Mr. Brinks

My husband fell in love with this little bird, so we kept him. 

He hangs in our kitchen above the knife block. 

Size: 3x3" Frame

Feather: Domestic Turkey

I sell on Etsy. My activity there is small compared to sales though my own website, in local galleries like the Mississippi Craft Center, and at arts festivals like the Mississippi Craft Show. Even though Etsy is a big, huge rambling site that has, in many ways, jumped the shark, I enjoy connecting with individuals customers from across the country and around the world. These conversations usually come up when people place gift orders and custom requests that include special instructions. I've traveled a lot and lived in several places as well, so there aren't many degrees of separation between places I've experienced and the shipping addresses I enter.

simple, but not easy

One of the radio programs that I listen to each week, either live through public radio or on-demand as a podcast is On Being with Krista Tippett. I always come away with new perspectives about myself and the world. Accompanying the podcast is a blog that includes articles by different contributing authors. I have long been fascinated by fractals and the title of yesterday's post caught my eye: 

The Fractal Moment: An Invitation to Begin Again by Sharon Salzberg 

The short piece is about letting go, but the paragraph the really resonated with me was this:

"In actuality, meditation is simple, but not easy: you rest your attention on something like the breath in order to stay present, and, as thoughts carry you away, you begin again an incalculable number of times. That is why meditation is a practice. It is this practice of training one’s attention that makes meditation so powerful."

Everything we do can be be broken down into simple principles, and everything is improved with mindful practice. Every unseen gesture, every small decision contributes to the whole. Each small act is simple, but not necessarily easy. Practice. 

Size: 8" long
Feather: Domestic Goose, from a small farm in Pennsylvania