Ellie has never met a craft she didn’t like. 

With a background in Anthropology and Archaeology, Culinary Arts, Massage Therapy, Library work, and Art she is still trying to make her mind up about what she wants to be when she grows up. 

For now, she is the mother of 2 children, a passionate knitter, enthusiastic crafter, and constant dabbler, keeper of chickens, bees, and a wild garden. 

You will find her living with her family, happily nested among tall pine trees that are filled with birds and squirrels in Wisconsin, discovering the magic in the mundane.

@littlefernfibers

Nan Calvert was introduced to needle and wet felting many years ago at the Racine Dominican Eco-Justice Center. Since that time, she has become passionate about fiber arts in general - especially stone wrapping - which she discovered purely by happenstance in 2022. Her other fiber arts pursuits include looping, small-scale weaving and she has just begun to learn how to spin.  

When she is not working on a fiber arts project, Nan tends to her many free-range chickens, 5 Angora goats, 5 horses, 2 dogs, and 1 husband.

Rachel Catlett is an artist and a shepherd, living and working on a small regenerative sheep farm in Sugar Creek, Wisconsin. 

Raised as a Navy junior, she grew up moving regularly across the US and traveling overseas. After graduating high school, she accepted a scholarship at the Meadows School of Fine Art at Southern Methodist University. Upon graduating with a BFA in Painting, she went on to Colorado State University where she received her MFA in Printmaking

She then went on to a 30 year career in ornamental horticulture, beginning at the Chicago Botanic Garden and continuing on as a professional gardener in the landscape design and installation field. Inspired by a lifelong desire to return to her family's rural heritage as ranchers, she pursued her interest in regenerative agriculture.She and her husband Ed, purchased Brown Dog Farm in 2016. She raises heritage breed sheep and goats for wool and meat, rotationally grazes livestock to build soil and sequester carbon. Her artwork tells the story of rural life and the work of ranchers and farmers.

She has continued her painting practice through multiple careers and shows regionally in the Midwest. She accepts commissions, and maintains her studio practice in her farm studio. She enjoys teaching painting and drawing in her rural community, raising her sheep, riding her horse and working with her woodworking husband, restoring their old farmhouse and barns.

Linda Conroy, MSS, MLSP dedicates her life to connecting with the green world. She is a practicing herbalist, providing herbal education, workshops, and apprenticeships, as well as individual consultations and handcrafted herbal products. Linda holds two master's degrees: MSS (Master of Social Service) and MLSP (Master of Law and Social Policy) and is apprentice trained in the field of herbalism and the natural world. Linda is a community organizer and the founder of Moonwise Herbs, the Midwest Women’s Herbal Conference, and Mycelium Mysteries: Women's Mushroom Conference. 

Her primary mentors are the plants who never cease to instill a sense of awe in her daily life. Linda’s primary human mentors are Isla Burgess, Susun Weed, and Marshall Rosenberg. She has also studied with Tieraona LowDog, MD, Stephen Buhner, Cascade Geller Anderson, Ryan Drum, Eaglesong and Sally King of Raven Croft Gardens, Matthew Wood, and many others. She has studied women’s mysteries with Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Z. Budapest, Vicki Noble, Starhawk, Jean Houston and other of our inspiring foremothers.

Linda has a certificate in permaculture design, which she completed through the International Earth Activist Program. She has been a student and practitioner of Nonviolent Communication for over 30 years. She spent several of those years learning directly from Marshall Rosenberg, the founder of Nonviolent Communication. She has also studied with author and community leader, Miki Kashtan through her programs on nonviolent communication and social justice. Linda has participated in the birth doula training through the Seattle School of Midwifery and the Midwifery Assistant Program through The Farm Midwives in Tennessee. In addition, she is trained as a Wilderness First Responder.

For over three decades Linda has presented programs and facilitated apprenticeship programs, throughout the United States, focusing on natural health, personal growth, communication, herbalism, traditional skills, and wild foraging. Participants in programs facilitated by Linda walk away with an appreciation for the natural world as well as skills and confidence for incorporating plants into their daily lives. Linda has been working to empower people for over 30 years. She is a vibrant, passionate woman who continually seeks to deepen her connection to life.

I have always enjoyed arts and crafts.  I started quilting many years ago.  I was the Director of Activities at Oak Hill Terrace for 19 years and after retirement I am still providing a sewing at Oak Hill Terrace. I currently work and teach at Sew Much More Quilt Store and help with Art Links in Waukesha for their fiber arts program.  I enjoy sharing hand sewing and the Grandma's Flower Garden reminds me of my Grandma's flower garden.  I enjoy seeing people completing a project, when they doubt that they have the talent to do it.

Jared Janovec received both his Bachelor of Fine Arts (1999) and Master of Fine Arts (2002) degrees with a focus in fine art studio ceramics. His ceramics and mixed-media sculptures have been exhibited locally/regionally, nationally, and internationally. He has approximately 25 years of ceramics and related studio art, higher-education teaching experience, most of which has been via serving his students at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he also currently serves as the Interim Chair of the Department of Art and Design, and also has served as a teacher of hands-on ceramics workshops. 

As an artist and educator, he is particularly inspired and informed by the natural world, the history of the human species and its need to understand, control, and extract from the natural world, among other topics of interest. Janovec also considers himself to be a dedicated, wild, edible mushrooms forager where he resides in Southeastern Wisconsin, and where he enjoys spending time with his two sons and spouse.

Jodie received a BFA in Painting and an Environmental Sciences/Natural Resources Management Certificate from Kansas State University. She has used this as a foundation and built on it through the years through concentrated study in Biodynamic Agriculture, Waldorf Education, and Fiber Arts. She received her Biodynamic Apprentice Certification in 2018. Jodie believes that farming and stewarding the land go hand in hand with her pursuit of fiber art. A healthy and well managed farm can produce a well cared for and beautiful animal that shares the gift of its fleece to the fiber artist. The fiber artist will produce a garment or object with a sense of care and deep appreciation for the land that nurtured the animal and the animal itself that grew the fiber. Supporting sustainable fiber production cares for the entities that played a role in producing the fiber, thus fostering a cycle of care steeped in the synergistic relationship that is the foundation of a healthy ecosystem. A fiber-based garment should be able to be traced back to a healthy animal, healthy grass, healthy soil, a healthy ecosystem, and a healthy planet. It is the duty of the fiber artist to reflect that beauty in their work. 

Brandon LaGreca, LAc, MAcOM grew up on the east coast and attended Montclair State University where he received a bachelors degree in science with a minor in religion, summa cum laude. He then moved to the west coast to a fulfill a dream from the age of 12 to study traditional Chinese medicine. He was accepted to the prestigious Oregon College of Oriental medicine where he earned his Masters in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. His post-graduate work included studying and working in Nanjing University of traditional Chinese medicine in China. 10 years into his private practice, Brandon experienced firsthand the journey of the wounded healer when a series of small bowel obstructions lead to hospitalization and diagnosis of stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He achieved remission 8 months later following an integrative oncology protocol that included immunotherapy, but without surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy. He now lectures and writes on the epigenetics of cancer and has dedicated his career to empowering patients through and beyond chronic illnesses such as cancer. His latest interests include studying indigenous forms of healing and ecospirituality.

Brandon@EastTroyAcupuncture.com

Carol May is a retired college administrator who is obsessed with learning and practicing new skills.  She is an avid gardener and camper during warmer months, and she spends winters sewing, quilting,  knitting, beading, weaving baskets, making various kinds of brooms, and practicing sashiko. 

Holly Morgan is a Gardener, Photographer, and Mother. She is enjoying raising her children on their quiet homestead, immersing herself in the medicine of the natural world, and cultivating community in celebration of collaboration and interdependence.

Dan O’Leary of Honey Valley Beekeeping has cared for bees for over 25 years. Dan has followed his family’s love for bees. Dan’s grandfather had bees, his father, siblings, son and now his grandsons are helping him carry on the family tradition. The approach that serves Dan is to care for the health of the bee and the honey then follows. Dan is a local mentor in our community and has vast experience and insights into the bees. He has taught classes for years on beginning beekeeping at Michael Fields Agricultural Institute and Walworth County Bee Club. 

Meet your guide;

Hi, I’m Gwen, a certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide. My journey with nature started as a child, running barefoot on the grass, talking to the trees and tending to our family’s farm in central Wisconsin. As life took me from the countryside to the city, I lost touch with that deep connection. Despite a busy and productive life, I struggled with depression, anxiety, and various health issues. 

Discovering Forest Therapy was transformative for me. It guided me in reconnecting deeply with nature and myself through mindful, sensory experiences, rekindling the relationship I once knew. My goal with Intentionally Outdoors is to share this practice with you, helping you nurture a richer connection with the natural world and experience the healing benefits it has to offer. Each walk is an opportunity to slow down, be present, and foster a sense of balance and connection. I invite you to join me in this journey of rediscovery and wellness, wherever you are on your path.

You can connect with Gwen at connect@intentionallyoutdoors.com and find more information about Intentionally Outdoors and Forest Therapy on our website www.intentionallyoutdoors.com

Nicholas WazeeGale is an avid outdoorsperson, forager, ethical hunter, tracker and naturalist. He lives in the wooded hills of the Driftless area with his family and makes his living as a craftsperson and educator in outdoor skills and knowledge, and in hand craft. His passion of the last few years has been deeply diving into tracking and trailing animals and he has recently received certification as both a professional and specialist in reading track and sign via Tracker Certification North America.

https://www.wildrootshandcrafts.com/

You can find Nicholas on Instagram: @wildroots.handcrafts and @naturalnuances 

Facebook:  Nicholas WazeeGale

My name is Nancy Wilson, I am a landscape architect who has a passion for fiber arts. I learned to weave and hand spin yarn over 40 years ago in Stillwater, Oklahoma. My love of the fiber arts continued to grow as a member of the Black Sheep Handspinning Guild when living in Ithaca, New York. I am currently a member of the Wisconsin Handweavers Guild and other fiber organizations. In 2014 I started Common Threads Fiber Group that meets at the Waukesha Public Library once a month .

I realized my dream of having a studio in 2016 and started Lost Art Fiber and Textile Studio located in the Springs Gallery and Studio Building in Waukesha. I recently retired from my “big girl” job and am enjoying spending more time at my studio for weaving and teaching workshops. Lost Art Studio has a variety of fiber art classes and workshops including weaving, spinning, felting, knitting, crochet and dyeing. I welcome you to stop by my studio during the open hours listed on my website to see what we are doing.

I live in Waukesha, Wisconsin with my husband. Our menagerie of pets include a Golden Retriever (Emmitt), Irish Setter (Rosemary) and 2 cats (Trudy and Tucker). In addition to handpinning yarn, knitting and weaving, I am also a quilter and enjoy gardening, reading and spending time with my family.

You can connect with Nancy on 

Instagram: @LostArtFiber

Facebook: Facebook/LostArtFiberandTextileStudio

Or by email and website: 

nancy@LostArtFiberandTextile.com

www.LostArtFiberandTextile.com

Mitch was a student at the Hjerleid Folk School in Dovre Norway, and has taken several carving classes with master carvers here in Wisconsin.  He enjoys the Norwegian culture and arts.