Freedom Feather

My word for the year, words for each season … connected energetically.

Day 1 – Made to Matter: 13 Soulful Stories from the Studio

There’s a quiet kind of power in doing something just for the joy of it. No pressure. No perfection. Just presence. That’s how my first photo from the weeklong art challenge came to be—though the photo alone didn’t tell the whole story. A few months ago, I took an online workshop with Delight Rogers, a talented artist who radiates ease and playfulness. The assignment was simple in theory: choose a word, tear some paper, and design what she called a Freedom Feather. But as it turns out, even simple can be sacred.

I sat at my desk that day with a stack of reclaimed papers—vintage scraps, hand-stamped textures, soft old pages with frayed edges. Tearing them took more time than I expected. There was something deeply soothing in it, as if every rip was releasing something: a rush of breath, an unspoken memory, an old should. The design came after, but the quiet therapy happened in those first moments.

The feather I created is layered in meaning, not just material. One side washes in earthy greens—rooted and grounded. The other flows in watery blues—fluid and open. I finished it with gentle strokes of watercolor, letting the colors blend without overthinking. Then I wrapped it—energetically—with my guiding words: one for the year, and a few for this season. Like a whispered intention woven in thread.

“Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.”
— Rumi

This was more than an hour-long project. It was a reset.
A reminder that art doesn’t always ask for explanation—it just asks you to show up.

As I placed it on my desk, I realized how rare and valuable it is to create something that doesn’t need to “perform.” No purpose other than to express, to soothe, to remind.

And isn’t that a kind of freedom in itself?

“He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.”
— Psalm 91:4 (NKJV)

A Thought to Carry:

What if the next thing you create doesn’t have to be big or perfect?
What if it just needs to be?