Gnome Nostepinne Doll and Wizard Hat

Magical things can happen in the most unexpected ways….

The other day, I was feeling completely frustrated with a whole bunch of things that were making me go ‘ARGHHHHHHHHHH’

(Well.okay, it was the way that I chose to respond to them, not the things in themselves, but you know how it can go….)

I figured that I wasn’t making progress in the studio, so I packed it in and stomped out to the woodworking shop.

There is something about woodworking that can just turn my crankiness completely around.

An hour or two (or ten|) out in the woodworking shop grounds me and blows away the cobwebs that can accumulate if I am pounding on unresolved design difficulties (or if other things are feeling stuck and frustrating).

I had been planning to turn a Nostepinne doll that was a Gnome  Lady, so I figured that  it was time to see if I could make her happen.

Well, to be honest, I swear that I heard that Gnomie Lady calling me out to the workshop!!!

So, I chucked up a piece of hardwood, and set the lathe to spinning.

There is something so magical about spinning motions…. whether it’s a lathe or a spinning wheel, a potter’s wheel, or in the dance, for that matter.

Spinning brings you to the center VERY quickly…

I find that, even though the lathe is going fast,

or perhaps because it’s going so fast,

I have to be very very slow and deliberate in my moves,

and have a light touch.

But, the touch of the chisel has to be completely committed,

or else the wood doesn’t ‘listen’ to it.

The whole process of turning on the lathe is just plain magical.

I have to remind myself to breathe,

as I get so ‘into’ the process that I find myself holding my breath.

Oops…

What was I saying about mindfulness?

—

I was just over the moon,

as the Gnomie Lady Nostepinne Doll revealed herself.

There is also an anxious edge that hovers around while I am turning the Nostepinne dolls.

I hate to confess the number of times that I have had a piece of woodworking  be just a hare’s breath away from completion and then have it go amiss… yikes….

So when a piece actually allows itself to be completed without going ‘boink’, it’s always cause for celebration.

And, indeed, I have been celebrating the completion of the Gnomie Nostepinne doll… who is, by the way, also a magic wand as well as a Nostepinne!

And, of course, like all the Nostepinne dolls that I make, she is also a ‘Story Stick’…. which means that she is FULL of stories, just waiting to be told, and, yarncakes waiting to be wound up….

Now…. to share another delightfully magical thing that happened this week…

I don’t post many pics of my grandbaby, as his parents don’t want his image up on the internet- understandably!!! (I have their permission to use this photo)

But… yesterday, my daughter and her husband and baby went to the craft store.

There were wild and wonderful hats there- including this Wizard’s Hat.

They had a great time, playing with hats, and sent this pic (well, I photoshopped the whirlies onto it) of

Magical Baby!

There were a couple of other pics, too, and in them, Magical Baby was laughing and grinning from ear to ear as he modeled the wild and wonderful hats….

Oh my… this is what life is truly all about!

The joy and delight of a young child’s laughter and in finding magic in the most unexpected places.

I hope that some magic came into your life unexpectedly this week, too!!!