Maria creates art using collage, paint, pen and ink and pencil. Her artwork is often based upon imagery found in stories. Prints are available to purchase.
Maria also runs art workshops and offers individual tutoring. Details of upcoming art workshops can be found in “Events”
Art and storytelling entwined – “Once Upon a Time”
The Museum of Cannock Chase, Staffordshire UK 20th July until 20th August 2023
The Once Upon a Time exhibition combines Art and Storytelling. It features visual and textile art which I have been inspired to create after telling and listening to traditional stories. Visitors can scan the QR code next to the pictures to hear stories from Maria Credali, Dave Tonge, Giles Abbott, Riikka Palonen, Sharon Carr, Alastair Daniel and Maria Gillen. I know you too will experience the almost magical conjuring of visions inside your own mind’s eye.
There are fairy tale artifacts to touch and explore for both children and adults. There are riddles for young and old, but beware – you might not find all of the answers! You are invited to read some of the wisdoms traditionally found in old stories which have been hidden inside the iconic cloak and you are warmly invited to add your own little nuggets of advice for a good life, for others to find.
Workshops to accompany the exhibition.
1st August “The Red Cloak” Water colour art workshop where you can find out more about the earliest versions of Little Red Riding Hood as you paint the brave hero herself entering the misty forest.
6th August “Cinderella’s Slippers” Textile art workshop where you can find out more about the earliest versions of the Cinderella story and create your own tiny magical slipper.
The exhibition is free to access and all are welcome. For more information or to book onto one of the workshops, please contact the Museum or myself at mariacredali@yahoo.co.uk. (charges apply for workshops and places are strictly limited). An online catalogue will soon be available.
If you are interested in hosting a similar exhibition at your venue, please get in touch.
Please wander, look, listen, touch and share your own ideas. Enjoy!
Catalogue Excerpt. Prices are in pounds sterling. Postage rate for prints is a flat £5.99 regardless of how many images are purchased to the same address. Please get in touch to confirm which print you are ordering, arrange payment and to confirm postal address. Signed copies are available at a £6 supplement to cover extra postage. Originals which are available for purchase will have an additional postage, please get in touch to discuss.
Nell’s Wolf
Open edition giclee print 6×8 inches £25 9×12 inches £40
Once I had heard Nell Phoenix tell the earliest versions of Little Red Riding Hood , I could not get the image of this wolf out of my head. He scritched and he scratched away at the back of my skull until I pinned him down onto canvas under a million scraps, and captured his cunning in cut paper.
The Witch Crow
Open edition giclee print 6×8 inches £25 9×12 inches £40
This fearful and furious crow is all that remains of a very wicked witch. She got her just comeuppance and was turned into a crow. She is destined to watch over battle fields from that day to this…crawling amongst the corpses to eat her fill…
The Great White Bear
Open edition giclee print 6×8 inches £25 9×12 inches £40
This gentle and chivalrous bear padded into my mind as I listened to Giles Abbott tell “East of the Moon west of the sun. This picture is an example of the way that a really well developed character can have a life of its own in the imagination long after the story has finished. Here we find the bear pondering the evening ahead as he waits for the stars to rise so that he can slip off his bear skin and transform into his true form – a handsome prince, of course.
You can listen to Giles telling part of the story by clicking on the link below.
You can also hear the rest of the story and browse Giles’ other storytelling works by visiting his website gilesabbott.com
Fox and crow
Open edition giclee print 6×8 inches £25 9×12 inches £40
When I was a little girl, my mum would take me to the library often. One of the books I remember taking out again and again was the ladybird book of Aesop’s Fables. I had almost forgotten the tale of the Fox and the Crow when I heard Dave Tonge’s wonderful version. Not only was I delighted to rediscover the original story, but also to note the beautiful language and rhythm in Dave’s telling. Dave, otherwise known as the Yarnsmith of Norwich has a rich warm voice which matches his mastery of words. The image is mine, the words are his. You can hear him tell this story by clicking on the link below.
Dave’s excellent books can be found at The History Press website, and you can find out more by visiting his Facebook site
https://www.facebook.com/dave.tonge.3
The Fish who was a Prince
Open edition giclee print 6×8 inches £25 9×12 inches £40
Alastair Daniel tells the traditional tale “The Fsiherman and his Wife” with great humour, using props, puppets, lots of animation and repetition. The image that his telling conjured in my mind was almost in the glorious technicolour of films from the 1950s….and it was a simple image in bright colours that would appeal to younger children. This is the moment when the fish (who of course is in fact a prince) has just been released by the fisherman…. Hear more form Alastair at
Home | Talking Storytelling | Alastair Daniel | Story Tent | London (akdaniel.co.uk)
Listen to Alastair tell this very entertaining story here
The Nature of Fear
Open edition giclee print 6×8 inches £25 9×12 inches £40
When Canadian born storyteller Sharon Carr told this tale, I felt as if it was speaking to me personally. It speaks of a dragon who no-one can vanquish which seems to loom larger every day until the queen builds up the courage to face it. A truly magical and meaningful story. Look up Sharon Carr online for more stories..
Listen to Sharon telling parts of her tale here
The Murmuration
Open edition giclee print 6×8 inches £25 9×12 inches £40
I love watching the starlings swoop and curve in their murmurations. There is a huge colony which roosts not far from where I live and each autumn they will gather and perform the most amazing aerial acrobatics just before the sun sets.
Maria Gillen is an Irish storyteller based in Cork. She co-created a wonderful story with people attending her workshop at the Irish Forest School Association. Her lovely lilting Irish voice painted this image into my mind as I listened.
Hear more of Maria’s stories by visiting her website storyfromseeds.com
Riikka’s Bear
Open edition giclee print 6×8 inches £25 9×12 inches £40
Finnish storyteller Riikka Palonen introduced me to the wonderful folk tales of her country when we met at the Marrakech International Storytelling Festival. Many of the Finnish folk tales feature the animals and ecology of the forest. This particular story features a huge, shaggy brown bear. Or is it a bear? Perhaps if you look deep into his eyes you will find humanity waiting there for you. Find out more about Riikka by visiting her website
Riikka Palonen – Artist , Storyteller, Artisan
Watch Riikka tell the story in a forest in Finland by clicking on the link below.
Is a bear really a bear… – YouTube
The Baker’s Daughter
Open edition giclee print 6×8 inches £25 9×12 inches £40
This is a story which occurs across several cultures and high lights the importance of kindness in particular, to strangers. The baker’s daughter slights a poor old woman by refusing to give her a scrap of bread. If you know anything about stories you will know that the old woman is of course a witch in disguise, who wreaks her revenge by turning the girl into a tawny owl, destined to search forever through the night for scraps of food, forever calling “Who will help me? Who, whoooo”
Sleeping Selkie
Open edition giclee print 6×8 inches £25 9×12 inches £40
Selkies are the Celtic version of mermaids and feature in many Scottish traditional tales. Casting off their seal skins when they come onto the shore to dance by the light of the moon, they are often prevented from returning to the sea by fishermen who steal their skins away and take the selkie for a human bride….if you have ever seen a seal gazing up at you from the sea, or heard them singing, you will wonder…..
Reynard
Open edition giclee print 6×8 inches £25 9×12 inches £40
Raynard the fox is a legendary trickster fox in old French tales, who gets up to all sorts of mischief. His stories are humorous and clever – and I had to collage his rich trickery onto canvas.
Little Red Riding Hood
Open edition giclee print 6×8 inches £25 9×12 inches £40
Today, Little Red Riding Hood is portrayed as a naïve victim who is rescued by the wood cutter. But did you know that the earliest versions of this tale speak of a resourceful young woman who escapes kidnapping, transforming herself from victim to heroine with the help of her female community? It’s time we remembered the red cloak for what it really is – a symbol of a powerful woman. I wanted this image to show the vulnerability and bravery of a young woman who knows she lives in a dangerous world, and goes out to meet it regardless.
Actaeon
Open edition giclee print 6×8 inches £25 9×12 inches £40
Actaeon was a Greek hunter who was so proud, so boastful of his hunting skills, and so very greedy. His current form in this picture is a result of his encounter with Diana, goddess of the hunt. Look up the story of Actaeon and Diana to find out what on earth happened, but be warned, it’s a bit gory!
Maria Credali 