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xphaiea.bsky.social
XPHAIEA
@xphaiea.bsky.social
Tom Cherry • Bedfordshire, UK

Textile artist inspired by folklore, myth, magic and the macabre ✨🌞

https://xphaiea.bigcartel.com/products
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‘You may think all this strange nonsense; it may be strange, but it is true, and the ancients knew what lifting the veil means. They called it seeing the god Pan.’ — Arthur Machen, ‘The Great God Pan’ (1894)

🎨Aubrey Beardsley, frontispiece, ‘The Great God Pan’
January 15, 2026 at 12:40 PM
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'Knowing I loved my books, he furnish'd me
From mine own library with volumes that
I prize above my dukedom.'

~William Shakespeare, 'The Tempest'

🎨Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale
#bookologythursday
January 15, 2026 at 1:35 PM
January 15, 2026 at 7:36 AM
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#portfolioday

I am Mark Jarrell, pen & ink fantasy illustrator. For my own realm as well as work for bands, publishers, etc. ⚔Fantasy obsessed ⚔
January 14, 2025 at 9:05 PM
#portfolioday

I'm a UK based textile and doll artist inspired by folk art, horror, fantasy and the surreal, with a strong emphasis on using recycled materials!

🔗 xphaiea.bigcartel.com
January 14, 2026 at 6:13 AM
January 11, 2026 at 8:57 AM
W o r k • I n • P r o g r e s s

#contemporarytextileart #embroidery #embroideryart
January 9, 2026 at 7:33 PM
Walk in the woods ✨
January 3, 2026 at 9:15 AM
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Moose/Elk in the Snow, John Bauer, 1912.
January 3, 2026 at 9:06 AM
January 1, 2026 at 10:03 AM
December 28, 2025 at 12:26 PM
December 27, 2025 at 12:49 PM
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NARROW WAY (1984)
Acrylic on Canvas - 30” x 20”

The greatest measure of my satisfaction as an illustrator comes when I produce an artwork that reflects my artistic concerns just as much as it illustrates the book. This painting is one of the best examples of that happy condition. 1/3
December 26, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Will Joanna Lumley be able to rescue Mark Gatiss' annual snoozefest ghost story for Christmas?
December 24, 2025 at 6:18 PM
misty sunset yesterday

#bedfordshire #mist #sunset #winter
December 23, 2025 at 8:30 AM
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‘The Shortest Day’ illustrations by Carson Ellis
December 21, 2025 at 9:22 AM
Beautiful morning skies over Bedfordshire ✨
December 22, 2025 at 6:41 AM
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The phrase “knock on wood” - or “touch wood” in the UK - is an ancient one deriving from the belief that tapping on trees awakes the gods and spirits that reside within them and brings good luck.
December 22, 2025 at 5:20 AM
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The Good Witch of the Wood
New folk art doll available on my website.
She is designed to look wonderfully weird and perfectly imperfect.
littlebirdofparadise.bigcartel.com/product/the-...

#WitchSky #art #originalart #handmade #bsnm
December 20, 2025 at 11:10 AM
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🍂❄️🍂Wintery Fae art - by Brian Froud
#WyrdWednesday #LegendaryWednesday #FolkloreThursday
December 17, 2025 at 11:24 AM
𝕭𝖑𝖔𝖔𝖉 𝕯𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖐𝖊𝖗

#art #acrylicpainting #horror
December 16, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Attempting to sew during this dark side of the year is tough, the light is only really good for a few hours and then it becomes harder to see 🧐 hence my scowl of concentration as I add some contrasting strands to this wig.

#textileartist #hello #sewing #handsewing #winter #xphaiea #dollartist
December 15, 2025 at 6:06 PM
#bookmail looking forward to reading this new @britishlibrary.bsky.social collection of #supernatural tales!
December 14, 2025 at 10:28 AM
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John Bauer (Sweden, 1882-1918) :
St. Lucia with Seven Candles, 1913

Swedish postage stamp design
Gouache on paper

Bauer's mystical, folklore-inspired style made this image an enduring symbol of Swedish Christmas and the Feast of St. Lucy (December 13th). Celebrating St Lucia’s Day today! 🕯️
More 👇
December 13, 2025 at 1:34 PM
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D
December 1, 2025 at 8:28 AM