The Lofoten Series

In the summer of 1992, my family visited the Lofoten Islands in Norway, and the location left a lasting impression on me. I was in the middle of my troll era, so the mossy hills and craggy rocks made the perfect environment for all my ugly little troll dolls. I remember fishing from a bridge with hot dogs in the midnight sun, and actually catching something, much to my surprise. I remember exploring the little hills near where we stayed along the water, and discovering a cave. I remember the charming red fishing cabins and dramatic mountains, and looking for moose but never seeing any. I have been dreaming of returning to Lofoten ever since.

Just a few weeks ago, I was finally able to return to his magical place above the arctic circle with my husband Josh, and he too was instantly mesmerized by the landscape that captured my imagination some 33 years prior. This place just doesn’t look real. The mountains are way too pointy, and it’s hard to name their color - is it purple, brown, a deep cool blue? The water way too turquoise, water can’t actually be that vibrant in real life, can it? The moss entirely too bright, a mix of neon yellows, greens, and even orange tones. It looks like something out of a movie, a painting, a dream.

Getting to Lofoten takes effort. In addition to the transatlantic flight, we still had quite a ways to go after landing in Oslo. Lofoten is nowhere near the capital, so more regional flights, a ferry, and a car ride were soon to follow, but it was all worth it. We stayed in Nusfjord, a historic fishing village with speculator views in every direction. The colorful “rørbu” cabins were just as charming as I remembered.

The views were so beautiful, I couldn’t help but be inspired to create a felted landscape series upon returning home, using photos from our hikes, drives, and fjord explorations. Every piece in the series was inspired by a specific location in Lofoten, using my own photography from the trip. I hope I was able to capture the beauty of this place in my favorite medium, needle felted wool fiber. Enjoy the collection!

Some of my favorite memories, in no particular order include: watching the black legged kittiwakes (a kind of gull) nesting on the steep rocks just outside out cabin, exploring the troll fjord by boat while drinking hot chocolate, spending the afternoon in Høv riding Icelandic ponies on the white sand beach then running back and forth from the wood fired sauna to the freezing turquoise ocean , stopping to see all the adorable lambs roaming free on the winding roads, trying multiple versions of the local fish soup and trying to rank them, hiking Flakstad (and getting my butt kicked by the steep trail), and seeing two moose crossing the road just a few feet away from the moose crossing sign.

Artist in Residence: Leland, Michigan

I had the honor of spending the last week in Leland, Michigan, creating work for Two Fish Gallery, a fabulous store near historic Fishtown in the northern part of the state on Lake Michigan in Leelanau County. I’ve worked with Jennifer & Michael at Two Fish for many years, but it was such an incredible opportunity to go see this little lake town in person, explore, and create work on-site. I flew up to Traverse City on May 14th and spent the next 7 days hiking, needle felting, and sharing my love of this medium in a state I had never been to before. What an amazing week!

Fishtown is a very unique place, it’s famous for its “shanty” buildings right on beautiful Lake Michigan. These shanties and the famous tug boats, Joy and Janice Sue, have been featured heavily in my work for Two Fish Gallery in the past, but it was so special to finally see them in person. Fishtown also has a small marina, several beaches, a variety of little shops and boutiques, and some delicious restaurants. My favorite meal of the trip was the halibut at Riverside Inn, just down the street from Two Fish! I also enjoyed a cheese sub from the famous and highly recommended Cheese Shanty (even the guy at the rental car place recommended it when I told him I was heading to Leland).

During my time in Leland I did 2 in-person needle felting demos inside Two Fish Gallery, creating work for those interested in my process and answering questions while working in realtime. On Sunday May 18th, I got to teach 2 workshops at Dune Bird Winery to 44 students, most of who had never felted before. They did such a great job! Everyone was able to complete the 6” felted landscape featuring a scene inspired by the local dunes and beaches. The winery was a beautiful location for this event and I’m thankful for the space to teach the local crafty community.

I hiked every single day, sometimes in 80 degree sunshine, sometimes in 40 degree wind and rain, and my favorite treks were Empire Bluff Trail and Pyramid Point, in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The lake really is that blue, the sand dunes really are that bright, it’s almost too beautiful to be real and I even took small tufts of wool roving on my hikes to match them up to what I saw, to be sure my work was correctly reflecting the world around me. I loved hiking through cedar forests, seeing birch trees and a bald eagle. Hiking through the sand tunes was physically tough but worth it. There were several trails in Leelanau State Park near Grand Traverse Lighthouse that I also enjoyed, thanks to the rocky beach views.

There’s quite a few little towns within less than an hour’s drive from Leland, so I made time to explore them as well: Northport, Cedar, Port Oneida, Empire, Maple City, Glen Arbor, and my favorite, Sutton’s Bay, which is just 10 minutes east from Leland. If you visit Sutton’s Bay, I highly recommend eating at Martha’s Leelanau Table and shopping at Silver Slag and Stone. The artist behind the store uses unique rocks found the local beaches, particularly the Leland Bluestone and Petosky Stones. It was hard to choose just one!

I also spent time in Traverse City exploring the parks, trying some local cuisine, and shopping on Front Street. Although, as much as the downtown shopping area had to offer and I could have easily spent all day there (and eaten ALL the tacos at Mama Lu’s Taco Shop) I was really blown away by The Village at Grand Traverse Commons, which is a historic preservation project that has turned an old asylum into a mixed use property featuring shopping, restaurants, offices, and apartments. Plus, you can take a tour of the building and see the cool/creepy tunnel underneath!

I’m so grateful for the opportunity to travel to a new place, take a week to explore and create, teach others meet others, and get to know the owners of Two Fish a little bit better. Thank you again for hosting me and for this incredible opportunity, Jenn and Michael!

I hope you’ll enjoy this little recap video of my time in Leland. It’s such a beautiful place! All pieces are now available for your viewing and purchasing plesure exclusively at Two Fish.

NEW JEWELRY!

I’m excited to announce the addition of hand painted jewelry to the Once Again Sam website. Expanding on my palette knife painting series, I’ve added a new (and very bright) colorway called Great Lakes, inspired by the gorgeous turquoise and blue waters of Lake Michigan. Additionally, I have a limited series of painted landscape pendants avialbe online as well, featuring a scene from Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

Also, a huge thank you to SCAC for helping me get there:

This project is funded in part by the South Carolina Arts Commission which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts. This project is also funded in part by a generous award from the John and Susan Bennett Memorial Arts Fund of The Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina.

Artist-in-Residence: Table Rock State Park

Table Rock State Park is in the upstate of South Carolina, only about an hour northwest of where I live, but it’s another world out there - the tall mountains and windy roads, the pitch black sky at night, the never ending hiking trails - there’s no shortage of inspiration.

I recently spent a week as Artist-in-Residence at Table Rock State Park, my 6th residency with the South Carolina State Parks Program. Each time I participate in a residency, the experience changes me. Sometimes in major ways, like becoming confident hiking alone, and sometimes it’s little things, like learning the difference between various woodpecker calls. I explore and create all week, and it fills my soul. Part of me wishes I could do this every day, but then it probably wouldn’t be so special. I get to slow down and sit still if I choose, but most of the time I get out and see as much as possible. The residency is a true gift!

This particular residency included over 25 miles hiked (both inside and outside of the park), it included 27 needle felted pieces, 1 painting, 6 towns visited, 2 nights out in the cold watching the meteor shower, and several exciting creatures sightings including an armadillo, wild turkeys, and a huge black bear on my very last hike of the week.

I hope you enjoy this short recap video that shares a little more about what I did, what I saw, and how it inspired me. It’s so hard to condense a week, which felt like a month (in a good way) into a few minutes of footage!

All of the pieces shown in the video (plus more) are available for purchase on my website. If you see something you like but would prefer a different size or frame, please message me, I’m happy to recreate any of these.

Shop the collection!

Artist-in-Residence: Wildacres

I've been away from the studio for the past week for a good reason. I had the privilege of being one of the artists-in-residence at Wildacres Retreat in Little Switzerland, NC and I enjoyed every minute of my time away. Here's a look at what I did, where I went, and of course, what I made. 

Unlike with past residencies, I had a project plan this time, and it helped me get into the swing of things right away. I knew in advance there were certain trails I wanted to hike, views I wanted to seek out, and even a few specific pieces I wanted to make. However, I was unprepared for the inspiration that found me during my week of exploration and reflection. Even though I created 25 pieces in 6 days, I ran out of time for all of the ideas that flooded my mind. It was exactly what I needed, I’d been feeling very stuck with my work lately, like I’m making the same things over and over (because that’s what sells, not because that’s what I want to make). This time alone, in a new surrounding, opened up my eyes.

I truly enjoyed staying in the remote cabin, surrounded by mountain laurel and pine trees (and deafening cicadas at night!). No AC, no TV, not much internet connection, and I even used a pot holder to block the clock on the stove all week, because I didn’t want to know what time of day it was. I ate when I was hungry, slept when I was tired, hiked all morning, created all afternoon, and went joy riding every evening. Time flew by, but it also stood still.

Wildacres Retreat is a magical place, if you ever have the opportunity to visit (either with a group to the conference center or on your own as an artist-in-residence). The location is off the Blueridge Parkway in Little Switzerland, NC and it’s hidden in the woods, with a beautiful mountain view and a friendly atmosphere that encourages creativity and the betterment of humanity.

In addition to thoroughly exploring the Wildacres property, which boasts miles and miles of trails, I also ventured out each day in a different direction to see what I could see. I checked out nearby towns including Spruce Pine, Little Switzerland, Marion, Old Fort, and Chimney Rock. I hiked multiple trails each day (outside of the Wildacres property) and those took me to mountain tops, dense forests, and waterfalls. Some of my favorite spots include the top of Hawksbill Mountain (pictured above) where I was completely alone at the top of the world, letting the wind whirl around me. I loved my hike to Yellow Fork Falls (pictured below), racing the radar one morning, where I not only got there in record time because I was moving so darn fast to beat the rain, I also managed to not get my Mini Cooper stuck on what was very much an off-roading experience that in hindsight was probably a bad idea. We made it out alive!

Other favorite moments:

• Driving all the way to the top of Mount Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi, only to be surrounded by dense fog (or were they clouds?) and not minding one bit. I’m sure the view is great on a clear day, but I loved that somber moody feel and plan to felt a piece inspired by what I saw / what I didn’t see.

• Getting rained in one afternoon. The remnants of Storm Debby made their way to the North Carolina Highlands midweek and pounded the cabin roof for hours. I loved it. It gave me an excuse to take a break from hiking, take a nap, and do a little painting, something I never seem to make time for.

• Cruising the ever-curving Blueridge Parkway and happily breaking for more fully grown bucks than I’ve ever seen in my life alive, not mounted on a wall, and at least 30 wild turkeys, including a swarm of baby “turklets,” as I like to call them. Everybody saw bears except me.

• Having the last dinner on campus with the other two artist-in-residence Emma van Halsema, a talented plein air painter who works in animation, and Kathy Schwille, author of What Luck, This Life. We shared a bottle of wine, we shared about how impactful the week had been, and it was just wonderful connecting with these two women, even though we had mostly spent the week in solitude.

• Watching the sun set every night from a different overlook on the parkway. The sky never looks the same. The mountains never look the same.

Artist residencies have become a big part of my life. To date I’ve been honored to do 8 residencies, and each time, that gift of space to explore and create changes me. Sometimes it’s a mental change - I learn to relax, I dream again, I get inspired. Sometimes it’s a skill change - I get really good at felting gradients, or I attempt to paint something way more detailed that I would normally attempt. And sometimes it’s a physical change - I take on a hike that’s probably beyond my abilities, but I enjoy it, even the soreness the next day, because I earned it. I never know what’s in store as artist-in-residence, or who I’ll meet, but I arrive with an open mind, a need for time away from my design job, my commission list, my never-ending to-do’s around the house. I’m so grateful to Wildacres Retreat for this gift of time and space. I will never forget the experience.

I hope you will enjoy this video recap of my week in the woods, and enjoy browsing the full Blueridge collection on my website.

Lavender Season

It’s lavender season and I’ve been truly inspired by this colorful warm weather herb in both my fiber art and handmade jewelry. The lavender field inspiration lead to a mini collection of needle felted wool landscapes, a new colorway in my splatter painted acrylic jewelry series, plus a new landscape painting pendant scene.

I’m lucky enough to live in proximity to a lavender farm, so of course I made this new series my excuse for a field trip to Twin Creeks Lavender in Williamston, SC. The farm is only open for a few weeks each summer but it’s a fun excursion where you can learn about the different varieties, cut your own bundles, eat lavender honey ice cream, and shop all kinds of local goods.

Shop the fiber art and jewelry collection online and enjoy this peek at the process time-lapse video!