The Keila Ba Deila Welcome! Exploring a Creative Life and Saying Goodbye to Bare Cloth

Greetings from the studio! For those not familiar, my small artist studio is located in Turtle River, MN. Overlooking the woods and a mossy swamp, where trails from every direction converge. Frequented by local animal traffic, including deer, bears, turkeys, lynx, squirrels, and, if we're lucky, Chuck the Woodchuck.

Many folks know me as a Hattersley weaver, and I'm a proud one! People also know me as the owner and operator of Bare Cloth, a lovely little arts business that sells handwoven goods made for life in the northern woods. All made from sustainable wool fibers with a luxurious, durable hand. AND, as you may have noticed, we are bidding Bare Cloth adieu.

Before we get too far, don't worry, the loom is still here, and I am still weaving.

Those two things won't change.

What is changing is the name of this creative space and sharing the creative practices that not only support my own creative process, but will hopefully support yours as well. There is a lot to creative living that is seen and unseen, and with this new rendition, upgrade, shift, evolution... I am hoping to make more space for the unseen of the daily rituals that support not only the creative life, but a life ever-present with curiosity, uncertainty, and a willingness to shift and change, and grow.

The original vision for this online space was for the maker in all of us, the creative in all of us... AND that is still true and is even truer with this new shift. 

You may have already noticed a few additions to the site, a landing page where you can explore based on what you are needing today, a spot for guided meditations for anyone (not just creatives and artists!), the blog continues to expand, inviting you to test out some new practices, and okay... There is one change with the loom... I am exploring making it hybrid! This is a very slow upgrade in hopes it will be easier on the body to keep weaving and making inspired creations for you! (bare with, this may be a process, so what is available in the shop may be what's available for some time as mechanics are being upgraded.)

Here is a quick list of what this space will be exploring with this new rebirth!

• Writing prompts, journaling, and hear me out... some poetry! Check out a new blog post on this HERE!

• Photography: Let's see what artsy stuff we can capture, ay??

• As mentioned earlier, and after multiple years of requests, guided meditations. There are already multiple new ones to try on!

• Collage.... you know I love a good collage : )

• Chaos, lots of that, love that... : )

• And as always, much of my weaving work has embodied my personal ethos, creating comfortable spaces to do the uncomfortable work. This will continue to be a place to dive deep, hold a lot of compassion, and be curious about what we need (A little nod to our new home page! Feel free to come back regularly, to see what you need!)

  
  

In the past Bare Cloth has focused on products ready for sale and custom orders to capture your stories and provide extra comfort for those you care about. While all of that was going on, behind the scenes were daily practices that supported creativity, brainstorming new ideas, self-care, community care, time to rest and be, and exploring how different mediums impact my weaving and inspire different creations. Being an artist isn't just about making art, but finding the practices and daily rituals that support a sustained artistic routine. Which brings me to another perspective I invite you to try on. I truly believe that everyone is a creative and that creative practices help us all explore our own identities, interests, hopes, and help sustain and care for ourselves. As this site holds more inspiration and creative practices to try on, I invite you to see which ones might spark a little extra creativity in your life. A lot of my creative process is trying something, almost like an experiment, to see what unravels (pun absolutely intended : ).

Join me in a little experiment? Join me in seeing what unravels in this space?

Let's see what sustains us. What challenges us. What new invitation is reaching out to us. It may be a journaling practice, an idea that sparks a fun conversation with a friend, or a new medium that reminds us of when we felt inspired as kid. No matter where you are in your life journey or creative journey, you are welcome here. And I'm excited to see where we go.

This wouldn't be a blog post without some reference to a poem!

One of my favorite quotes comes from the Andrea Gibson,

"There is so much love in consistently asking,

“Who are you now?”

There is so much love in letting our loved ones be continually new to us.

To love someone isn’t so much to know them,

as it is to know their never-ending BECOMING.

Here we get to explore who we are now, what we feel connected to, and what we're curious about while being open to who we are becoming. In this way, we may have to say goodbye to an old version (Bare Cloth) to make space for something to become (Hello, Keila Ba Deila!).

I also want to take a moment of gratitude for you and this charming community. It has been almost eight years of getting to hear your stories, hopes, and blessings that have been woven into the creations made to be enjoyed and gifted all over the country and world. I have so enjoyed the conversations, emails, questions, and excited shares of your own projects and journeys. I love the community that Bare Cloth has been able to make. I am looking forward to how this space can evolve to center more of those relationships and the community to grow. I thank you for being here, and I'm also oh so excited to see how this space evolves to support us moving forward!

So with these shifts and additions, I would like to formally welcome you to Keila Ba Deila ✨

( pronounced key-la ba dey-la)

A space to be inspired, curious, challenged, and also a space to come and rest when we need a moment of ease or support. Let's dive into creativity together.

Oh, real quick, if you're curious about why Keila Ba Deila ...

I do enjoy some whimsy, a quick run-through of the nicknames here at the studio.

• Loomy Doomy (the Hattersley loom)

• Stoots Magoots (Studio)

• Cutie Patooties (anyone who stops by the studio, or just talking to myself 💁🏼‍♀️)

  
  

My own creative practice has been craving some lightheartedness and a step or two away from being precise, practical, or proper... thus Keila Ba Deila aligned with my need for some fun and instantly inspires an authentic smile... with a little mischief and gumption on the side... Thus, a great place to pull some inspo!

So stick around, I like having you here. I truly enjoy getting to know those who also enjoy being in this space. I understand change can be scary; you, like me, may have also enjoyed Bare Cloth, and I promise it's the same old Keila at the laptop typing in her mended jeans, a cup of Earl Grey waiting to cool on her left, and behind her the same old Loomy Doomy waiting for the next project. Some things never change, while others are designed to continually change for the better.

Thank YOU for being here both in the Bare Cloth days and now in the Keila Ba Deila days as well.

Cheers to honoring what was, listening to the voice of change, and enjoying the process along the way!