Why I Do What I Do
Hello!
As a longtime lover of snail mail, opening a shop with which to personally send handmade goods to your own mailbox has been a dream come true. I love being home and making a home, and am thankful for the opportunities I have to live slowly, authentically, and purposefully within it.
My grandmothers were artists in their own ways, one with choosing fiber and colors and commissioning woven blankets for all of her many grandchildren; the other with mixed media art mediums such as watercolor and pastels. My mother also enjoyed creating, and has every wall in her home showcasing her beautiful needlepoint. Making at home, by hand and with heart, is a legacy I hope to pass on to each of my nine children.
Having sold my Macomber, I now use a smaller Gilmore floor loom to weave, using natural materials in my handwoven goods such as a variety of wool, cotton, linen, alpaca, hemp, and nettle. Some of my handwovens are created with handspun yarns that I spin using either one of my drop spindles (many vintage or handmade from right here on Etsy) or my previously owned Schacht spinning wheel. Most of my stitching is done with my 1946 Singer Featherweight. I love using fiber tools that other makers have created their own goods with; my absolute favorite shuttle still has the family name written upon it. I feel working with these vintage tools connects me to these lovely people, and I am honored to continue their craft.
The best way to preserve your handwoven goods is to hand wash in cool temperatures, with a gentle pH neutral wash, then lay flat to dry. All cotton hand towels are meant to be hard wearing, and can be thrown into the laundry with your other kitchen linens. To extend their life, dry on low heat.
My artwork helps me to engage with life, and is a reflection of my faith. Most of them have many, many layers…just like your life and mine. I usually begin with an abstract base of color and collage, and then let my emotions or whatever my mind has been meditating on guide what will come from the abstraction. This entails quite a bit of building, then taking away, the layers. I enjoy using acrylics, watercolor, pastel, inks, charcoal, marker, stamps (more so homemade now), markers. I use my hands just as much as my brushes. I usually have no idea when I begin what my piece is going to look like or be about. In the end, I just let it be as it wants.
To best preserve your original art or art print, keep out of direct sunlight.
My hope is that the goods and artwork I make will help you to make your own home beautiful, and that they will inspire you to perhaps take up your own meditative making with which to bless others and the makers yet to come after you.
You can follow my blog at https://ahappyhomemedia.substack.com. You can also find my books on Amazon.
Thank you for your interest in, and support for, my work.
