equipped
Seasonal letters on slow living, art and the homegrown kitchen
e·quipped. verb. supply with the necessary items for a particular purpose.
Dear reader,
It was said to me recently during playground conversation that my time (short) on getting a degree in art education gave me tools to use today. I have thought about this conversation many times in the last few days, one because this parent actually has no clue what my career even is and two because he is right. Each path and risk we take calculated or not gives us skills and tools that equipped us for our future self. What new paths or risks have you taken lately? I feel like I am ready to push myself creativity and take a few other calculated risks, what that looks like I have no clue?!
What I’m Creating
For the past year I have been make coconut earrings. They are super fun to design, saw, sand and put together. There are currently nine finished pairs in this collection, which include post earrings. I started with coconut earrings to get into the practice of making art again, something fun and something I already knew how to do.
The practice of making art seems like a funny thing to say, but it is exactly that. I am pushing myself (calculated risk) to not only commit to something, start to finish, I am trying to find time during the week to block out to make/create. That last part is the hardest part, everything else always feels more important than practicing these skills; dinner, laundry, my sourdough, meetings, etc.
In order to give myself some permission to leave the house a mess and go make art instead I wrote down two mantras I am posting in my studio:
“I am freaking superwoman. Look at ALL this I am handling. No one can do this like I can.”
“I believe all things are possible!”
Starting with something you already know how to make helps a lot and than use these skills/tools to try something new!
Curious your thoughts on “The practice of making art”?
What’s in Season (and why I love these little things)
Corn (not so little)! We have a great farmers market that has the best corn on the cob this year. I am debating if I should can some for winter. We don’t have the freezer space but who doesn’t love corn all season long for chili and corn chowder. I am all about harvest what I can locally or from my own garden before winter, we just finished up a batch of dilly beans!
Garlic planting season is almost upon us, our favorite variety to plant is Music and yes we will be planting it earlier than last year! Read about that here —>
Small traditions
Weekly sourdough feeding: when life got a little busier while working outside the home, my sourdough “Tubby” was put in the refrigerator. I am trying to revive Tubby and thankfully I also received a backup from my sister. So far not much change, but I know it will take some time and I am happy to wait for Tubby’s comeback. I am trying to convert my sisters gifted one into gluten free using light buckwheat and rice flour, but I keep running into mold within a day. I will try moving the sourdough away from the hot kitchen and see what happens. I am looking forward to fall bread baking and if you are looking for great sourdough recipes, check out this gem from Sugar House Workshop called Sourdough, Volume 4.
We just hatched out a Monarch butterfly a few weeks ago! As a kid we would always search for caterpillars and I remember seeing chrysalis hanging in my grandmothers kitchen window. It was like magic how they would hang there by her string, transforming themselves into butterfly. We have gotten in the habit of collecting the eggs because we have often found the caterpillars disappear from the garden, most likely eaten, sadly. But this is a tradition I look forward to each year and now is the time we see the butterflies taking their last nectar to fly away “home.”
Off the Shelf
This section will be fun things, ingredients, books, podcasts, music and more.
I listened to this interview of Michelle Rohr of The Secret O.W.L. Society on the The Tillage Podcast twice, and after the second time I took a deep breath. It made me think about how I can slow things down even more in my life. My favorite takeaways “When you focus on yourself more it helps other,” “Love yourself before growing your business” and “Slow down to start up.” Pair that episode with this one and you will be ready to roll —> The Marie Forleo Podcast
Other things Lunar Whispers may include in the future include: Shop updates and Poetry. Hope you enjoy reading these as much as I am having fun writing them.
Yours truly,
Ashley