This year at Material Wit we’ve found inspiration in the cyclical aspects of nature. We’ve chosen a theme related to this inspiration for each month. The theme is there to guide us in our visual merchandising, product offerings and related promotions. It’s also a way for us to show the intention behind our choices as a company. We hope you’ll follow along in this journey of thought, feeling and action within the Material Wit community.
Our May theme is Expansive.
Expansive
Take a stroll in spring and you’ll see all the blooms on show. The first leaves unfurl and every bit of life buzzes with productivity. Even Fir cones snap open, dropping seed to the ground below where seedling trees stand already in moist moss beds. All expressing the grand potential of nature's efforts.
We feel that grand potential too. All the hopes amid early spring bring a reward of notable progress. On the sprouting of seeds and the happy leaps of lambs in the pasture. We celebrate our early effort in appreciation of the expanding season.
I think about the concept of expansion in relation to designing and creating. Initially, one is introduced to a material and a skill. What follows is practice, to understand the material and learn the skill. Within this process, one's expertise grows and eventually becomes expansive. The initial discipline and effort actually expands the potential for creativity. This is what I love the most about handmade items. It’s what artists mean when they talk about their creative flow state and it’s what I think the patrons of art and handmade objects appreciate in the object itself. We’ll touch more on this subject in our next month’s newsletter. For now, let’s celebrate the practice of honing a skill set and knowledge based of a material to provide an expansive creative space for a designer and maker.
Expansive creation is exactly what we’ve been experiencing in our studio this month. Our new equipment has arrived and I’ve been preparing all month in anticipation of utilizing this new production system. Most of this effort is in perfecting my wax modeling skills and learning about casting in a small studio. How exciting! But also involving many slow long days of learning through practice. Often in this process the materials and tools guide the design and shape the final product. With the efforts I’m excited to share there are a handful of new designs with master models ready for casting. Follow along in our socials for studio moments and progress on these new offerings coming soon!
I hope your experiences of late have channeled your potential and expanded your own unique creativity.
Jessie Morrow
Owner/Designer/Maker
Material Wit
