Healing Handcrafting

Category Archives: Handcrafting


by Leave a comment

Co-creating after death

My mom was a very talented artist. She had an eye for alluring shapes, luscious textures, intricate details that could easily be missed if one didn’t stop to look closely at whatever-it-was. In Florida, we lived on a bayou and the whole back of the tiny house on stilts opened to a view of it, tree and mangrove lined. The bird life there was epic. Alligators glided through the water, occasionally lumbering up the bank into our yard. Oh, do I have some stories about them.

Much of what my mom made included materials found in our yard or on the island. She had this uncanny ability to use the natural contours of something to house or nestle around little sculptures she’d make, usually faces. Once, when I went home for a visit after I’d moved to Vermont, one of the walls in the open space in the middle of our house was adorned with her pieces of art. I was breath-taken. They were exquisite. I went directly into agent-mode, wanting her to get her work into local galleries. I wanted everyone to see what I saw.

After my mom died, eight years ago now, many of the materials she used in her art ended up with me. One piece in particular has hung on the wall in my studio for a long time. It is a material that comes from palm trees and is like netting or burlap. It’s the most amazing material, woven by nature, strong, pliable, beautiful. I’ve wanted to make something with it for years but nothing was coming to me so I let it simply be itself.

Last week, I was in the midst of repurposing a piece I’d made about a year ago for an art exhibit. It was fabric of very fine grey linen, knitted loosely. I wanted it to be something else and was letting myself play. After treating it with a stiffening agent so it didn’t unravel in my hands, I moved it around and “asked” what it wanted to be and netting came to mind. As I sat at my table strewn with materials, I thought about my mom. Then, I invited her to play. What does that mean? I welcomed her to participate in what I was doing. I talked to her in my mind and imagined how she might have approached what I was doing. Then, I remembered the palm netting. It was at that moment when I felt, “oh cool, we’re making something together”. And then I got to it.

When people ask me how I use fiber art or handcrafting to process grief or life events, I know I answer the question, and I have a lot of things to show for my efforts. But in the moments I’m describing here, I got to observe myself while in the process of doing it, and I wanted to share some things that came clear to me. I believe anyone can do this, with whatever materials they have on hand, whether they or their loved ones were/are artistically inclined or not. And by the way, I truly believe all humans are creative beings. Creativity is not just for some people. It is an energy and a gift available to all of us because it resides in us.

Why am I sharing a personal moment like this in such a public way? Because I think about grief and love all the time, and help people process their own when I can. And I can tell you with absolute confidence, creating while in the mindset of connecting with a loved one* or processing grief does something. Many things. Here’s some details:

~ It creates a space in which you can think about and talk to your loved one.
~ It can be playful, which benefits our mental and physical health tremendously. You can read about that here.
~ It fosters the bond between you and the one you are grieving – read about continuing bonds as described by Dennis Klass here.
~ It’s a worthwhile effort, even when the relationship was painful or your grief is complex.
~ You make something meaningful to you. There’s no getting it right or wrong.
~ New thoughts, emotions, and understandings have a way of coming forth when you allow the time and space for them to emerge. When this happens in a creative zone that utilizes some form of action (art making, cooking, gardening, singing/playing music, writing), these shifts are metabolized through the body. All the thoughts and emotions are no longer only housed in the mind, but flow through the body, which can lead to greater peace.
~ You might be able to repurpose things that would otherwise be stuck in a drawer or thrown away.
~ You hang out with yourself, which is something I highly recommend. You are worth your own attention.

unfinished co-created piece by my mom and me

This new co-created piece between me and my mom is not finished yet. It’s hanging in my studio in a spot that is important to me and commands my attention. I find myself looking at it and feeling all of the textures and imagining what it will be when it is finished. There’s no rush to get it done and I suppose this is a chance for me to just be in my thoughts with and about my mom. It’s an ongoing invitation…

Until next time… ~ bradie

* I often use the term “loved one” to refer to the person we are grieving. This is not to imply that all has to wonderful and conflict-free in terms of the relationship one had with the deceased person. I should figure out a new way to refer to the person who has died that allows for imagining processing all loss creatively, not just the loss of someone we had a generally good relationship with. It is possible to do this, and is very valuable. Even if grief is complicated, there are ways to work it out through creative expression.


by 2 Comments

Summoning Creativity #1

One of the things I love about teaching is that it keeps my mind fully engaged with what I’m talking about and trying to share with other people. Something that comes up often in classes is how connected or disconnected people feel from their own creativity. On occasion, people have asked if I could offer prompts to help keep momentum going and I do it for a while, but then forget over time (same thing with working out! there must be something to unpack there). This is my attempt to not let such a request fall by the wayside.

Here’s how it will work (this is my fantasy as of now- keep me honest if slack!):

  • On the first of each month, I’ll offer some thought, idea, inspiration that is centered on summoning energy from the bottomless creative well we all have within us. I’m thinking monthly because honestly, we need time to let ideas steep and take hold, let alone play with the ideas in an effort of making/creating.
  • Some months will have insights from others who tend to their creative landscape, some will be my own thoughts, some will address those pesky things that can get in the way of efforts such as these.
  • These will never be over-complicated or expensive suggestions.
  • I’ll continue this for as long as there is something useful to say.
  • Welcomed: if you have things you do that keep your creative life energized and flowing, and you’d like to participate in the conversation, please write, comment, share! I love co-creating efforts to lift the veil off our own artistry.
  • Suggestion & Request: if you are into this idea and want to make sure not to miss one, follow this here blog! My goal is to get out a new summoning each month. And, share this with others who you think might be interested! (at the bottom of each page on this site there is a place to subscribe).

Summoning Creativity #1

These are two suggestions I’ve used in my classes and I wanted to share them here. Hope you enjoy them!

1. Make a List– make a list of 25 things that you love. Leave the list in a place where you will continue to see it and let it work on you. Are there things on your list that nudge you a little? Or pull you a little bit? Just notice what happens as you spend time with your list, imagining these loved things. Don’t overcomplicate this. It could be a color. A smell. A temperature or moisture level of the air… just tune in. Then, move towards…

2. Nurture Your Inner Judge~ aka the fear-monger– most of us have a “voice” that pops up and tells us things when we are in new territory, especially when we feel vulnerable, exposed, frustrated… I read something a while ago that really resonated with me, and it was this: our inner critic is trying to protect us from harm. When it senses we are stepping out of our comfort zone, it tries to reel us back in because it doesn’t want us to experience something that is painful, scary, or embarrassing. Chances are, this fear-monger showed up for us when we were little, and it had an important job to do. The thing about this judgy fear-monger is, it doesn’t know when to stop. And I wonder if it doesn’t know what to do with itself when it sees us taking steps into new terrain. It reminds me of how I’ve felt when my kids tried new things like skateboarding, snowboarding, etc. Inside I wished they’d just stay safe and not put themselves in harm’s way. Every part of me wanted to keep yelling, “Be careful! Slow down! STOP!!!” So I had to work on dealing with my own fear while helping them know how to responsibly do the things they want to do. This is how I think about my own inner judge. 

Now, when I hear my inner judge piping-up, I address it directly. I let it know, “we are safe and I’m just playing. Nothing bad will happen, even if what I’m making doesn’t turn out how I want it to.” I let it know that it can join me in the play and sometimes, if I remember, I thank it for trying to protect me, but that it doesn’t need to at the moment. It also doesn’t need to be banished. It can be reshaped into something more gentle. That’s when I find myself thinking about vulnerability and creativity, and where they intersect. 

For this prompt, I just ask for you to notice your fear-monger. What does it say? How have you dealt with it so far? Can you invite it to relax and look around, and see that it’s safe to explore and play?

Until next time… bradie


by Leave a comment

Playing with Woven Material and Flowers

I’ve been busy in my studio seeing through ideas that are a continuation of themes I’ve been hanging with for a while now. I just can’t seem to get enough of loosely woven wooly fabric. I love weaving it. I love playing with it. I love how it is the perfect backdrop for a stem, a stick, a branch…

There is an Open Studio event where my space is tomorrow and I am looking forward to it. There have been a lot of projects in the flow, some of which are completed, one big one that is almost done that I’ll write about separately, and two that have finally gotten dislodged from my mind and set to looms. What a relief!

I think that’s one of the best parts of making… having an idea and finally getting it into action. Why does it take so long sometimes?


by Leave a comment

Sweeping Away and The Wild Bits

little bits of everything
here and there
this and that
brooms sweeping away what is not ours
inviting a hold on what is
thresholds beckoning
then not letting go
interlacements revealing
the over-under dance



by Leave a comment

Playing with my Ancestors

In my space
circling around materials and ideas
I found my great-grandparents
Not all but some,
And then it started.
Do you like this color?
Did you have this flower in your garden
That was in the back of your little house
Where you made my brother and me
The most delicious hamburgers
In a frying pan, with butter and salt?
I remember you and your dear love.
Mom told me you held hands when you slept at night.
And you, great-grandmother I never met,
Whose teacups I have but am not graceful enough to use.
Maybe you know I’d slug the coffee that could fit in that dainty piece of porcelain in one gulp,
Apologies.
I feel loved by you and can feel you through the veil.
I’m glad we got to play.

Klara and Friedrich Behind a Veil
Virginia Behind a Veil


by Leave a comment

Happy Spring

Took a long walk today at beautiful Shelburne Farms.

Picked up some weather worn sticks.

Stared at a pileated woodpecker while it went about its business.

Felt the warm, wet wind, and exhaled.

Made eye contact with a cow.

Communed with a robin.

Greeted a cardinal.

Listened to people laugh.

Sent many wishes into the sky.

Noticed the osprey aren’t back on their perch yet.

Heard an eagle in the distance.

Thought about my next weaving project and the steep learning curve I’ll surmount to make it.

It will be red.


by Leave a comment

Monday’s Musings~ Creativity and Defining Self

I spend a lot of time thinking about how we become more of ourselves in the way that Murray Bowen defined as differentiation. Simply put, differentiation is about how well we can hold on to our own thinking, even in the face of group pressure, others’ reactivity, and our own anxiety that arises in relation to these things. The better we are at regulating ourselves, the more flexible we are, and capable of maintaining equilibrium in a variety of circumstances. Conversely, the more anxious we are or become as a result of some emotional group process unfolding, the more we make decisions from a highly emotional place. Or, we find ourselves fully swimming in the waters of emotional process, and our decisions cannot be distinguished from those of the group.

Efforts to define self at any given time are the building blocks that help us develop a more differentiated stance in the world (and therefore less fused with the intensity of whatever system we are within). Checking in on, and keeping track of, what we think on any given topic is one way of doing this. For example, as I raise my kids, who are both teenagers now, I can defer to others and find out what they say is the right way to raise a kid and follow their prescription for how to do it, or I can think something like, “what is important to me as I parent my children through their teens, and how do I view my role in their journey towards adulthood?” And I think on it. And I answer the questions. Some of my answers might be informed by information I garner from people whose opinions I value. But first, they are run through the filter of my intellect. What do I think about what they think?

I’d love to say that I am able to do this all the time, but news flash: I’m a reactive person who’s been working on myself for years, and my success rate of defining my own thinking to myself before reacting to something is… well… it depends on the circumstances!

Anyway, this is where the bridge to my thinking on creativity appears on the map of my journey in this life. I think that by tending to our own creativity, we are greasing the gears of differentiation.

Here’s why:

Creativity involves having the spark of an idea. Anything new, innovative, functional, delicious, beautifully made or arranged, etc., happened because someone, somewhere, had an idea. And it didn’t end there. The idea became an action. “What if I do this?” became… “Check this out!” Suddenly, we had sculpted pots to hold things, woven or sewn materials to warm, adorn, protect, sail, contain, and tools to carve, cut, and shape… that spark of an idea is the seed of all that we have, for better or worse.

I see micro-expressions of this very thing in my own creative practice and in the conversations I have with other makers. As a weaver, I must make so many little choices, so many nuanced moves, adjustments, decisions. Each one is an articulation of an idea, an opinion, a preference. And while I learn from incredible teachers, like Rebecca Mezoff and Elizabeth Buckley, I also have to assimilate their teachings into my own mind and decision-making process. I think that when we have these opportunities in our lives to articulate choice and preference, we have ever more chance to articulate ourselves back to ourselves and to others! It’s amazing.

Why is this important? Because we all need to be doing our best thinking. Really, we should be trying to do this all the time, but especially if we are living in places that are in turmoil. The likelihood of losing track of our own critical thinking and judgment in the face of high intensity societal emotional process is increased. The more we are aware of this, the more we can keep our hands on the steering wheel of our own decisions, lives, and futures.

The more we know our own minds and tend to the sparks of our ideas, the more engaged we will be as a whole self.

And, the more of a whole self we are, the more choice we will have.

Bowen Theory Information:

https://www.thebowencenter.org/societal-emotional-process

https://www.vermontcenterforfamilystudies.org


by Leave a comment

Monday’s Musings~ We Create While Living Within

Where to begin, I don’t know. There’s so much happening right now in our country (I live in the US) and in our world. Like many people I know, I’ve been working hard to find my bearings on ground that is rocking, shifting, cracking. It’s been disorienting and personally extraordinarily upsetting. The recklessness with which the potus and his posse are thrashing about in their positions of power, pushing themselves into spaces with no ounce of decorum or respect for people or institutions is profoundly disturbing on a level that’s been hard to assimilate on the daily. Damn near impossible. It’s also felt completely impossible to write about handcrafting on it’s own, as if my relationship with creativity is separate from my experience of being a human on the planet. So, I’m not going to try to separate these things from each other.

Most of us knitters, crocheters, weavers, know about sitting with a basket of tangled up balls and skeins of yarn. It’s a commitment to sit with the basket of threads, and calmly pull, disentangle, wrap, sort and save this most important ingredient for making. We don’t just throw away the yarn because it’s too hard to clean up. We commit to cleaning up the mess we created by not being mindful enough as we used our most prized resource.

This is where we are.

In no particular order, I’ll share some things I’ve been thinking about lately. Maybe these thoughts will resonate with you. Maybe you’ll disagree with some of them. Maybe all. That’s okay. We need to be able to engage in civil discourse to straighten up this tangled mess. I’ll love to hear about your thoughts, too, as you navigate this complex world we live in.

~ I think the way I feel now with the current administration in the White House is making me feel distress to a health impacting level, and this is something I’m addressing. I think this is how others have felt when democrats were in the presidential seat, and especially when dems had control of the House and Senate. This got me thinking about how terrible it is that our country is so divided and manipulated, that many of us feel distressed enough and unsafe enough when “the other side is in power” that we are driven to distraction. This has created such a powerful reality of othering that we, as a nation, are actually sick.

~ The current administration is masterful at othering. What do I mean by othering? Oxford dictionary defines “othering” as this: “to view or treat a person or group of people as intrinsically different or alien to oneself.” Humans do this all the time and in fact it is this brutal trait that has led to the worst atrocities in history. Othering lets humans hurt, use, humiliate, frighten, control, dominate, isolate, and destroy humans. All living things, in fact. When we are unconscious of the othering we do, we are swimming in the waters of destruction. When othering is paired with denial of our own darkness, we are legitimately dangerous. That is why it is so critically important to strive towards being a conscious human being, as honest with ourselves as we can possibly tolerate. When we can look at ourselves and see the truth of being human in all of its beauty and ugliness, we have far greater capacity to make reasoned choices that don’t assault another’s integrity. What we seem to be witnessing is othering paired with unconsciousness. This is a big problem. It is critical that we each do our own good thinking about how we want to treat people and how we would want to be treated if we were, for example, forced to migrate, needed medical care we couldn’t access because of government ideology, were suddenly terminated from our jobs, were punished for disagreeing with a person in power, were told we were safe and suddenly we weren’t. We have to think with our minds and our hearts. We have to dip our ladle in the well of empathy. We have to take ourselves out of us-and-them thinking, and move towards the profound and generative We.

~ We are in an abuse cycle with the current administration. When abusers have power over their victims, one of the things they do is separate them from their support structures through various means. Sometimes it’s literally through physical separation. Often it’s through relational manipulation and gaslighting. This is happening. We are actively getting separated from our world partners in ways that will have far reaching consequences. Being trapped in an abuse cycle can cause a person to lose touch with their own agency and personal power. It is very important to pay attention to your thoughts about your own agency. We all have choice, every moment of every day, around where we will put our energies and focus.

~ Pay attention to those who are in positions of power and are using them for good and are resisting the onslaught of action in the current administration. They are strong, courageous, and inspiring. I’ve been thinking a lot about the energy they will need to keep at it, and about how I might help support their efforts. How can we offer positive, encouraging energy to the folks who are looking out for all people from within their positions of power?

~ We don’t have to know the solutions to all the problems in order to have an opinion about them. This comes up a lot now and is simply a distraction. “Well, what would YOU do about immigration and the border”, for example. As if, by not having a fully vetted plan of action that is doable makes one’s opinion less valid. Don’t be silenced by that. There are countless intelligent people on this planet, all of whom bring different skills to the table, all of whom are capable of solving complex problems, especially when working together. You and I included! Do you need to know how to solve all the problems in order to view mass-deportations as intensely problematic, for example? No. Most of the issues we face as a culture are very complex and require evolution of the mind and psyche. We must continue to think creatively and from a conscious, curious, honest place. This is not being naive. It is being a participant in the artistry of life.

~ Self-care is massively important right now. I say this as someone who has been struggling. Despair started to get the best of me, but what I know is ultimately, that does nothing good. I know how to pick myself up by my bootstraps and that’s what I’m doing now. Writing here is one effort towards that end. Getting clear on my own thinking, focusing on areas I have agency over while learning about others I’ve not considered is another. I’m thinking about where I shop, what platforms I use, what organizations I want to support. I’m learning. I’m cutting out the chaff. I’m also doing things I love, like spending time with people dear to me, weaving, creating, teaching. I’m resting, getting outside more, and trying to focus on what is right in front of me. I’m reaching out for support and guidance from my mentors and guides, and they are helping me, too. A great deal. We are not meant to go life alone.

We create while living within and as a part of. We are not islands, and we are not separate. We are part of this whole thing, this whole story. It’s incredible and amazing and often overwhelming. We can only keep coming back to our center, by really asking ourselves what is most essential to us, as human beings, about being human?

Take good care,

~ bradie


by Leave a comment

Hey. How Are You?

No really. How are you?

A friend of mine mentioned the other day that I hadn’t written here in a bit. She’s known me long enough to recognize a pattern of mine which is that I do a pretty full retreat from online things when there’s something I’m sorting out. I got to talk about the things that I’ve been chewing on, and she listened. She also said she missed seeing what I’m up to when it comes to making things. This was a beautiful nudge. Very well-rounded.

Grief, as you likely already know, takes its toll on people. As someone who’s written a lot about grief, a whole book in fact, you’d think maybe I’d know some tricks on how to navigate the experience with greater ease. But I’m here to tell you, there are no easy ways through the process. In all my writing, talking, supporting, and expressing, never once do I suggest there is a “get-through-grief-the-easy-way” option. It is simply something we must go through, feel, adapt to, and be chiseled by. Ultimately, we are charged with getting to know ourselves and others in our new form, as someone changed by what we’ve experienced.

I’ve noticed about myself that when I’m swimming in the grief waters, I need to take some steps back from those things that put me out there into the world. Certain aspects of grief make me feel like I’m a flipped over turtle, and the last thing I need in those circumstances is to feel more vulnerable during those times.

As we approach the year anniversary of when my dad died, we are also making our way through cold winter here in Vermont. In a few days, it will be February 1, Imbolc, which marks the halfway point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. This is when, in the Northern Hemisphere, the light starts to shift and come back. Many are thinking about the seeds they’re going to start indoors in preparation for the spring plantings. The goddess Brigid is honored in her many forms. We are invited to clean our houses, set our intentions, and think about what we want to bring into fruition in the coming growing cycles.

sun snow…

I will be honoring both of these events. I feel ready for the light to come back after relishing resting in the dark.

Creative life has been full all these months. I’ve been teaching at the Shelburne Craft School, a place that has truly become a home away from home. I also have spent time with folks in my studio, supporting their weaving journey. I’m taking a tapestry weaving class with Elizabeth Buckley, all about weaving water. I am learning so much!

my first attempt to weave reflections in water… not easy, my friends. I have a ways to go, but I’m loving the class.

I have a lot of little projects going on as well, including a new daily weaving practice that has absolutely no plan, so we’ll see how it goes.

Oh, and I made some block prints…

I’m creating things for a new class I’ll be offering called Wild Weaving, where we get to blast out our creativity and impulses into the embrace of a waiting warp.

And, I’m developing an online class as part of our Weaving Your Story programming through the craft school. This is a curriculum I’ve been developing for a couple of years and has become a very important part of my life.

All amazing work to get to be doing!

I still need to finish weaving some towels so I can get started on a new installation idea that won’t let go of my imagination. That is a project I’ll be planting seeds for soon, in hopes that it will be born over the summer months. You heard it here first! It’s got ties to this piece that was in a show in South Burlington last year.

Creative energy builds when we learn how to rest in the ways we need.

That’s it for now. Thank you, dear friend, for asking for an update.


by Leave a comment

Open Studio Weekend Oct 5 & 6!

This is my first year joining the Vermont Crafts Council Open Studio Weekend. I’ve always wanted to participate but never could get it all together at the right time. I brought my outdoor loom over today and have been polishing things up as I prepare for this event. My studio is in Loop 3 along with fellow artists in Shelburne, Richmond, Charlotte, and Hinesburg! I wish I could go to all of their studios, too!

To see what this event is all about and get your maps and figure out your routes, go the Vermont Crafts Council website here. More to come about the event in the coming weeks.