Visual Journey 33

December Reflected

Winter is slowly becoming my favorite season. Intentional reflection, rest, stillness, and always making things with what feels like more time, as everything is slowed down.

I’ve been working on so many things and not taking enough pictures…

What has December been like for you? Are you looking forward to the new Year or not quite ready to leave this one behind?

I think I’m a bit of both.

Experimenting with mordants-iron, vinegar and soda ash-to alter dyed linen and piano roll. The linen sat for 3 days in tea, coffee, turmeric and avocado resulting in very soft, subtle colors. They were drastically changed in the mordants. I’ve been slowly adding some stitching elements and playing around with how these will become a book.

Sharing a poem that I wrote last year in a fast flurry of a busy week. I was wrapped up in doing too many things and needed to

b r e a t h e, uninterrupted.

I snuck in about a half an hour before making dinner one evening and left my table with a poem and a grounded, revived feeling.

Reading it again reminded me that I am slowing down to feel everything. To remember, even though I am likely to forget bits.

Time Came and Met Me Today

Time Came and met me today.
Not a quiet reflection of bygone days,
a relic or a spiritual abstraction of grief or death or fear.
Time fierce and ghostly.
My path blocked - I had to stop
as she washed over me and laid me out to dry squeaky clean and dazed.
I was limp in her presence
Deafening, the silence.
Echoing in a vessel I built with my hands some time ago,
ethereal and airy.
Crestfallen and grasping to remember,
prolong her essence.
Time has left me effortlessly but I am filled with effort.
Collapsed under the intangible weight of her.

Workshops give all of us a few hours to slow down and enjoy calm, mindful creation. It seems that the more I allow the calm and rejuvenating experiences into my life, the more I continue to seek them. This is a simple and yet profound realization that has taken me decades to uncover.

Winter Solstice Lanterns at The Orchard in Patten, Maine. So special.

Our first gathering at The Library House at 228 State where we made Putz Houses that turned into a tiny Christmas Village. Connection and creation! Call or visit the Mark and Emily Turner Memorial Library to register for our next one on January 5th. Limited spots available for this free offering.

Grateful to each of you for being here with me on this ever unfolding and curious journey.

XXX Char

Looking ahead: I’m excited to share pictures of my first studio workshop with you next week!

Please check out my website and Instagram for workshops, events and art.