“So this, I believe, is the central question upon which all creative living hinges: Do you have the courage to bring forth the treasures that are hidden within you?” ~ Elizabeth Gilbert

Guest Introduction: This is Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast episode 47. I’m Cindy MacMillan and today’s guest is Heather Kraft.

Exploring the Seasons of Life, a podcast for women with a big heart on a spiritual journey. Each week, join Cindy MacMillan as she interviews coaches, spiritual explorers and celebrants from all walks of life about beginnings, endings and the messy bits in-between. Self-love, well-being, and mindset are at the heart of our conversations because once you change the inside, the outside will begin to change as well.

Hey everyone. Welcome back to another episode of Exploring the Seasons of Life.

Heather Kraft is a glass artist turned fine china jewelry designer. In 2009, she started Material and Movement, a practice that takes fine china and repurposes it into jewelry for the conscious world. She hopes she can give relevant purpose to otherwise forgotten, outdated objects. She lives and works in Portland, Oregon.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation: 1:32 And I think for me, the way I think about seasons is in terms of our energy and the way we spend our days. So for me Spring, kind of means awakening or change, the energy is building, Summer is high energy, movement, full of life, Fall, would be reflection and slowing down, and Winter would be rest.

3:50 I grew up always making art and building things. I'm more of a sculptor and a 3D person rather than a drawer or a painter. I found glassblowing when I was a teenager, and I just fell in love with it. So many people are drawn to it because it's very exotic.

6:24 I didn't have a lot of other things going on in my life and I started scouring Goodwill's for plates and was just hammering away in my apartment. And then I, you know, started refining the shapes more and just growing this new idea.

9:36 That's always kind of like a puzzle to me, that's really intriguing.

11:56 But when I was thinking about this question, I just was coming up with the idea that keeping my creative practice a priority, no matter what my life looks like.

13:46 So people will come to me with china that they've inherited or have somehow ended up with, they're not super excited about using it at their dinner table or even displaying it, but it's that feeling of well, this is you know, been in my family, or this is important to me, I just can't get rid of it.

17:19 My goals this year, well, I guess for my business is really trying to expose my work and the service I offer to more people, I did start this business in 2009. But really, it was a hobby for many years.

26:33 But I think I would tell her to, you know, go a little bit more with the flow and keep a wider perspective on life. I think that would have probably created a little bit more adventure for her too.

You can find Heather Kraft at: Website Facebook If you enjoyed this conversation with Heather Kraft you might also enjoy these other episodes: Find Your Voice and Feel Your Best with Sally Bolinger

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Thanks for joining us this week on Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast. Make sure to visit our website, CynthiaMacMillan.com, where you can subscribe to the show on iTunes, Stitcher, or Spotify so you’ll never miss a show. While you’re at it, if you found value in this show we’d appreciate a rating on iTunes – or if you’d simply tell a friend about the show, that would help us out too.

Until next time live inspired!