One year in…

It’s been one year since I quit my job and began my creative sabbatical. (!!)

It’s hard to summarize everything that happened in the past year. But here are some tidbits:

• I joined a quilt guild (SVMQG) and a makerspace (Maker Nexus).

• I attended 18 classes and workshops. That doesn’t include the one I’m currently enrolled in, the equipment trainings at the makerspace, and the ones I’m sure I forgot! I also started a page to aggregate the workshops and craft schools I’ve attended over the years.

• My weavings and quilts have been shown in 5 shows – and have been rejected from many others.

• I visited 9 states outside California.

• I’ve read (well, listened to) 19 books.

• I started so many new lines of creative inquiry. Letterpress, woodworking, laser cutting, gardening, tapestry weaving, eco printing, rust dyeing, warp painting, and more. Some of these feel so natural that it’s hard to believe they weren’t part of my life for years.

• I wrote 30 blog posts… not including this one!

• I redid my website, adding portfolio pages for cloth and paper and the beginnings of an artist bio.

I spend my days in new ways. I’m frequently out in the backyard, wearing a ridiculous hat and rainbow crocs, watering, pruning, and tending to my dye garden. I don’t spend as much time at my makeshift dye kitchen… but I’m guessing that will change as my plans die and weather turns cold.

I’m at the makerspace once a week, often in the woodshop or getting to know the lasers cutters. So much potential here.

Some things never change though… most days you’ll still find me in my studio/office with Ghostie purring on my lap.

Year of Stories recent read: Art and Fear by David Baylis and Ted Orland