the little people, rackham, and the trees

     The images above are illustrations from Arthur Rackham, an extraordinary perception of nature, little people, and storytelling.  Another powerful reminder that trees are the roots to grand life here on earth is the writing from Ursula K. LeGuin.  
Direction of the Road from The Wind's Twelve Quarters, 1975
     The tree stands just south of the McMinnville bypass on Oregon State Highway 18.  It lost a major limb last year, and it has never failed to uphold Relativity with dignity and the skill of long practice.
     "They did not use to be so demanding.  They never hurried us into anything more than a gallop, and that was rare; most of the time it was just a jigjog foot-pace.  And when one of them was on his own feet, it was a real pleasure to approach him.  There was time to accomplish the entire act with style.
..I'd approach him steadily but quite slowly, growing larger all the time, synchronizing the rate of approach and rate of growth perfectly, so that at the very moment that I'd finished enlarging from a tiny speck to my full size--sixty feet in those days--I was abreast of him and hung above him, loomed, towered, over-shadowed him.  Yet he would show no fear.  Not even the children were afraid of me, though often they kept their eyes on me as I passed by and started to diminish."

kay nielson

Kay Nielsen (pronounced "kigh")(1886-1957)
was a Danish illustrator who was popular in the early 20th century,
the "golden age of illustration" which lasted from when Daniel Vierge 
and other pioneers developed printing technology to the point that 
drawings and paintings could be reproduced with reasonable facility.
He joined the ranks of Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac in 
enjoying the success of the gift books of the early 20th century.  
This fad lasted until roughly the end of World War II when economic 
changes made it more difficult to make a profit from elaborately 
illustrated books.

lutins

Arthur Rackham

Two girls were once forced to spend the night in a stable.
They were so tired that they immediately fell
into a deep sleep, dead to the world.
When morning came, they found that a Lutin had visited
them in the dark. Their hair was so tangled and knotted
that it was impossible to comb out.
All their 'lutined' locks had to be cut off.