Wooly Snow Days

I do love a good snow day! As a native of Colorado, I remember with great fondness the joy of a snow day. Skipping school, eating warm soup, staying in my pajamas and building a fort! We had a good snow day here this past week, and while I did stay in my bath robe most of the morning, I never got around to building a blanket fort, which I now regret. There is a rejuvenating silliness involved in fort making.

When I have a day set aside by weather or headache or a dead car battery, you will likely find me in my studio, working with wool. That is what happened on my good snow day this week, and it was a delightful way to spend that cold day. I worked on a bluebird that I've made before, specifically into a sweet pincushion that I like.

It is hopeful to contemplate bluebirds on a snow day!

Whether or not you are given a good excuse to stay home and nestle down, I hope you get a chance to relax today. I'd love to hear about the last time you pushed all the dining room chairs into the middle of the living room and made a blanket fort!

Everyone deserves a chance to Nestle and Soar today!

Where in the world?

Wool and Wine are on my mind!

I think I got lost somewhere in the world of too much busyness...but I am back now and wool is my total focus!

My wool folk art is part of both my waking and dreaming states these days. I have limited the focus of my etsy shop --- http://www.nestleandsoar.etsy.com/ --- to my wool items. I don't know how long this total artistic fasincation in wool will last. It is such a versatile material, I cannot see the end, so that makes me happy! My etsy shop was starting to look like a garage sale; a little bit of everything on sale. I hope that you love wool, too. I would really enjoy talking to you about it!

If you'd like to see how I combine Wool and Wine, visit my shop for a tasty treat...

Everyone deserves a chance to Nestle and Soar!

Trying New Things

It has been a few days since I visited my blog, or anyone's blog, for that matter. When a series of busy days present themself, it is difficult to get all the way down the list.

I try to make time for new experiences, and that can eat up my day. I think trying new things is vital to an interesting life. I can get in a rut as good as anybody, and there is some comfort in having a predictable day. But do you really want to be repetitive?

I am trying new things with needle felting. I know that sounds incredible and way out on the limb--but I do what I can! Folk art, like any kind of art, is really not new even when it is labeled contemporary. Folk art actually is charming when it reminds us of the past. My needlefelted folk art requires new things of me all the time though. And experiementation in art is the only new thing my busy schedule has allowed this week.

Maybe next week I will have time to try a new wine, or visit a town I've never been to, or make a new friend? I'm hoping that happens...

I am attaching a photo of a needlefelted purse that is a work in progress. This is my first attempt, and there is still a lot to learn! You can see all of my folk art and graceful treasures at http://nestleandsoar.etsy.com/. I hope you will visit soon!

Soft Energy

Can energy really be soft? Isn't energy about energizing, vigorous action, and potential forces?

A synonym for energy is strength. Can you think of strength and power in combination and still think of the word "soft"?

My heart tells me that animals like birds know soft energy because they can glide. They can move forward with great strength while yielding or relaxing in the breeze. Mothers can use soft energy when they gather up their strength and power in patience toward an ill child. I've felt soft energy in my folk art when I am gently persistent with organic fibers that would melt away should I be agressive as I twist and turn them.

When I sew patchwork I think about the amazing difference that is seen with incremental change over time. In patchwork, we sew using a 1/4" seam allowance. If that seam is larger than 1/4" wide, the resulting patchwork block will be way too small. And this happens if the seam allowance is just slightly wider than 1/4"! This is incremental change over time in action. There are many seams in a patchwork block, so this small error in seam width becomes magnified.

Perhaps that is another way I think about soft energy. Gentle effort can have a profound impact. Like a gliding bird, or a comforting mom, or a quilter at the sewing machine, we can take focused action that is small yet powerful.

How do you think of this?

I am attaching a photo of a patchwork tote I made using many small seams and soft fabrics. It is quite sturdy however, and can handle a successful trip to the grocery store or library with ease! All of my folk art can be seen at http://nestleandsoar.etsy.com.

Hope to talk with you soon!

Have a little faith...

I suspect that all artists have had to develop faith. I am not thinking of an organized religion kind of faith, although there are likely lots of those folks who are artists. I'm speaking more of faith as a belief in the value of what is created.

I like to connect in my heart and mind with creative energy, and I believe that what I make is going to speak to or please others. This is faith to me. It is also like religious faith, in my mind, as submitting to the goodness of creative energy happens in my studio like it does in church.

I also have faith that leading the life of a contemporary folk artist is a path that will support me. I have faith in the life of art.

Sometimes art does not seem practical. When people are trying so hard to feed their family and educate their kids, is there really a place for art or the expense of art? Perhaps it is during the times of greatest struggle that having a life filled with beauty is most important?

If you are an artist, how do you think about all of this?

I am really into birds and so I am including today a photo of felt nest I made. It is light and woven by making felt from wool yarn. The eggs are wooden and handpainted. If you like this nest, you can see more of them at http://nestleandsoar.etsy.com/

I hope you have a beautiful day!

A beginning...

Hello.

When I think of Nestle And Soar, I imagine the soft energies of relaxing into the comfort of a real hug or the feeling of gliding up above the clouds, on a breeze that keeps me afloat.

So I named my artistic experience Nestle And Soar because I want to use my imagination to animate the folk art and treasures I create with this soft energy. That gives me great joy.

Lately, and thus this blog, I have realized that my folk art is just one way that my life is charmed with Nestle And Soar. It is also fully a part of my spiritual experience, as well as my human life.

This blog is the place I have decided to investigate how this soft energy really matters to me. I am hopeful that it will matter to others--perhaps even to you. I invite you to have a dialogue with me and others who find this blog. I look forward to hearing about your experience with the energy of nestle and soar. I think it would be great to learn from each other.

I am including today a photo of one of my folk art pillows. I call it Red Bird -- super clever of me! It's how I started on this investigation and I honor that by including it here. You can see more of my folk art and graceful treasures at http://www.nestleandsoar.etsy.com.

I do believe that everyone deserves the chance to nestle and soar in their own way. I wish that for you and I wish you well.