The Fruits of Her Labor

It’s a good feeling when you put a lot of hard work into something and reach a point where you can finally enjoy the fruits of your labor. I recently felted this wool wall hanging with just that feeling in mind. I have been putting a lot of energy over the past year into revitalizing Mountain Hearth Handcrafts. It started out as a home craft business when I was a full time mother and homesteader, and took a bit of a back burner in my life when I became a single mother working outside the home. It had reached a point about a year ago where I recognized didn’t have much time to put into it, not much was happening with it, and I started asking myself questions about whether I should even continue on with it. The answers I kept coming to were that I enjoy it, it’s the most rewarding thing I do to earn a living, and that it would be good for me to do more of it! I have been balancing a handful of varied and interesting jobs over the past few years, and between two kids and our homestead being so far from town, flexibility is key. While seeking out more telecommuting work to make a steady living, I keep holding onto the idea of expanding my craft business. Finding time to make art when you have kids, work, and a homestead that need attention can be a challenge, but there is nothing better than knowing your creativity is contributing directly to sustaining your living. The currency may be the same, but the pay feels very different.

I had long dreamed of teaching handcrafting classes, and finally made that dream a reality this past month. I had taught one needlefelting class to a group of women who worked at a local farm a couple years ago, but hadn’t had a good opportunity or space to do it since. I became very enamored with our local community center when I helped organize a McKenzie River Artisan Faire held there this past fall, and decided it was the perfect place for my classes. When I finally offered my first class, making a needlefelted Lady Spring, everyone (myself included) had such a good time that I am encouraged to make the classes an ongoing offering.

I loved seeing how everyone’s unique artistic expression came out, and especially loved encouraging the creativity of others. My mother always gave the message loud and clear that art is important, starting early on by volunteering as the Art Docent in my grade school classes. So many teachers, friends and occasional random strangers have widened those creative horizons over the years. There are the women who have inspired me to write about homesteading; like MaryJane Butters of MaryJane’s Farm, Jenna Woginrich of Cold Antler Farm, and Taryn Kae Wilson of Wooly Moss Roots. There are the women who taught me to needlefelt; Karen Tyler of Golden Needle Creations, and Karen Clarke of Woolcrazy. I am deeply grateful to all those countless individuals who have expressed support and encouragement of my artistic endeavors, as their words have carried real momentum in my life. It is my hope to be one of those people to somebody else. Art and inspiration are meant to be shared freely, after all.

As for how I am planning to go about energizing Mountain Hearth Handcrafts; I’ve got some other ideas percolating for classes and projects this spring, and continuing to nurture the dream of turning it into a more sustaining business. It might take a long time, but determination is a powerful force, and I believe it will get me there eventually.

The great thing about putting energy into our dreams is that energy makes dreams grow. Sometimes it’s very slow, so slow we barely notice the progress, until we realize at some point that our labor has produced some mighty delicious fruit. It is important to recognize and enjoy these fruits of our labor, because they are well earned.