It has been a few years since I’ve felt like really discussing my creative practice. To be honest, I have often questioned the existence of a real creative practice during this time. Life has a way of getting in the way. Regardless, I have continued to make things regularly – what I’ve been doing is documented on my Instagram account. What I envision and expect a creative life to look like has evolved along with my life.
I work smaller now all the time. A smaller scale allows me to complete projects at the dining table or even while sitting on the couch. It’s easy to pick up a small project bag and work on it in the carline or while waiting for my daughter to finish acting class. My media interests veer into materials that are tidier to manipulate as well. Instead of painting I prefer to work with fabric, felt, and embroidery.
I now have more free time for myself. My “little” girl is no longer little. We can now sit quietly in companionship doing our own thing after school and chatter here and there about our days. My attention is not always fully on demand now that she is growing up. It is hard to acclimate to this new normal (but it is getting easier).
I always want to make toys for my daughter but she has grown out of certain types of creations over the years. Gone are the days when she wants to make clothes for a sweet tiny bunny or will delight in a shoulder perching dragon. She’s into D&D now and video games and hanging out with her friends. I get it. But I still want to make tiny cute toys. So I have.
I make “tiny pets” now, among other things: little brightly colored turtles, enchanting baby dragons, cheerful raccoons, a charming opossum… They can live on someone’s desk or shelf; they are the perfect low maintenance pet.
Over the past year I have been enamored with wool blend felt as a medium. It is sturdier than fabric, longer lasting than craft felt, and easy to embroider and embellish without a hoop or support structure – It suits my needs beautifully.
While I sell these creations in a brick-and-mortar location in East Tennessee, I work on commission to make them for those that want custom colors and personal touches. It is a fun process for me and I enjoy the gateway that this has provided back into a daily practice.
If you or someone you know would like a tiny pet please DM me via my Instagram (@mlevacy). I will make patterns soon for some of my tiny pets if you would rather make one on your own – they will be available on Etsy the summer of 2025.
Cry The Bird 
Oh, how I love this! I’m so glad you’re sharing your process on your blog, too. As I prioritize writing as my primary creative expression these days, I’m spending more time on “blogs” (mostly Substack newsletters and websites) and devoting the bulk of my creative time to writing, reading, and supporting other writers and artists. Of course, creating with my hands will always be part of my process and I am currently also working small. I started crocheting granny squares and I can’t overstate how satisfying these quick squares using up scrap yarn are. I have no idea what I will do with them but I’ve decided not to concern myself with that at the moment. I will contact you via IG about ordering some of these adorable felt critters. I was just at a local Meet-the-Author event yesterday and someone asked about what she (Laura Jackson, author of DEEP & WILD: On Mountains, Opossums, and Finding Your Way in West Virginia) is currently working on. She said she’s about 10,000 words into a draft for a book about the highly adaptable “critters” and “varmints” that are adjusting to climate change realities, like opossums, racoons, etc. I’m collecting finger puppet sized critters/varmints for the play basket at our house for when the grands are visiting. (I’ll send you a photo of the favorite rainbow quilled hedgehog—Henry by name!) 🌿💚