Handmade

Handmade

“Without art, true creative symbols, the world would go mad and perish of sorrow. Art cannot be a substitute for an ugly world; it must be our guide to the choosing and creation of a new and more beautiful reality.” Lavelle Foos

Handwork has been my companion and often my coping mechanism since I was a young child. My mother taught me to knit when I was 6 and I made clothes for my Barbie doll. When I was pregnant, I made clothes for my child. And now, I knit for myself. I make quilts, jewelry, scrapbooks, gardens, Christmas gifts, food, drawings, and books. I treasure the handmade life, making a life, because it is a true expression of my heart. The creative process is the life process. Out of necessity or as an artistic expression, or both, I have focused my life around what I have and will produce with my hands.

Guided by the Divine Feminine in the form of Hestia, goddess of hearth and home, I value the time needed to create these masterpieces. And that is what they are. Whether I knit towels to dry my delicate skin, or sew placemats upon which I nourish my body, or clothing which keeps me warm on the coldest days, they are all pieces of art. This is slow living, valuing every creative inspiration and ounce of energy required to make a thing of utility and beauty. Living a beautiful life is living a handmade life. And that is what I am.

The click of knitting needles, the whoosh of fabric as it grazes the tabletop at which I sit. The whir of my sewing machine, the hum of my gas stove as I stir a pot of soup, the snap of jewelry wire or uncapping a glue stick at the scrapbooking counter. The scents, sounds, and sensations accompany each of my days, and I know I am living my best life.

“When our eyes see our hands doing the work of our hearts, the circle of creation is completed inside us, the doors of our souls fly open & love steps forth to heal everything in sight.” Michael Bridge