maybe, just maybe, this could be real.

And lastly, I just liked the idea! I had read “Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book” as a child, and was enamored with the thought that something as magical as fairies could be preserved and displayed. I‘ve always loved collecting and displaying a variety of real insect specimens, so bringing a hint of magic into that hobby seemed like a dream come true. Some time later, I saw a similar idea in the form of framed ‘taxidermy fairies’ made out of cicada shells and butterfly wings. I wanted something similar for my collection, but I wanted it to look more realistic; you could tell the ‘fairies’ were made of bug parts glued into a frame if you looked closely. When I couldn’t find anyone else making what I wanted, I decided to fill that void with my own creations!

That said, I do plan on sculpting a ‘sleeping’ fairy in the near future to add to my shop, so keep an eye out for that, if you want to support me and my art, but aren’t interested in the macabre look of the rest of my pieces. You can find updates on all of my projects in either my Instagram or TikTok accounts, both linked at the bottom of the page, or you can sign up for news and updates by entering your email address in the field at the bottom of the page. 

Lots of people, actually!

I realize the macabre aesthetic of most of my sculptures isn’t for everyone, and that’s fine! I cater to a very specific niche. But for those who do like them, there aren’t many other sources for things like this. I know, I’ve looked!

Before I even started sculpting, I tried to find someone else who made what I was looking for, so I could support the artist that made them. But everything I found was not quite right. In the end, I decided that if I wanted something that fit the specific aesthetic I desired, I’d just have to make my own.

In the time since I started making these fairies, a number of other people have popped up with their own versions, which is always interesting to see!

I was (and still am!) surprised at just how many people want one of my fairies, and I’m grateful to every one of them for their kindness and support. I wouldn’t be here without them. ♥️