BRAND ORIGIN

BRAND ORIGIN:

Listening to Silence came into being as I was developing a sit spot practice where I go outside and listen to the silence of life. I had a spot I would go to everyday and just sit. I did this for three years with only missing a few days here and there. I sat in cold rain, sweltering heat, snow.. Early in the morning, late at night. I watched birds and observed animals in my sit spot. My sit spot has been and continues to be a foundational part of my life.

.Moving to the city almost two years ago my practice has not looked quite the same. I no longer have acres of woods to wander out my back door so I have adapted which is what we do. Having recently moved into a new home with a much larger yard I am excited about the bird life that lives on the edges and the wildness that seems to abound around us. I’ve already sat and watched a flock of Cedar Waxwings collecting berries from the shrubs along our fence line.

As Listening to Silence has continued to evolve I share moments I experience walking, riding my bike, and just being in wild places which is at the center of my fabric collage. My hope is that sharing the process of both being in nature and making intricate art quilts inspires others to go out and find Silence for themselves. I want people to go find wild pockets of nature and let it seep into your existence also. I also hope it inspires others to use their hands to create - to be a maker of something.

What I share here rotates between the two parts that make up my creative life: making art quilts and being in wild places because this is who I am.

The Chickadee that is the symbol of Listening to Silence holds a special place in my personal journey as it was the first bird I ever truly observed and really saw. It also was my nature name for the years I was an environmental educator. I will always be a Chickadee in some capacity. My son, @goblinsoup who is a graphic designer created it for me.

ALL ABOUT YOU

ALL ABOUT YOU:

Hey! It’s me, Sarah. I’m a complex person with a lot of passions and hobbies. The labels could fill a book.

I have been married to my high school sweetheart and the best guy I know for 27 years this year. This month we have been together for 31 years - that’s pretty crazy to think about.

Together we raised two kids who are incredible and bold humans. They both now have set out on their own and have started lives with their own sweethearts. Both are currently in college.

We live in Athens, GA with two very spoiled oversized dogs and a cat named Leroy who comes and goes as he pleases.

At my day job I sell bicycles at the local bike shop., @hubbikes

In my “spare time” I am a cyclist who obsesses over the next ride. And, I am an art quilter who is enchanted by whatever project I am working on.

I am highly (or obnoxiously depending on who you ask) organized and very intentional about how I use my time and energy (of which I was blessed with a tremendous amount of). Over the years I have learned how to manage my creative and adventure seeking lifestyle alongside having a full time job pretty well.

I am generally only idle if I am sleeping.

SNIPPET

SNIPPET

Here is a small snippet of my current project.

If you ever think there isn’t emotional work or that my life looks so grand, please, let me assure you I am an ongoing mess in progress just like my art work. Socials are snippets of moments curated by me.

Starting the knees of the cypress. Such cool trees.

START THE DAY

START THE DAY

Mornings are busy, but in a good way as they are the building blocks that keep us organized to have all the time to play and create that keeps us balanced and happy.

Like most people I start the day with a good cup of coffee.

I tend to stand at the kitchen window and watch the birds come to our bird feeders until it’s time to get motivated and actually get my day going. I make sure my plant lights are all on and dive into whatever project or activity I have decided needs to be knocked off the “to do” list.

Because I do not have to be at work until 9:45 I am able to use my mornings to be productive in different ways. Most mornings I do minor household chores - like watering all these plants I have. If household chores are pretty well caught up I write or plan for the future in my journal. AND>> if those things all feel under control I make time to go to the gym to lift weights or I ride my bike.

Whew! I’m already tired. How do you start your day?

LEARN

LEARN

Jiddu Krishnamurti says, “There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning.”

Recently I started circling the pieces I have completed on my template. It seems so simple and it is not something I have done in the past.

My art changes from project to project. I can look at old works and see the foundations of learning that led to the next. Consistently working on refining my craft requires an openness to learning, taking notes, and studying my own works as well as the works of other artists.

I hope I am engaged in developing my skills as a human and as an artist for the entirety of my life.

What’s something you have learned recently? That you’re excited about?

Finishing touches

Finishing Touches

It’s little things.. the fussy cut of fabric to get an eye just right.. It’s a well placed sequin that catches light.. It's a hand-felt bird made by @elizawis hanging from an antler I found on a hike that’s giving support to my grandmother’s Christmas Cactus.. It’s the dust of pollen on a flower waiting for a bee to come and transfer it to another flower. Minuscule yellow orange powder.. It is the tiniest details that draw me into them and call me to look.. to really look.. It is these fleeting moments and glimpses at the perfection and chaos of nature that inspires my collage and it inspires how I finish a work.

TRIAL AND ERROR

Trial and Error

Years ago I was afraid of making mistakes so rather than fixing something to get it right I would tell myself it gives it character. Thank goodness for learning some wisdom as I age..

For some reason if I didn’t get it right the first time I just made it work to keep pushing forward. I had this weird fear that fed a story of not being good enough.. of having to learn creativity.. of not being artistic enough..

This silly monkey mind of mine takes up so much of my time to keep it quiet - not really quiet - not in control of me and not in control of how I choose to be/create.

These days, I make a section over and over until it is what I have pictured in my mind.. even if it’s going to take me an hour or two or more to get it right.

Sometimes I have to procrastinate about it for a little while.. and when I realize I’ve got to remake something it does initially stifle my creative flow because of these ridiculous insecurities I carry around. I do get there eventually and it usually works out so much better than I planned.. go figure. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I guess I can at least be glad for the personal awareness that comes along for the ride if I open myself to it.. making art is my direct guide to personal behavior patterns and beliefs.. along with mountain biking of course because, well, those hills don’t really ever get easier 🤣🤣🤣

Recharge

RECHARGE

Wild places.

Silent realms.

Hidden pockets of space and time. Moments..

Sunrise.

Sunset.

Bird song.

The pause of everything to catch the breeze on skin..

Deep inhalations..

Longer exhalations..

Places beyond the comfort of human built dens.. fresh air regularly - my prescription for a heart filled life.

Planning

PLANNING

I very rarely go into the studio without a plan. From the conception of a collage to the final stitches my brain is working on the next step.

Big or small

BIG OR SMALL

Do you ever think about what a wonder it is that life can be held in a small seed in utter darkness and against all odds erupt from the hard shell that has held it through all the weather conditions and then suddenly one day begin reaching for the light? Each day drawing resources from the world around it to exchange energy with the air and the soil eventually blooming, welcoming pollinators, withstanding new ways of experiencing rain and wind and hail, and then as quickly as it pushed into the new life it’s leaves turn, the flowers fall off, it makes new seeds and then decays.. going back to the earth to the feed the future.. Amazing..just when my ego begins to tempt me into believing I am big a seed goes and makes me feel small.

Idea to product

IDEA TO PRODUCT

This fabric collage is a commission. It’s a spot a dear friend watches daily.. hourly.. she already knows she is not going to have this spot forever so, she has commissioned me to create its magic for her so that she can carry it with her wherever she is.

She had the idea and together we distilled the love of her place - her vortex - into my hands..

It is a great honor to be asked to make someone’s sit spot.

I have come to also love the life that calls this little creek it’s home.

I am about half way through it and I can hear the chorus frogs sing. I hear the wrens flit and flutter in the early morning light.. I hear the water gurgle after the rain.. I’m anticipating the arrival of the Mississippi Kites..

The product from the idea isn’t just the finished image. It is also all the moments held in the story that unfolds with each new layer.

Highs and lows

Highs and Lows

Riding bikes. Making art. Existing.. is filled with precious and heartbreaking moments. Sometimes these moments are seared forever as memories that shape who we become.. and the stories we tell.

This moment was rich with both.

Jason and I were sitting on the banks of the Oconee River enjoying a beer five miles into a mountain biking ride that I really needed because I was feeling emotionally low from the strain of moving.. I NEEDED the quiet of an urban assault by the river..

He is almost always accommodating.

He picked this spot to rest and enjoy the beer we brought along. As we sat here I spotted a world teaming with life.. resurrection fern, usnea floating from tree tops down towards the river. Wild azalea blossoms just opening.. a hawk flew overhead, a barred owl called from across the bank.. time stood still.. for the first time in weeks.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw wings flutter a few feet away from our rock. (You know I’m always looking for the birds.) As I turned my head I initially thought I was looking at a very early fledgling, but the longer I watched more birds came in to feast.. and I realized we were watching a large flock of Cedar Waxwings. I am pretty sure they are the most magical birds I have laid eyes on thus far in my life.

We sat there for 15 minutes just watching them eat.. not really saying much and whispering when we did speak..

When they moved on we did as well enjoying the remainder of our ride with a much clearer head.

I love birds.

Creative space

CREATIVE SPACE

In a moment of impulsiveness - which is kind of not like me and also completely like me - I bought a new sewing machine. I have needed a new machine for a while. My trusty husquavarnia has served me well for over 20 years.. and I have been looking.. but wasn’t quite ready to pull the trigger. At Quilt Con I looked at machines and everything looked so complicated and electronic with touch screens. Then, I went to the Cotton Patch Quilters Show and there my new Juki was on sale.. she is very simple but better technology.. she didn’t break the bank so maybe I can keep looking at mid arm machines too. Thus far, I’m in love. We will see what happens when I pull out metallic thread again.

Glow up

GLOW UP

For 2023 I chose the word Expand to be the theme for the year with the intent to be more active in growing myself as an artist, as a cyclist, and as a human.

Since taking on 2023 in this new more intentional way, I have a show coming up in July which will be my first in 12 years. 😳I had business cards printed which doesn’t seem like a big deal but is for me.. I feel strong in my body now if my asthmatic lungs would get with the program.. we moved into a house we love for now.. my dogs even get in the bathtub willingly for baths which is no small feat 😇 Jason and I just celebrated 31 years that we have been together - not married that anniversary is in June.. but since we have been a pair. We are good. Really, we are great in the midst of adulting and living.. he asked me yesterday while riding bikes if someone would have asked me what I would be doing in 31 years from that first kiss what would I say? my response was that I would still be chasing him. Somethings never change.. and that’s alright by me.

Favorite process

FAVORITE PROCESS

It’s hard to say what I love most about my making process. I think what I love most is that I HAVE a process. Making art is not a part of my life I take for granted. I know it is a luxury to have time to let my creativity out.

Now that I have dialed in a general method to the madness of my collage style it feels like it comes a little faster and fluid these days.

What’s your favorite part of my process?

Decision

DECISION

Many years ago I started using Instagram as an online journal of sorts. I was deep in depression, heartbroken, and in a very dark place. But I am a creative type and my mind (AND body for that matter) will not allow me to not produce.. so, I was taking pictures and even though at the time I did not really have words myself the poets I love did.. and those poets and the places where I sat in the silence taught me so much about how to live..

As I started to find my voice again I started writing more and more.. though I have never publicly shared the deep darkness that was there and probably never will..

Over time posting became a chance for me to see light.. to feel creative.. to feel whole.

and then I found the bike.. and the freedom of wind, and trails, and exhaustion, and exhilaration.. and the quiet places in me and on the trails.. so it also began to become a steady part of my creative lifestyle.

When I picked quilting back up after so many years I could not just drop this quiet side of myself.. this lover of wild places and quiet moments.. of stillness..

It is who I am in the genetic makeup of me.

So, I made the decision despite all the articles I’ve read. Despite all the advise of the influencers on ‘growing your brand’ to openly share both sides of my creative life. Because THIS is who I am. THIS is me.

Does it earn me all the followers? And all the free stuff? And a life of leisure? Have I become a traveling artist nomad?

Nope.

But it HAS given me a new voice and it brings me joy to share all of me.. well, most of me..

So thanks for following along on my ongoing journey through my life. It’s not that I’m so full of myself I think y’all want to be like me.. I just need a place to remember who I am deep down and the pages of a notebook do not do the trick.

Reality

REALITY

My mom says she loves the messy reality of my studio floor when I’m deep into a project. Well, mom, here it is. 4 more pieces and it’s time to sweep.

Color

COLOR

I work and thrive in the color of life. Greens, blues, browns, hints of pinks and reds and yellows.. all shades.. all hues.. sign me up for the colors that draw me into the wildness and chaos that whisper the sounds of beauty.

Tools and machines

Tools and Machines

I saw another quilter using a drafting table somewhere in my daily scrolling and I thought, ‘woah! That’s a good idea.’ So, I went on the hunt for one. Most of the tables I found were plastic or fake wood. And then I stumbled onto this one which is solid pine. Jason and I then made a design wall that hangs over it so I can iron on a flat surface. This has been hands down the best addition to my studio since the sewing machine. 🤣🤣🤣

Adapt

ADAPT

Pausing to breathe, to take a moment, to take space.. to see the world and think clearly is one of the most important things we can do for ourselves and for those around us. It brings us closer to the moment and it helps us to adapt to what is around us. Adapting doesn’t necessarily mean complacency. Adapting can also mean seeing things for what they are and opening to the change that has to come for thriving to stay at the center. Change is not always easy. Thus, adapting is not always easy. But, here we are living lives riddled with chaos.. disorder.. grief.. so what else are we going to do?

Take a moment today to close your eyes and listen to the spring air filled with bird song. Try to spot an early early butterfly drifting effortlessly.. look up and take note of the leaves that are beginning to unfurl painting the chartreuse pallet of spring everywhere.. Feel the air and sun on your skin. Breathe deeply. Intentionally. It only takes 30 seconds. And then, invite a friend to do the same.