Lovin' the Brooks Range |
I'm a Northern Maine native and I've been living in Juneau since 2003. Like most people here, I came for a short stay and never left. UAS is a great school, Juneau is a great town, and Alaska is a great state! Since I've been here I've worked as a UAS tutor, a corner store clerk, a tour guide, a boat scrubber and painter, a gillnetting deckhand, a lodge hand, and a preschool teacher's assistant. Now, my focus is on raising a fishing family while producing local, sustainable food and clothing and reducing waste.
Working on the gillnet - Huck 8 days old |
And basically,
I am head-over-heals in love with the Earth!...... and I try to cultivate that same feeling in others. I think the Montessori theory is a great way to do that with children, as it fosters curiosity, creativity, respect, and compassion for all things, from an anthill to the planet Earth, from a single person to a community of creatures. When I worked at an AMI Montessori preschool I was constantly finding ways to engage the children in the natural world and share it's wonderful magnitude of multitudes. Now that I'm a stay at home Mama (as opposed to when I was a working Mama) I have more time to steep myself in the natural world, reflect, and share my creations with others. I make things because I love to, and also because I want to inspire peace, love, respect, and beauty through everyday objects, from the magnets on a fridge, to the skirt on someone's hips, to the materials children use. I love to have unique, handmade stuff, and I think others do too!
In 2010 I thought of starting a composting co-op but had no time; in October 2011 I brainstormed it onto paper; and in January 2012 I started it. Composting is an important part of nutrient cycling and it's just plain fascinating! I can't do it enough!
Juneau Icefield - me in yellow helmet |
I still need supervision in the skiff..... |
Family gillnetting - Huck on hydros |
That's a pretty long nutshell, but trust me that it is in fact just a nutshell!