I thought I'd pop on the other side of the camera for a change and say "Hi! How are you doing?" I really hope you are well as we dive into the darkest, coldest part of the year.
It's time for me to slow down and reflect on my journey so far. I find it so easy to look forward to the next project, the next creation, the next challenge. I rarely look behind and take the time to say, "Wow! Look at all the amazing things I have done, the places I have been and the people I have met." In this post I'm going to share some of my favourite things with you; most of them I have made myself.
In the first photo I'm wearing a cardigan made for me by my wonderful friend, Catriona the crochet queen. Trina does incredible things with wool and a crochet hook. I'm in awe of her talents. And very warm when wearing one of her handmade pieces! I'm also wearing a pendant I carved from bone during a bone carving workshop held here in Melbourne a couple of years ago. The bone is from a cow and was prepared by the teacher prior to the class. Using bone as a material fits with my ethos of using the whole of an animal we have killed to eat and wasting none of its precious gift.
The green bag you can see in the second photo is from The Village Continuum festival where I have taught shoe making and Introduction to Leather Craft to lots of lovely folk. I got the bag the year I was part of the crew organising the festival and it was a wonderful experience to be co-creating such an amazing event. The bag holds some of my favourite pieces.
Peeping out of the bag on the right are a pair of orange leather shoes. I was inspired to make them after teaching shoe making and seeing the amazing designs created by my students, They're a little scuffed and worn but I love them just them the same. They are my favourite pair of soft soled moccasins. When I wear them my feet feel so loved and held.
Next to the shoes is a wool scarf I dyed at the very first Wild By Nature Village Camp run by Firekeepers. It was my first time teaching eco-dyeing to a large group of people and the first time I dyed wool on an open fire. Lots of firsts! There's been a lot of scarves since then (you can never have too many scarves, right?) but this one is still my favourite!
The basket at the back of the bag is made from raffia given to me by Meli, a very dear friend. Learning a new craft is always a wonderful experience and basket weaving is the most recent addition to my craft skill set.
All these handmade items are wrapped up with memories, song, laughter and love. It's wonderful to have things to wear and use that I have made with other people. Using them connects me to my past, the people I shared it with and the place where we made beautiful and useful objects together.
The third photo is a tiny Australian wildflower. I love the way our native flowers are unobtrusive. To see them you really have to look closely or you will miss them. Like a lot of beauty in life – sit still and look and you will see.
I hope you're well and I really appreciate you taking the time to read my musings on the creative process. Thanks for joining me on my adventures!