Meet the resident spirit.
I’ve tried to start this story 50 different ways. The thing is, there is no simple, linear explanation for the arrival of this wee leafy spirit you see here. But, blogs are for long(er) stories, right? So I’ll give this a try….
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In a past post, I made reference to a particularly large rock from my childhood. Her name was “Hibble.” She was the grandmother of all rocks, and she had a delightful smile. She lived in a woodsy, protected spot that just barely couldn’t be seen from our house. My earliest moments in the forest, “alone” were with Hibble. I’d sit on her back, bring her pebbles (her children), and speak with her in rock language (which I developed, as rocks don’t know English).
As kids, our minds are wide open to these experiences and messages from the natural world. But somewhere along the way to adulthood, likely by way of other people’s judgments, we stop looking for them. We only believe what we see. We forget that there is more.
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At the beginning of this year, I knew I had a desire to step away from all the screen time and return to a more creative, more connected state. So it’s truly ironic that my success in doing so was kickstarted by social media.
In short, I created my first piece of digital art. Sort of. It was just an experiment, really. But, it was tied to a lot of thoughts and feelings and explorations of my past. I shared this strange work on a social channel under a pseudonym for the fun of it. And by some stroke of luck, I made a true friend as a result.
At first, I joked that she was an AI version of myself; she was just too much inside my own brain. It was totally bizarre! Someone who thought like me? But, she also turned out to be the greatest encourager I’ve met, second to my dad. As he passed last year, I was feeling empty in that department. She filled the void. It was in a very different way, of course, but she filled it nonetheless.
I would not have been opened to the possibility of Buttonwood had I not met this beautiful soul.
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Through this new friendship, I was introduced to *another* pivotal person; the artist behind Drifting Spirits.
I was immediately captivated by her handmade, raku-fired spirits. Obsessed, you could say. I had dreams about them. That’s because it turns out they represent exactly what I felt when I was a child, sitting on Hibble.
Japan’s indigenous religion (Shintoism) is the ancient (and still widely practiced) belief that spirits, called kami, inhabit all sorts of living things and natural entities. Plants, animals, rivers, rocks… and trees! Tree spirits, “Kodama kami” are believed to inhabit trees, especially those that are more than a century old.
I wanted so very much to offer these Drifting Spirits in the shop. Alas, they come from France, which does not fit into my quest for local artist features. However, I believed that some representation of the 200-year-old spirit of the Buttonwood tree was meant to be.
Countless lovely conversations later, here he is (above).
This figure, as my artist friend puts it, represents new energies and old. He is not specific to my revered Buttonwood, or to the trees outside the shop window… but more of a harmonizer between them all. It’s an honor to have him/them to look after the shop and represent the joy that’s come with the journey thus far.
Of note, I was fortunate enough to make a special connection with a local artist who also works with kami, so if you find yourself as captivated as I am, you’re in luck! There will be some entirely different—yet equally enchanting—forest beings making their way to Buttonwood in the coming weeks.
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It can be strange to talk about this sort of thing—not everyone seems to get it. That’s quite okay. Today I had the pleasure of speaking with people who do… And we all agreed that special things are happening here! 🌝
Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this space in the making.
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✦ Killeen ✦
