I love animals. The greatest moments in my life involve animals. In fact, there isn’t a fond memory that I have that doesn’t somehow include animals or the natural world. It’s not surprising that my hobbies and artistic pursuits have always involved the animal world as well. Over time, my interests focused on needle felting and creating small friends that make me smile and bring joy to others. I’ve had my Woolnimals needle felting business for nearly a decade and it has been a huge source of happiness and relaxation for me. Shortly before I left college, I changed my major from English to Eco-Psychology. I began studying the connections between humans and the natural world. My studies focused on the understanding that direct experiences with wilderness and the natural world foster compassion and a sense of place. In turn, this sense of belonging fosters stewardship for the natural world. When we feel that we’re an important part of something, we tend to take care of it. We com...
It's been a while. A lot has happened. I have been absent from Etsy, from Blogger, and from art, really, for a while. Though it has been such a home for me for many years, in the last few months various circumstances in life and down-in-the-dumps moods have kept me from wanting to pursue beauty. Then, on July 14th, my father passed away unexpectedly. So, how do you go back to art? How do you go home again? I have tried writing and reading. I've tried seeking inspiration in nature, but as I watched rabbits bounce around the lawn every evening beyond the window where my father slept in hospice care, I turned away from the gentle and pervasive beauty of nature. Rabbits remind me of my broken heart, of many tears spilled, of my great loss. How do I go back? I want to honor him in some way. My father held a deep passion for the natural world. He was startled, mystified, inspired, humbled, and renewed by it. His long walks into the woods, his baths in cold streams, his pe...