Maureen Mitchell was an English teacher who’s love for fantasy and wild imaginings inspired many generations of scholars. Sadly, after a long battle with brain cancer, Maureen passed away in 2008. To help cope with her intense and consuming grief, Maureen’s daughter Kirsty Mitchell decided to create Wonderland, an ethereal fantasy world (a fitting tribute to her late mother)
In Kirsty’s words: ‘This escapism grew into the concept of creating an unexplained storybook without words, dedicated to her [my mother], that would echo the fragments of the fairytales she read to me constantly as a child.’
Apparently Kirsty’s magical characters appeared to her in her dreams – “it’s not often you get to stand beside an eight foot princess in the rain, or witness the dawn with a dancing circus girl on stilts!”
Inspired by these dream state apparitions Kirsty painstakingly hand made all the costumes, wigs, props and sets (thanks to her background in fashion and costume design). She also photographed all these whimsical scenes in and around her home in Surrey. No mean feat! So far it’s taken 3 years to accomplish this dream and soon she hopes to publish a book and end with a final exhibition of her work.
Isn’t it amazing what phenomenal things one can accomplish when pushed to the edge. You just need to know how to turn negative energy into something powerful and creative.
Read more about Kirsty’s Wonderland here and visit here site here