April Craft & Chat: Felted Mushrooms

This week, the Emerald Curtain Collective hosted our monthly gathering at the South Beach Community Center, and what an evening it was. Laura Buchanan led us through the wonderfully meditative art of needle felting, and our community showed up in a bigger way than ever before. This was our most attended monthly gathering to date, and the room was absolutely buzzing with creative energy from start to finish.

Needle felting is a fiber art where a barbed needle is used to sculpt soft wool into shape, one little poke at a time. The barbs catch and tangle the fibers, slowly transforming a wisp of fluff into something with form and personality. Laura set us up with baskets of wool in every color imaginable, foam blocks, and an inviting array of inspiration, and from there our hands took over.

The results were so charming we could hardly stand it! Tiny mushrooms with colorful caps and all kinds of whimsical critters started appearing at every table. Some folks discovered talents they didn’t know they had. Others picked up a craft they’ll be carrying with them long after the evening ended. There was so much laughter, a metric ton of teeny, tiny stabs, and so many proud little creations held up to be admired.

What strikes us most, though, is what this growing community means beyond the craft tables. Every new person who walks through those doors is one more neighbor who knows the names of the species we’re fighting for, one more voice that can speak up for the forests, rivers, and shorelines that make this place what it is. The Oregon Coast’s wild places need people who love them, and every potluck dish, every newly learned skill, every cute craft project, every conversation around the table is part of how we build that love into something powerful enough to protect what’s here.

Thank you so, so much to Laura for sharing her gifts with us, and thank you to every single person who showed up, brought food, brought curiosity, and brought yourselves. We are so grateful to be growing this Emerald Curtain family alongside you.

If you weren’t able to make it this month, we’d love to see you in May! Our next monthly gathering on May 14 will feature a screening of the documentary “We Are Here”, along with our handmade puppets and masks on display. There’s always room at the table for new creative voices in our community, come join us.