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!

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!

Flat Out Under Pressure 24-Hour Art-Making Competition 2023

I participated in the Flat Out Under Pressure 24-Hour art-making competition this year in Greenville, SC and it was so much fun (a LOT of work, but worth it!). My mixed media fiber art piece included punch needled yarn, rug hooked fabric strips, and needle felted wool fiber. I’ve participate for several years in a row but this is by far the largest piece I’ve attempted for this competition (and I was really pushing my luck to finish on time).

The piece is about 20" in diameter, featuring a scene inspired by Lake Jocassee, here in the upstate of South Carolina. The finish piece, along with all of the incredible work made by 100+ other local artists is now on display at Metropolitan Arts Council in downtown Greenville, SC and will eventually be available on my website.

Hope you enjoy the process video!

Needle Felting Workshops

Have you ever wanted to learn to needle felt? Now’s your chance! If you’re local to the Greenville SC area, I’ve got 3 upcoming in-person workshops scheduled for February 11, March 11, and May 20th. If you’re not local or those dates don’t work for you, I also have 2 virtual workshops through my website that are self-paced so you can do them whenever you like, and I also have kits available if you need supplies. Lastly, I offer private workshops and would be happy to host you (or a small group up to 8 people) in my home studio, or I can come to you. Contact me to discuss!

The first in-person class will be a 2D workshop on February 11th at Greenville Center for Creative Arts from 9-1pm. We’ll be creating hoop art that will feature a design of your choice (botanical, insect, animal, landscape, etc.) from dyed wool fiber. Working flat is a lot of fun and I look forward to showing you the ins and outs of working in 2D. The $75 fee includes all supplies needed for this workshop. No prior felting experience needed. Enroll here: Needle Felting in 2D | Greenville Center for Creative Arts (artcentergreenville.org)

Needle Felting in 2D | Greenville Center for Creative Arts (artcentergreenville.org)

Learn to needle felt a big, fancy very complicated-looking cactus garden. Once I break it down and show you the steps, it’s really not that complicated! No prior needle felting experience needed for this class either. Bring your own planter or pot and the rest of the supplies are covered in the $75 workshop fee. Workshop is at GCCA from 9-1 on March 11th. Enroll here: Needle Felted Cactus Garden | Greenville Center for Creative Arts (artcentergreenville.org)

Needle Felted Cactus Garden | Greenville Center for Creative Arts (artcentergreenville.org)

My last in-person public workshop is May 20th from 9-1pm, also at GCCA and you’ll learn to needle felt butterfly specimens that can be displayed in a frame. Bring your own shadow box display and the rest of the materials are covered in the $75 workshop fee. Enroll here: Needle Felted Butterfly Box | Greenville Center for Creative Arts (artcentergreenville.org)

Needle Felted Butterfly Box | Greenville Center for Creative Arts (artcentergreenville.org)

Virtual workshops and supplies are available in the DIY section of my website.

The two pre-recorded virtual workshops are on my website and you can choose the 2D hoop art workshop or the cactus class. You’ll receive a link to the video content, plus a PDF packet with info about supplies. If you already have your own supplies, great! If not, yon can purchase through my website or from the shops listed in the resource section of the packet you’ll receive.