In the Studio

which is actually a corner in my bedroom

Current projects

Hello there! First up, I recently watched a six-part documentary on Holy Wells of Ireland (subtitles in English available). Thanks, Liz, for linking me to this documentary months ago - I finally watched it! A young man was interviewed who often visits the wells, and since some traditions hold that you should take something away from the wells you visit, like a pebble, he has fashioned a beautiful tie-on pocket to hold the pebbles he picks up at the wells he visits. I was intrigued so I’m making a tie-on pocket that features embroideries of St. Brigid and a Celtic Cross, holy medals of St. Brigid and St. Brendan, some beading, and other embroidered symbols. I’ll post a pic when it’s finished. I plan to take the pocket with me to Ireland when I go to Mulranny later this year where I will visit one of St. Brendan’s wells.

Sadly, I couldn’t find a St. Gobnait medal to add to my pocket, but I do have my little “bee book” which contains snippets of the presence of St. Gobnait in my life. Perhaps my bee book will fit inside my pocket as well.

You can find my bee book here. Wow, the price has gone up substantially since I bought mine, so if you want one or one of the many little treasurers Oberon offers, look for a coupon!

That’s me peeking into St. Gobnait’s Church on the Aran Island of Inisheer in Ireland last year.

Above is a photo of an alcove full of votive candles in one of St. Brigid’s wells which I also visited last year. The photo is enhanced to its watercolor state with the use of the Waterlogue app. Thanks for showing me this app, Cathy!

Here’s what Waterlogue looks like in the App Store:

Next, after taking a Mindful Stitching class with artist Judy Coates Perez last fall, I’m using her techniques to embroider a fabric book featuring works by Canadian artist Emily Carr. Thanks, Holly, for the idea . . . now to see if I can get my fingers to cooperate on all those small stitches I’ve put in the design!

Last but not least, I’m making a new dress and either bag 1 or bag 2. I used to make all my clothes in high school, so I’m going to give sewing a whirl again.

Recently completed work

Melanie C. Reuter, Wisdom Speaks Light, acrylic paint and ink on handmade paper, 18” x 24”, 2025.

Revisiting the Work of Joseph Campbell

This is such an excellent read that I’m linking it here to recommend it to you. What’s Holding Women Back Isn’t What You Think was written by Rachel Lawlan on her Substack, “Women Are the Medicine.” At one point, Lawlan speaks of Joseph Campbell, and this deeply resonated with me due to the pervasive presence of his book, The Power of Myth, while I was a student at Duke University Divinity School some 40 years ago. Campbell’s two-part interview with Bill Moyers on PBS, “Myths to Live By” in 1981, was all the rage. While his work deserves to be duly noted, back then I couldn’t seem to connect with it, and now Lawlan’s article has helped me understand why. According to Lawlan, when therapist Maureen Murdock suggested to Campbell that women might need a different model for their journeys, he famously replied, “Women don’t need to make the journey. They are the destination.” Or in other words, Lawlan says, “Men go on quests. Women wait to be rescued.” Believe me when I tell you, there was no rescuing of women going on in a thoroughly male-dominated seminary in the southern US in the mid-1980s. In many ways, it was a battleground every single damn day. The dissonance I experienced there through conversations about Campbell’s work and many others, rings true throughout Lawlan’s article. Note: From what I can find and to be fair, Campbell turned his thoughts to the heroine’s journey later in his life. See Godesses: Mysteries of the Feminie Divine, a collection of essays edited by Kudler and Rossi.

Making Art

As some of you know, Made for Grace was originally meant to be a way for me to offer online art journaling classes designed to help others develop a deeper connection to Spirit. I started this project in December 2023 with an eye toward devoting my energy to it full-time once I retired in June 2024.

Along the way, I realized I didn’t want to run an online business, but I continued to write about art and spirituality. Maybe that had to do with the sheer chaos our family went through with three major medical issues in the past 12 months, or maybe it just turned out that teaching isn’t where my passion lies any more. Whatever the reason, I realized I simply don’t have the time it takes to undertake such a project.

What I really want to do, it turns out, is make art.

For those of you out there reading this, please know you may see fewer posts in the coming days. Or maybe not. I don’t really know. I just feel a shift in my focus and wanted to make you aware that I’m no longer going to hold myself to a particular publishing schedule.

You’re the best!

It seems like a good to time to pause and say to all of you how much your support means to me as we travel on this little adventure. I love the connections that hold us together and appreciate the conversations we enter into occasionally. What more could a woman want than lovely friends like you?

Special thanks to Elizabeth, Jean, Dale, and Mark who have been there from the beginning.

Reach out any time

If you ever want to reach out, look for the Made for Grace logo online in the following places:

1. the Notes feature here on Substack,

2. Melanie Childress Reuter
   on Instagram, and

3. Facebook under Melanie Childress Reuter.

My email addresses are:

1. melanieknits@gmail.com,

2. madeforgraceearts@gmail.com, and

3. Melanie.Childress.Reuter@gmail.com.

My email anddresses all funnel into one place, so any one of these addresses is as good as another.

Until next time! Melanie