Bricolage

Bricolage ( /ˌbriːkɵˈlɑːʒ/ or /ˌbrɪkɵˈlɑːʒ/) is a term used in several disciplines, among them the visual arts, to refer to the construction or creation of a work from a diverse range of things that happen to be available, or a work created by such a process.

The term is borrowed from the French word bricolage, from the verb bricoler, the core meaning in French being, "fiddle, tinker" and, by extension, "to make creative and resourceful use of whatever materials are at hand (regardless of their original purpose)".

I am most definitely French, well..half French..and I am most definitely a fiddler, tinker, and love to make creative and resourceful use of just about anything I find, am given, or come up with from the sum of any parts.

I started blogging in October of 2006. I felt a strong need to connect online with the creative community that had recently gone wild and was an incredible amount of fun as we all shared through blogging, quilting, crafting, sewing, and making art of all kinds.

 It was a vibrant period in the blogging and community quilting worlds and the friendships that immediately sprung up were such a gift and such a blessing.

Bit by bit over the past decade, blogging has changed a lot! Many have left and moved on to fame and fortune, others to facebook and instagram. And many like myself do their best to keep up with all of the many changes. We've moved on to new ways and forms of quilting ..maybe art quilting, maybe modern, perhaps liberated quilting or making new things in different ways with some of the same old pieces but for a new purpose in our lives...

I continue to sew together all of the varied pieces of my life. To still do all of the things that my family and I love to do.

For home...

and family...in both Oregon and Alaska ...

 

So, yes...I am busy in a lot of diverse and mentally, physically, and even  creatively spiritual ways!

Spending time with loved ones...my husband, three grown kids and their partners, my beloved grandbabies and pets and all of our families and extended family....

Getting together with my grown children and their partners, spending as much time as I am able to with my two precious and greatly loved grandchildren, visiting my brother who is still staying with family up in Portland as he grieves the loss of his wife and faces additional surgery of his own,

and doing all of the spiritually meaningful care giving and all of the charitable quilting, blanket making, and helping others that is my true nature in life.

Bits and pieces of our lives, no matter how simple...or how complex...all stitched together with love.

So, if you don't see me here...

 

or piling up my projects here...

or here.....

or even here....

 

or oh yes, here...

It's because I am here/there/and everywhere.....in my real "dreamtime" of life....and maybe not in this virtual one. I will still be doing the things that mean the very most and make the biggest difference..in my life..... and the lives of those I love!

 

We all need to dim the lights a bit, practice our deep breathing, calm the pace of our lives, go within to the core, the center, the calming focus of our lives.

We access that inner flow, enter the presence of peace and harmony. in the simplest of ways, with the simplest of things....yet continue to manifest the creative impulse ....

.....and yet still share and communicate with others.....

 ......as I do.....

With Love

and

With my heart and with my hands

So, you may not have seen me as much online, but I'm still here...cleaning up,  clearing out, updating and adding in my constantly growing collection if new projects that I'm working on .

But my primary focus is, and needs to be on my own ever growing and changing family. My Oregon family and my extended Alaskan one...some who are in Oregon visiting now and more arriving soon!

But I'm here every day...sending caring energies in all the ways I can...enjoy 10 years worth  of my bloghing, my sewing, my quilting and crafting.


Love,
Michele

Michele Bilyeu Creates With Heart and Hands as she shares her imaginative, magical, and healing journey from Alaska to Oregon. Creating, designing, sewing, quilting, and wildcrafting... from my heart and with my hands