I sometimes fret that I’m not as prolific as I used to be. My Druid studies have slowed down, for sure, but my crafting has as well! I often lament how I don’t get to flex my artisan muscles the way I used to now that I’m so often occupied with a little one. I used to sell my one of a kind art dolls at local shows. I never made a ton of money, but it was enough to keep up with my hobby. The positive feedback from customers really raised my spirits and kept me going, pushing me to work harder at expressing my vision of the Three Kindreds.
I recently vented about just that, more or less, to another talented mama. When I got home, after having dinner, I got to work on a going-away gift for a grovie. It was a simple craft, one that would not take days to complete. Most of my work is like that these days, with the exception of the quilt I made for the recent baby saining. I realized that most of my work these days become gifts to family members, ritual objects for myself or my protogrove, or gifts for grovies – my spiritual family. The later is just another way that I give of myself to uplift my community. My grovies give so much of themselves to help our protogrove flourish – I love to give back to them. Until I started to think about this topic, I didn’t realize how much effort I put into perfecting my crafts to benefit my spiritual family. Here are some of the recent pieces I’ve made for my tribe.
My latest needlepoint – a gift for a grovie moving away after he retires from the army. That’s honestly the hardest part of having a Pagan group near a military base… Jacob will be missed! I included a very meaningful quote from one of our favorite chants. I’m happy with the needlework but I think I could have done a better job gluing it into the frame. I hope he doesn’t mind! Photo and craft by Grey Catsidhe, 2015.
A felt Goddess ornament I made for our last Winter Solstice gift exchange. She went home with Andrew. She was a first foray into needlepoint. Craft and Photo by Grey Catsidhe, 2016
Although I haven’t had a chance to make the more complex dolls I used to sell at craft shows, I continue to make smaller, simpler versions for altars or children. I made this girl gnome as a baby shower gift for Cassandra’s little one. Very simple, mostly because she needed to be free of choking hazards, but also very satisfying! Photo and craft by Grey Catsidhe, 2015.
Author M. A. Phillips 