#windborne singers

To Warm the Winter Hearth

I can finally reveal the big huge project that kept me super busy for the last three months!

These are two of the many (many) illustrations I painted for Windborne (@WindborneSingers and https://www.patreon.com/windborne) -a folk music group with a focus on vocal harmony across cultures and historical traditions!

To Warm the Winter Hearth is their midwinter celebration album. In their words

"In our households growing up, putting on the “holiday music” didn’t mean listening to Silver Bells or Frosty the Snowman, but instead meant albums and singing parties filled with wassails, songs of the winter solstice, old English carols, and other music you’d never hear at the mall. The focus of the holiday season was connecting to community and tradition, so the repertoire went far beyond songs and stories of the typical Christmas characters. Music came from a variety of midwinter traditions like European house-to-house visiting customs and singing back the sun on Solstice morning as we celebrated the turning of the year. "

The album (and full color book with lyrics, essays, and more art) is funding now on Backerkit: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/windborne/to-warm-the-winter-hearth-windborne-s-album-book-of-winter-celebration

I got a photo with The Longest Johns at the end of the night, and one of the women from Windborne (forgive me, I'm terrible with names but she was the lovely brunette with gorgeous earrings) stopped me and said she was so glad to have me in the front row.

when I tell you I was OVER THE MOON. I will be riding the high of that compliment for the rest of my damn LIFE. I was so anxious about being front-and-center the entire night. I felt so visible, I was worried I was taking up too much space, or taking up space from someone who deserved it more. but I stayed in my spot; I got to the venue an hour early for a reason, and it was worth it!

I got so excited for Hog Eye Man and stomped so hard one of my boots came unzipped and I had to wait for the next song to fix it!!

and oh gods above the Mary Ellen Carter broke me. I wept. the kick drum was inside my chest. the whole room sang around me. I couldn't tell if I was singing myself except that I had my hand on my chest and could feel my voice under my fingertips.