Spring Inspiration

Spring is definitely the busiest time here in Oruveski Talu and suddenly another month has gone by..

My life as a "single farmer" (and mother) continues in May, so I have not had much time for my textile projects recently. It is still quite cold here, even though we have also had a  few warm spells. We managed to get the sheep and lambs outside during these warm weeks, so they should be acclimatised by now. It still feels warm in the sun, just need more sunshine!

Sheep are enjoying the sun in the field.

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INSPIRATION

Last time, I promised to write more about inspiration. At the moment my biggest source of inspiration is obviously spring.

Spring is absolutely my favourite season as I just love how you can really see the change every single day. In the wintertime, here in the north, it feels like living in a black and white film for months, so now I adore that something is a tiny bit greener every day. A few more weeks, and there will be enough greenery around you that you will stop noticing the change. But now, the rebirth of nature fills my soul with endless inspiration and joy.

Flowers are slowly filling up my garden. In the background you can see our traditional sauna, outdoor kitchen and a sitting place with a fire pit.

This is my first spring, where I can enjoy being a full-time artist, sheep farmer and gardener. It has been the year where I have really enjoyed living with the seasons, and embraced little moments every single day. This is what I wanted and especially now in spring, I am grateful for that opportunity.

I love birches and my camera is full of birch photos throughout the seasons.

Inspiration has always been an important part of my work. I wrote my whole diploma work about inspiration many years ago. I strongly believe that everyone can be creative, even though many of my students do not want to believe that. But creativity needs to be fed by an endless source of inspiration.

My biggest source of inspiration is nature with its textures and surfaces, patterns and colour combinations. I need a separate blog to write about my love for the textures and surfaces. But this love has shaped my artistic journey for years and would still continue to do so.

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INSPIRATION GUIDE

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MINIATURE TAPESTRIES

Like I mentioned before, I have not had much time for my textile work recently. But this is part of living with the seasons, again. When I know that I do not have much time for bigger projects, I would like to play around with smaller projects and learn something new.

So this time I tried out the circular tapestry weaving, which I had never done before, but quite enjoyed making it. It is only 50 cm in diameter, but it was worth the trial. The best part I discovered is that because you weave it on the frame, you do not have to take it off the frame and finish it off as you normally do.

I also managed to finish off one of the miniature tapestries, which was sitting around in my studio for months, because I did not know what to do with it..

So the lesson learnt here was that just pick up the work, start working with it, and it is only during this process when new ideas come to your mind and show you the right direction to move on!

In May I am working with my biggest tapestry commission yet, but I will share more about this project in my next blog.

Until next time,

Reena