Introduction of Ozark Glade Atelier

Hey there! We are Andrew and Michelle of the Ozark Glade Atelier. And I know some of you might be thinking, "Atelier...What a pretentious-sounding word!" However, if you look up what it means, it describes exactly what we are in a very succinct fashion. Here is the definition of an atelier from dictionary.com:

a workshop or studio, especially of an artist, artisan, or designer.

Originally, we were going to go with Ozark Glade Studio and Workshop, but that mouthful was too cumbersome for our logo (and Steemit's space for entering a title). And then I got to thinking, "Hmm...I wonder if there is a word for both a workshop and a studio?" After a short search, I found the perfect word.

Now, let's get to who we are and what we do.

Andrew is a neophyte artisan...

...crafting useful objects in a workshop. I say neophyte because my life as a maker-of-things has really just begun. Through my upbringing and education, I was being sculpted to join the typical 9-5 of the average middle-class American. However, I have forsaken that life for a rural life where I get to work with my hands every day. And I love it. I believe that there is something written within the heart of each of us to create. We were made to work with our hands - it is part of what makes us human.

In the workshop - once I actually build it - I will be using saw, chisel, drawknife, and plane to make all sorts of handcrafted objects. I am very much interested in making bows and arrows, musical instruments (like banjos and dulcimers), and any other thing that the homestead needs (perhaps cabinets or tables). Some of these things I know how to do, but most of them I don't (yet). Steemit gives me a place to document my projects, and that is why I am here.

Michelle is a professional artist...

...creating beautiful things in a studio. Like Andrew, I was groomed by my education (a college degree in art, in this case) to create a certain type of gallery-worthy, over-intellectualized, widely-inaccessible form of art. After graduating, however, I found that the beauty in the living things that surrounded me--the imperceptible traceries in a dragonfly wing, the color-flash of a warbler between branches, and the unmapped pathways of leaf and branch--were so much more meaningful to study, take inspiration from, and share. I hope to make artwork that draws from the ever-so-much-more intricate painting that I live in every day on our little Ozark foothill.

In the studio - once Andrew builds it - I will be using pen, pencil, paints, and natural objects to create images and beautiful things. I love to paint, but I am tired of using toxic pigments to create artwork. Part of my goals are to craft natural dyes from plants that we can find growing around us. Additionally, I endeavor to learn a lot of the old fiber arts that every wife once knew to help clothe and comfort her family. I've only spun my own yarn from wool once (with ...erm, "charmingly" flawed results, haha), but I hope to use the wool from my animals and the dyes from my land to someday make pieces that have both lovely form and durable function.

Why the Logo?

You might be wondering what a black cat has to do with us, and why we would include it on our logo. Why not a paintbrush? Why not a chisel? Well, this black cat represents a lot to us. He is our cat. He, too, was born and raised in the city. When we brought him to the Ozarks where we now live, he did not make the adjustment well. He spent his days hiding in a back closet only coming out to eat. And that is when we made the decision to make this city cat a country cat. We slowly transitioned him to life outside - first to our back room, and then to the real outdoors. And now he couldn't be happier. It is like something awakened inside him, and he is finally able to be a REAL cat.

So we chose him to be a part of our logo because, in many ways, he is like us. He was born and raised in an environment that was not really suitable to him. Only once moving to country could he really become what he was meant to be. And we are finding the same is true of us as we shed our city-selves. Only now are we free to become what we were meant to be and do what we were meant to do.

Thank You!

Thank you for checking us out here on Steemit. We hope that our projects will inspire you, too, to keep learning, creating, and doing.

Until next time...