Things change.
More importantly, people change, expanding or contracting to fit in their current circumstances. In my case – as you’re probably aware if you’ve been following me for a while – I had to contract for quite a while, and when I was ready to start expanding again, it was in different directions than I’d been following.
I had to rest the parts of me that I’d been concentrating on previously, while I healed and worked on figuring out what I can and can’t do well these days.
Thing about healing with a chronic illness is that sometimes you never fully heal. Crohn’s Disease can go into remission, but currently there is no cure. I have not been able to achieve remission yet. After my second surgery I had hopes that I would be on that path but the surgery eliminated one [big] problem and introduced some new ones, and that has changed the way that I approach everything now.
I’ll be honest.
his entire year I tried to fight it. I had my last two surgeries in autumn of last year and I did my best to get back to who I used to be in that time between then and now, but I haven’t been successful. Trust me when I say that I hate it, I’ve struggled against it: I want the me that I used to be back.
But that ain’t happening, y’all.
I wrote about it to some length on my blog about living with my illness, Hid and Sick, if you want to read more about how I’m working through it and how it makes me feel.
I spun for the first time in months this week, which is a sentence I would never have said before I got sick. It was glorious to be behind the wheel again, but even with an electric wheel I was tired after spinning just two yarns. That’s to be expected, of course. I don’t have the stamina that I used to have! But they are lovely yarns indeed, and I’ll be using them in the weaving project I’d backburnered a while ago but now feel like I can tackle again. It’s a simple tapestry weaving in mostly blues and greens, very soothing. I think simple weaves like that can be my stepping stones back into a regular fiber arts practice.
Other things that have changed for me include how I approach my work and focus for Three Ravens Studio. You might notice that it’s now Three Ravens Studio & Press. That’s because my personal imprint I use for publishing my books is also Three Ravens. I incorporate it all under the umbrella of “House of Three Ravens” as I always have. But what does that mean, you might ask?
I’ve always been a multifaceted artist, right?
It’s not just fiber arts, it’s arts of all kinds. I incorporate natural and magical elements into my work, because that’s part of my personal aesthetic. Before I worked with fibers I made bath & body products using herbs and oils and less processed ingredients, because that matters to me. I talk about the philosophy of my approach to art and life, and I am open and accessible when it comes to my personal processes, both in personal growth and business.
I am also exhausted by the constant push to Do Capitalism. What I mean by that is that there’s always this pressure to sell what you make, to do more and do it faster, to constantly be marketing yourself and what you do to the point where it makes me not want to do shit, quite honestly.
I trust you, my potential patrons, to purchase what you like from me when you see it without me pitching it to you endlessly, relentlessly. I’m more interested in including you on my journey to build back my mindful, creative fiber practice, and maybe have you join me as I explore ways of finding beauty and inspiration. That’s my goal now: not making things with the end goal of people buying them, but sharing my journey with my followers and offering what I make for sale with no pressure.
So that’s the point of this long-ass post.
I’m going to begin showing you all the ways that I’ve changed my approach to making art and living life artfully. I’ll try and give you lots of inspiration and access to what I’m doing and creating. And I’ll keep being a fiber rebel, and an art rebel – and look for you to join me!
Ready for some [probably very couch based] adventures?
If you feel inclined to support me on this journey, you can join my Patreon! There I can offer my experiments, share private videos where I talk about processes – and you’ll get first dibs at anything I’m offering for sale, too. Your input can help guide where I might go and what you get to see!
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