Wanderstruck Studio

Stories and Fiber Art from 5,000 Miles of Adventures, by Kris Grenier

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Valentine’s Day

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Heart in Moss

A little love from the Mid-Atlantic woods

Posted in AT 2012 (Thru-Hike), Photographs and tagged Appalachian Trail, beauty, friends, hiking, love, nature, outdoors, photography, relationships, Valentine's Day, wildflowers on February 14, 2015 by Kris Grenier. Leave a comment

Happy Trails!

I hope you enjoy my ramblings and reminiscences from a life lived passionately on the Appalachian and Pacific Crest Trails and in the world at large.

"May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds."
Edward Abbey

Recent Adventures

Not-so-#waybackwednesday? . . This summer, I took the plunge into the world of trail and ultra marathon running. Before running a pair of ultras and a few shorter trail races myself, I began by volunteering my running legs, LNT ideals, and Wilderness First Responder training to “sweep” part of a 100-miler, an incredible and inspiring experience. The course traveled along Kentucky’s #SheltoweeTrace. It’s fun to look back on photos from that adventure today, when the world outside the studio is winter storm gray.

Chalk it up to my toddler days spent naming flowers in the local plant nursery...or to too many botany classes in college...or to my years on conservation planting crew. 🌸 🌺 🌹🌼🌻 . . In any case, one of my favorite parts about hiking is taking in the beauty of the short-lived mountain flowers. On the AT, I enjoyed “walking north with springtime,” prolonging the season. On the PCT, I was treated to the tail end of the desert bloom. In the mountains of Colorado, the growing season is condensed by harsh weather, so spring ephemerals and summer wildflowers and yellow autumnal aspens follow one another in rapid succession. . . In this 12”x12” felting, I sought to capture the joy and peace I felt from a vantage point near a forest road on the Colorado Trail.

One of the new additions to the Wanderstruck ornament line-up, just in time for the holiday season 🎄 ⛰ 🌅

And just like that, it was done. ✌️ ❤️ 🎨 • • @artclecticnashville 2018 was as memorable as last year’s edition had been. From the school’s youngest students to its alumni, faculty, staff, and parents, everyone involved in @usn_pds is so welcoming. They roll out the red carpet for us artists, and they bring in an incredible, excited crowd to this special show. • • This year, I got to spend more time with my fellow artists. The fabulous painter and pigment gatherer @ab.brazier and I got to talk about everything from running to art shows to little children. Catching up with @calebgroh again meant seeing some great new fiber creations. @kmaxwellart brought wonderful artistic energy from New Hampshire. And, I was so glad to see @soundingstonefarm and @stephen.hutchins again! • • As much as I enjoy sharing my work, art shows can be exhausting, and I find myself ready for a break afterward. Artclectic isn’t like that. Instead, I’m sorry to see it end and inspired for my next projects.

Day 3 of Artclectic! At the @usn_pds today, there is a pop-up gift market (#popclectic), in addition to our art gallery. If you’re in the Nashville area, this is the perfect way to spend a rainy Saturday. • • 📷: Light display during the Patrons’ Party of @artclecticnashville

ArtBash has begun! Whereas Thursday night’s event feels like a soirée, Friday night’s is more of a party for art lovers. Looking forward to this! @artclecticnashville @usn_pds

“If you truly love Nature, you will find beauty everywhere.” -Vincent Van Gogh • • The Starry Night” has found a new forever home! I’d taken this piece off my bedroom wall and brought it to @artclecticnashville at the @usn_pds because I thought the students would enjoy it during Education Day. Imagine my surprise when a woman asked whether she could purchase it, as the original was a favorite masterpiece of her children. It makes me happy to know Starry Night will be loved for many years. ❤️ 🎨

Getting ready to demonstrate needle-felting for the students of @usn_pds during @artclecticnashville Education Day

Wanderstruck Studio is set up and ready for @artclecticnashville tonight! I even got the chance to teach some @usn_pds middle schoolers how to wet felt. 😊 Last year, this was my favorite show, and I’m so excited to be back!

Whether appreciating their shade and beauty on hikes and runs, planting saplings with the @intervaleconservationnursery, or studying botany in the classroom, I never cease to be amazed by trees. 🌲 🌳 Recreating ones I once walked under from felted wool feels like a special tribute to them.

One of today’s Etsy orders was a fun custom creation. A #caminodesantiago pilgrim wanted to commemorate their journey with a felted wool ornament bearing both the iconic stylized shell and the year. • • Felting this ornament brought back a flood of memories from my own pilgrimage in 2016 and made me even more excited about the thought of going back someday. Next time, I’d love to walk any of the routes from the Mediterranean to the English Channel, over the Pyrenees. Such a beautiful part of this world! 🇪🇸 🇫🇷 • • Buen Camino!

I enjoyed some time in the studio this evening, adding a little more wool 🐑 to this 24”x18” felting of a scene from the Colorado Trail. #workinprogress • • It was almost a year ago that I was on the CT, hiking from Denver to Durango through some of this country’s most gorgeous terrain. Now, at least three times each week, I’ll see or hear or think of something that reminds me of those mountains, and feel my heart longing to go back. You did it, Colorado. You won over another lifelong fan. ⛰😍⛰

Eight years ago today, as a young, aspiring scientist at Hubbard Brook, I went on a hike to the top of Welch-Dickey. I came down a hiker. • In the years that followed, hiking has taken me all over our country and abroad. I’ve lived out of my backpack for six months at a time. I’ve been in Death Valley and 14,000 feet high, in alpine lakes and snowy deserts, on a medieval pilgrimage route and on herdpaths and on bushwacks. I’ve seen ancient trees, towering summits, wild rivers, and flowering meadows. I’ve met inspiring people, and I’ve learned so much about myself. • Hiking and backpacking are my passions. They pull my heartstrings and touch my spirit in a way nothing else does. I can’t wait to be back on the trails this summer. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Working on some foreground details to complete this 100% wool felting of Sunfish Pond on the Appalachian Trail.

For my birthday last week, my sister and I headed down to Berea for some quality woods time. The farm is beautiful in the springtime, but I loved being back in the green tunnel. • I can’t wait to hike the Wonderland Trail and the Tahoe Rim Trail this summer. Goodness knows there will be plenty of felting inspiration! 🎨

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