Frost, Kindle & Shimmer – Twelve Days of Winter Collection

TRANQUIL • LUMINOUS • ROOTED

Stories from the studio, reflections on process, and the art of the handmade.

Winter always feels like both a pause and a beginning. The air turns sharper, the days shorter, and suddenly the quiet invites us inward. In my studio, winter has become the perfect season to slow down, reflect, and create.

This year, I wanted to bring that rhythm to life through a project that unfolds slowly: Twelve Days of Winter. It’s a handmade collection of books, ornaments, and pagekeepers, each inspired by a single word.

The words act as touchstones. They set the tone before any paper is cut, any thread pulled through a binding, or any collage takes shape. Before the art itself is revealed, I want to linger with the words—because they carry just as much story as the finished pieces will.

Today, I’m unveiling the first three:

Frost, Kindle & Shimmer – Twelve Days of Winter Collection

❄ Frost

Frost is the hush of a winter morning, where breath lingers in the air and light scatters across a frozen field. It speaks of stillness, of edges softened by ice, of nature resting yet alive.

In the studio, Frost reminds me of the delicate balance in materials—how paper fibers catch light, how a stitched line can be both fragile and strong. It’s a word that invites restraint, an honoring of quiet beauty.

🔥 Kindle

Where Frost is still, Kindle sparks. It’s the ember catching, the small flame that grows into warmth. I think of Kindle as the companion word to winter—it reminds us that even in the coldest seasons, light can be coaxed to life.

For me as an artist, Kindle is about beginnings. It’s that first idea scribbled down, the first piece of paper folded, the first brush of glue on a surface. It’s the energy that transforms materials into something that tells a story.

✨ Shimmer

Shimmer is motion and radiance. It’s the glint of snowflakes caught in moonlight, or the ripple of water reflecting the sun. Unlike Frost’s stillness or Kindle’s steady flame, Shimmer is fleeting—here and gone, always shifting.

In my work, Shimmer often appears in unexpected ways: a thread catching the light, a gilded edge or metalic leaf glowing at just the right angle, or a transparent layer of collage that reveals what lies beneath. It’s a reminder that art doesn’t always sit still—it glimmers, it moves, it surprises.

Frost — the stillness of winter mornings in a single word.

Kindle — a spark of warmth to carry through the season.

Shimmer — light in motion, fleeting and luminous.

Behind the Words - Frost, Kindle & Shimmer – Twelve Days of Winter Collection

These words are more than inspiration. They are the foundation of the Twelve Days of Winter collection. Each one will eventually find form in paper, thread, and mixed media, but not yet.

I’ve chosen to reveal the words first—to let them breathe—before showing the finished pieces. My hope is that by the time all twelve are revealed, you’ll feel the story they carry. The art will then be a reflection of the journey we’ve taken together.

Why Reveal Slowly?

In a world that rushes toward instant reveals and finished products, there’s something grounding about slowing down. By sharing three words each week, I’m inviting you into the process, not just the outcome.

It mirrors how I work in the studio. Ideas rarely arrive fully formed; they unfold. Sometimes a project begins with just a word written in my notebook, and only much later do I know what it wants to become.

Twelve Days of Winter is meant to be savored in that same way.

A Story in Twelve Parts

So here we are, at the beginning. Three words—Frost, Kindle, and Shimmer—have set the tone. Nine more remain, each with its own story, waiting to be revealed.

These first three words—Frost, Kindle & Shimmer – Twelve Days of Winter Collection—set the tone for what’s to come. Together they begin a story that will continue to unfold each week, word by word, until the full handmade collection is revealed.

Subscribers to my newsletter will continue to receive these first looks. Then in November, when the last word is shared, the full collection of books, ornaments, and pagekeepers will be unveiled to the public.

It’s a winter tale, told in fragments, stitched together with anticipation.

Closing Invitation

This is just the beginning. Frost, Kindle, and Shimmer are the opening notes of a winter symphony. Over the next few weeks, I’ll continue to share new words, each one a doorway into the art that waits behind them.

If you’d like to follow along as the story unfolds—and be the first to see the finished pieces—make sure you’re signed up for my newsletter.

Follow the Story