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Closing out 2024

Closing out 2024

now booking for February 2025!

Cara Schuster
December 19, 2024

White Eyes
by Mary Oliver

In winter

all the singing is in

the tops of the trees

where the wind-bird

with its white eyes

shoves and pushes

among the branches.

Like any of us

he wants to go to sleep,

but he’s restless—

he has an idea,

and slowly it unfolds

from under his beating wings

as long as he stays awake.

But his big, round music, after all,

is too breathy to last.

So, it’s over.

In the pine-crown

he makes his nest,

he’s done all he can.

I don’t know the name of this bird,

I only imagine his glittering beak

tucked in a white wing

while the clouds—

which he has summoned

from the north—

which he has taught

to be mild, and silent—

thicken, and begin to fall

into the world below

like stars, or the feathers

of some unimaginable bird

that loves us,

that is asleep now, and silent—

that has turned itself

into snow.

We participated in two holiday markets this year, which went very well! I gained a clearer understanding of what I like to make, how much to make, what people actually want me to make, and how I might find a balance keeping all of that in mind going forward. Thank you all who came out to purchase or just say hello. We are grateful to you! This has been another rollercoaster year of making changes, has had its ups and downs, and I enter another winter knowing I will emerge with more confidence knowing how to move forward when the spring greets us. I like to keep it fresh. I really enjoyed this article by Danica Boyce, which validated my inherent need to keep the inspiration fire lit.

By the way, we are officially out of honey until late April!

Now Booking for 2025!

I have a couple of spots left in January, otherwise I don’t have any openings at the home studio until February. (Please refer to Mud & Lotus for more availability there). If you missed my last newsletter, please note that I have chosen to raise my prices to reflect a more standard market rate. I will no longer accept gratuities in an effort to streamline our transaction. If this is a financial hardship for you, I can accept Afterpay, or we chat about a cash discount.

Speaking of
B O O K S ….

My Best Books of 2024

These were my favorite books I read this year. Most were page-turners. All were good, a few were FANTASTIC. I started several others that I ended up putting aside for one reason or another, and read others I left off the list. Disclosure: The following links are affiliated with Bookshop.org, which donates to local bookshops. I do receive a commission if you purchase. You can also just go direct to the source, like The Raven or The Dusty Bookshelf. I personally checked out all of these titles through the Lawrence Public Library.

Wild Chocolate by Rowan Jacobsen

Where There Was Fire by John Manuel Arias

Velvet Was The Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Malas by Marcela Fuentes

Bright I Burn by Molly Aitken

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

Take Back The Magic : Conversations With The Unseen World by Perdita Finn

The Extinction of Irena Rey by Jennifer Croft

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova

Alchemy of A Blackbird by Claire McMillian

The Last Russian Doll by Kristen Loesch