"Fairies are known to live far longer than mortals, and it is only once in 100 years a baby is born among them. Therefore, in fairy land, there is no treasure as precious as a child. This painting was inspired by an old black and white photograph of Mary's oldest daughter Valerie when she was about 18 months old. She had just had her bath and was wrapped up in a fluffy pink towel, when Mary was distracted for a moment by the phone. When she turned back around, Valerie, still pink and dewy from her bath, had fallen peacefully asleep, and Mary, of course, ran quickly for her camera. When I came across this picture again, years later, I knew immediately that she would become my first fairy baby; the perfect face to prove away the old myth that fairies sometimes steal human babies and leave, in their place, their own babies, or "changelings". Mary says that fairies love all babies far too much to ever play such tricks, though they have, she says, been known to sneak into nurseries and tickle a baby's feet, or whisper profound secrets in their ears. This is why babies are sometimes found kicking and giggling even when they appear to be all by themselves.