The Blog

I hate being late to a party, but that’s how I felt when I discovered Jude Hill’s Magic Feather Project.  Even now, I have not had the time in my life to read through this beautiful story of creation and discovery, as my teaching and graduate student life continuously demand my attention.

Because I have an unending list of have-to-dos, I long all the more to pick up needle and thread and carve out some time for quiet reflection and connection to the materials and processes I love.  I share this newfound discovery with you because I suspect some of my readers might be in the same situation!  There are so many beautiful things about this story: process, simplicity, beginnings, possibilities, community, beauty, connection and healing.  It is a story to take your time with, to savor and to imagine.  At the top of this site is a reference to Wendy Golden-Levitt and Textile Therapy.  I need some textile therapy in my life right now, as I feel like I am hurtling through the space/time continuum!

Jude embraces the act of unfolding, something I try to teach my young art students.  They are in a rush of completion, sometimes moving too quickly, past potential opportunities to create depth in their artwork.  I can’t fault them too much for this, as our educational system runs by a well-oiled clock that doesn’t allow for contemplation or too much experimentation.  We do the best we can, teacher and student, to find meaning and purpose in our work.

I’m tremendously inspired by the tease I have of this project, and bemoan the fact that I can’t even justify the time to take a few hours to follow her story RIGHT NOW!  Instead, I will follow her lead and I will let the story of the Magic Feather Project slowly unfold as I work my way through this fall semester.  I can build in a little time each day for the next part of the story, and savor it’s sweetness.  And, as this beautiful kitty reminds me, we all have to rest.  Resting in and on beautiful things make it all the more delicious….