Dry bones, oh dry bones, weathered and whitened by the winter's cold sun. Why have we become nestled into the dead winter field, just slightly blanketed by bent fragile wheat? Where is the joy laced in sunbeams and sunflowers? Come alive, oh sweet soul, it's sad to cocoon and hide in the dry light of loneliness and barrenness. Ask for living water, come alive once again to seek the beauty we see in even the shadowy, cobwebbed spaces. Reside in a city of golden awe as the earthworm peeps from the soil when the raindrops finally begin to speckle the weathered bones. Living water, wash away the dust, breathe life and joy into our winter souls.

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This short musing takes the place of my weekly Currently post, the words were knockin' on my heart and seemed important today. 

I'm trying to decipher words to explain how it feels to be handed an opportunity to write about a passion project that's nestled deep into your bones.

It's surreal to see a spread in a publication with your photograph and your words and a byline that says your name.

Bravery Mission is my own One Idea, the passion project that means the world to me. I so, so hope it grows to be larger than my own little corner of the internet. I so, so hope it grows to reach my fellow lion hearted humans. Friend, you have bravery and your own One Idea within you, whether you know it or not. It may be wedged somewhere in the woodworks of your mind, but the world needs it. 

I think reading about other people's brave moments and how they nurture their own One Ideas, both large and small, helps us realize our own. 

I wrote about the ideation process and growing ideas and passion projects, and how that reflects in Bravery Mission for the fifth issue of Comeback Magazine. I'm excited to read what the other contributors have written about for the publication's theme of endurance.  

Bravery is woven into every fiber of your being and I hope maybe my words can add fuel to your fire. You can order a print copy or a digital PDF here. Please do! I'm all about supporting indie publications. 

You can also find out how to submit to Bravery Mission here and read what others have already anonymously written here. 

Sending love and courage to your corner, babe. 

Kate

My baking and cooking skills are not strong, primarily because I forget how many scoops of sugar I've already put in, or I don't read far enough ahead in the directions to realize you were supposed to mix __ & __ together before adding the eggs. I realize these are all preventable, yet I can't shake them. 

I baked a simple chocolate chip cookie recipe two nights ago to bring to a potluck dinner the next day. The cookies came out of the oven soft and delicious. I checked on them the next morning as if they were my firstborn child and they were still just fine. I came home later to grab them and they were rock hard, even though I had them tucked away in an airtight container. Only me. I couldn't bring rock cookies to a potluck, so I stopped at CVS on my way to the dinner and picked up some chocolate covered pretzels. So basically, things happen in the kitchen that don't make sense and until I gain some magical skills, I'm stuck with buying CVS pretzels. 

Oooo, do I aspire to have the skills of Kayleigh Kosmas, a lovely Instagram friend behind the Crafts and a Cat blog. That said, she has a cat with adorable little paws named Bisou, and she makes // documents the most GORGEOUS cakes and baked goods. Please go creep on her because she's also a super sweet human. And if you're better in the kitchen than I am, please bake me these because I want them in my belly ASAP. 

Click on the photos to be taken to the recipes! Here's her Instagram too. 

Chocolate Olive Oil Cake with Rosemary Buttercream

Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake

Tea Infused Skillet Cookie and No-Churn Ice Cream

Maple Cider Tea Hot Toddy

This might be something I can handle making. 

Homemade Cat Cookies

Please do note that these cookies are for cats, and they're totally safe for them to eat! I couldn't resist including it. 

If you've been following along my Instagram the last couple of weeks, you may be familiar with a peachy little art collective called the Art Stew. My lovely and talented friend Rhea Amyett started this project back in January — each week, the participating artists are given a new prompt and we each make something that follows the prompt in our own unique craft. Together, our abundance of work creates a big ol' pot of "art stew."

It's a thriving and supportive little community of artists -- but anyone's welcome to pop by the Stew at any time! Head over to the #artstew52 hashtag on Instagram to check out work by other skippy artists (turned friends). I so wish I could sit down, have coffee and make with my fellow Stewards. Grateful for all of you. 

Anyways! Since we're hopping into the third month of Art Stew 52, I thought I'd share some of what I've been making for the project! Ten down, 42 to go. This week, we'll be making a piece of work inspired by another artist in the Stew. It's going to be a massive challenge because I'm so inspired by all of you! 

W E E K   T W O  ::  S N U G
There's a clan of the tiniest raccoons. Their paws equal the size of just a few grains of sand and their entire selves are no bigger than a pinecone. They are kind but also naturally sneaky -- the raccoons are known to hide away in hydrangea bushes, awaiting a passerby who is wearing a snug, cozy sweater. When the raccoon spots one of these humans, she snatches up a hydrangea sprig and scurries out of the bush. She darts behind, dodging feet and follows this human into their home. She likes this human's sweater very much, so much that once the human removes it to change into sleeping clothes, the raccoon takes a pair of tiny copper scissors from her belt and snips off a small amount of the sweater's yarn. She has a stick draped with yarn scraps at her hydrangea home. Those are her own snug scarves. The raccoon is kind, of course, she always leaves a hydrangea sprig by your sweater when she takes out her copper scissors

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W E E K  T H R E E  ::  E V E R G R E E N
Here's a process shot for this week's Art Stew 52 prompt! I also have an entire page of ideas for a new project that this will be part of, so stay tuned for the unveiling of that! I'm SO flippin' excited, friends 💛

Side note :: here's why I'm fully and completely in love with the Art Stew weekly project. •

I graduated with a Studio Art degree about eight months ago. Upon reflection tonight, everything I made while in school was created with anxiety intertwined in my handiwork. Every creative move HAD to have meaning behind it. Each creative decision I made while making was preceded by thoughts of "What's the purpose of this?" because we talked about our work endlessly and critiqued deeply. •

I think that's why the Art Stew year long project I'm participating in is a breath of the absolute cleanest air. I drew this evergreen branch and quite honestly, it doesn't have a meaning to me. And nobody's going to care. I started with pencil, experimented with watercolor for the first time in absolutely forever and added some pen markings. Since I've taken on a liking to gold, I threw on some glimmering detailing and a golden border. Why? I'm not entirely sure, but I also took out a forest green colored pencil and scribbled in some green shading. •

This Art Stew community is supportive and full of experimentation and I adore my fellow makers already. I'm not anxious to try combinations of four different materials. I listened to Bennie and the Jets on repeat while drawing this evergreen sprig. And I could breathe without the anxiety I felt while in college as an art student. •

Actually, maybe this simple evergreen sprig is symbolic of creative freedom sans anxiety for my soul.

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W E E K   F O U R  ::  L U N A R
When I was small, I dreamed of living in outer space. It boggled my young mind that there was no end to the darkness, that it perhaps traveled endlessly on and on. That really, the small Kate standing on Earth was microbial in comparison to the massive darkness hosting revolving planets and stars and faraway galaxies. When I was small, I wanted to explore space, to leave this earth. But nowadays, outer space seems like it would be lonely and I think I would miss the foliage and greenery and foraging opportunities to design detailed dried wreathes. At least for now, I'll dream lunar dreams. But maybe someday, if another planet that offers a forest sanctuary is discovered, I'll be a space explorer.

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W E E K   F I V E  ::  A   F A V O R I T E   B O O K
"Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much." This week's Art Stew 52 prompt had my heart reaching back to Harry Potter with every beloved book I flipped through. This weaving is fully Gryffindor house-colored inspired and hopefully reminds you of a good ol' cardigan knit by Molly Weasley. 
I'm rereading the books right now and am fully reminded of why the HP series was such a large part of my childhood. I have many favorite books in my arsenal, but my go-to will forever be Harry Potter.

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W E E K   S I X  ::  L O V E Y   D O V E Y  
In the past year, I've told myself that if a man happened to bring me flowers, I would dry the blooms and turn them into sculpture. That would be a compliment from me, of course. There is absolutely nothing like carefully moving your small hands to work with the fragility of petals as thin as paper. Preserving the beauty of nature into atmospheric and floating sculpture steals my heart every single time. It feels like home. I imagine that's how love feels like -- respectfully and mindfully handling a fragile process, discovering how a feeling of home and comfort resonates deep into the bones of each other, and creating a beautiful, preserved space. Timeless. Suspended by a thread.

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W E E K   N I N E  ::  W I N T E R ' S   L A S T   B R E A T H
Keep your chins up, dear sweet skippies. Feel the softness of your winter sweaters against your skin and know that soon you'll be able to shed the warm cocoon for breathable, light fabrics. Give blooms to strangers because it will remind them that those days are coming so, so soon. Seek to find beauty in all the corners. Take a walk with coffee in hand to watch the season's colors transition from brown and muted to green and breathing.

My desk at church sits in front of a window that overlooks the lobby. There's a preschool in the building and tiny humans frequently pass in front of me. Today, I had a forest of aromatic floral and greenery bouquets and bunches surrounding my workspace that were from a funeral last week. 

Two young kids came up the stairs a little after lunch time. They usually wave at me — but today they stopped in their tracks, looked through my window and gasped at the unfamiliar sight of twelve oversized flower displays in the office. I noticed them staring and whispering to each other. Without even thinking, I snatched up a pair of scissors and cut two yellow daisies off one of the arrangements. I gave the small boy and the smaller girl one each and the boy proclaimed that he would give it to his mom. Naturally, his sister followed suit. 

It brightened my heart to be surrounded by a forest of flowers in my office space all day. But even more so, I hope that passing along two simple small flowers could perhaps be the rose of a sweet mom's day when her two children present pretty blooms to her. 

What are some ways you could show simple, every day acts of kindness? Here are some ideas! 

• Make a golden playlist with songs for a friend that speak to their current walk of life.
• Put a small care package in your car to pull from if you see a homeless human.
• Shoot a quick text of your favorite memory with a close friend to say "I'm thinking about you."
• Write a love letter and put it in the mail for a dear friend.
• Write another letter and leave it in a public space for a stranger to find.
• Visit More Love Letters and send snail mail to a stranger who could truly use it. 
• Do a chore or activity for somebody that makes their day a little lighter.
• Be a listener.
• Pay for somebody's coffee. 
• Make quick conversation with your cashier at the store. Encourage them.
• Talk to the quiet person.
• Compliment your coworkers. Thank them for what they do.
• My personal favorite :: Give somebody a flower.