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Iris Loves Light

@irisloveslight

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Artist, mother, bowerbird & upcycler, student of Mother Earth. Wayfinder, See/er, social warrior, believer in a better world. Voice.

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Almost forgot to wish you a fruitful autumnal equinox, my darlings. May the sun and moon rain blessings upon you and the wind caress your face as the beloved earth child that you are 💛

I'm so happy I managed to dye some silk with goldenrod this summer, and I made some tincture as well. Both will remind me of summer in the heart of winter.

#equinox #celebrate #naturaldyes #alchemistjournal by @irisloveslight

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14 days ago

Also spending time with a little bee, a young girl I think as she was small and landed on my bike for a rest. We stood together for a while. Then I walked over to the bustling ivy in my previous reel and when I next looked down, she had gone 💛 by @irisloveslight

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22 days ago

I am lying on my bed, racked by grief, crying. The trees outside my house dance in the low wind, their leaves shimmering silver and green, their rustling dimming at least some of the noise of the city.

Half an hour ago, I took my bike to bring my child something she had forgotten at home as she left for work. I was confronted with big cranes and digging machines blocking every street. Cutting down most of the lovely old trees that line the narrow streets in the residential quarter where I live. Tall acacias that stood here when I moved in 27 years ago, older than my eldest child, perhaps almost as old as I am. Just tearing at their branches, without any regard for the creatures that inhabit them, the bees that collect their pollen and the birds that nurture their young in spring, the entire ecosystem that matures in and around them as they grow older. The shade they provide and the very air we breathe...

Had I known, I would have walked through the streets last night, spending a little time saying goodbye to each of them, giving them a last caress, thanking them for their beauty and the life they brought to our neighbourhood.

My heart grieves.

I know I will just sound like a sentimental tree hugger to most of those who read this. And that's fine. I know you mock the climate activists who glue their hands to the frames on paintings, who live in trees for two years, who lie down on the highway because they don't know what else to do anymore in their grief and despair. 'Be reasonable,' you say, 'nobody listens when you do annoying shit like that.'

What you don't understand is that nobody listens whatever they do. We are killing the very world that sustains us, that feeds and clothes us, that allowed us to become the horrifyingly destructive creatures that we are. Does she regret ever allowing us to crawl from the primordial mud?

We are capable of such love and beauty, such hope and shining light. And yet...

What we do goes against all logic, every sense of self-preservation, every shred of love that we feel for our children and grandchildren. We are destroying their world.

This morning I am crying for the trees that will be missed every day for the re by @irisloveslight

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22 days ago

Spending time in the last rays of the sun, finally finishing up 'Shedding the Serpent's Skin' —a labour of love and processing the past. We can never leave it behind, can we? We keep dragging it along with us on our journey and all we can do is try and give it wings 🕊️

I kept putting it away and working on other things through summer, but it's time. There is a lot of love in this work, and vision, and loss, and growth.

#handwoven #handspunwool #fringes #beading #sheddingtheserpentskin by @irisloveslight

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23 days ago

Ivy in full bloom, just off a busy road, so full of life 💚 by @irisloveslight

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24 days ago

When you are getting better at knowing what helps you cope with shitty thoughts and you carry your loom into the garden, spending one of these precious last warm days weaving in your little forest safe haven.

This is the blood moon cloth that I warped during the lunar eclipse on 3 March this year. I abandoned my loom for a while but this seems like the perfect time to come back to the rhythm and lovely feel of this hand spun yarn from Drenthe heath sheep (Drents heideschaap), an ancient Dutch breed ❤️

The four thin stripes dyed in madder red represent the date of the lunar eclipse, 3 March 2026. I still have the finishing to do but it's already hemstitched and off the loom.

#handweaving #kromski #rigidheddle #bloodmoon #safehaven by @irisloveslight

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a month ago

Holding on to summer (silk floating in a bath of goldenrod), what I'm reading, where I'm writing.

For most of my life, I have had to be my own compass and set my own course. The refrain that kept repeating in my head was 'not good enough, never good enough', and that ditty is still something with which I struggle on a daily basis. After some sweeping (unsolicited) changes in my life, I am floating in uncertainty. I have no idea what my future will look like — all my plans were undone by AI. I have to start anew, and I want to do so from a position of hope and not uncertainty and fear. Enter therapy.

Last Thursday my new therapist called to propose a two-pronged plan of attack:

We need to do something with, well, most of a lifetime of trauma so she's referring me for intensive trauma therapy. That'll take at least half a year on the wait list, so in the mean time she is offering sessions to work on the objectives I set for myself or, as she termed it, the longer-term consequences and impact on my personality. Self-image, confidence, boundary-setting, healthy relationship-building... Seeing and building a future instead of believing that I'm unable to achieve something better for myself.

It has always been hard to remember how many good memories I have, how strong I am, how much love and joy there has been especially with my children. Bad things always seemed to get in the way, blurring the good both in myself and my life. I am hoping that will change because I am by nature an optimistic and positive person, I think.

So... I feel seen and understood by my therapist, which is quite something. And hope that things will be (even) better going forward.

I wanted to share because I know many of us struggle. Don't lose hope, keep fighting for yourself. You're worth it.

#mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #naturaldyeing #books #holdingontosummer by @irisloveslight

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a month ago

Found a quiet spot in the park to enjoy my first coffee of the day (gifted for my birthday by a sweet friend). Such moments feel extra precious now 💚

That red bump on my arm is from a bee sting, poor creature got entangled in my cardigan last night 🥺

#coffeespot #quietmoments #parkfrankendael #greenspaces by @irisloveslight

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a month ago

All the greens at @kasteeltuinenarcen with @estherliebregts earlier this week. The temperature may have risen to 30°C but we hardly noticed — it was warm but pleasantly so, with a delicious breeze and so many ponds, puddles and streams everywhere, including the irrigation system that added lovely cold rain drops here and there 🫠

Truly stunning gardens, I hope to visit again soon 💚

#castlegardens #arcencastle #japanesemaple #sunlightthroughleaves #komorebi by @irisloveslight

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3 months ago

I often keep articles from old magazines in my journal to re-read later. This one from Happinez on the Japanese ceramic artist Kaori Tatebayashi @kceramics has such a pretty front page that I wanted to be able to see it (also, put of sight is often out of mind for me). I made an envelope from transparent sketching paper and old French notarial documents combined with the 120 gsm writing paper I recently bought for this particular journal. And I love the result!

#journalling #journaling #transparencies #oldbooks by @irisloveslight

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3 months ago

Back to making moons in my journal, gathering herbs, enjoying my wild little garden, sowing seeds (late but still doable) — this year, I've been sowing seeds I harvested from my own plants last year and it makes everything even more miraculous. How can all this life be contained in such a tiny thing?

Also, my obsession with feathers is back. This one from the Egyptian geese that come here to raise their young. It makes up a little for the ducklings that have become so rare, I hardly ever see baby ducks anymore.

Wishing you a beautiful Thursday, darlings ❤️

#feathers #journal #journalling #moons by @irisloveslight

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3 months ago

Queen Anne's Lace, one of my favourites. That little black or red heart always gets me 🤍

A handful of sunshine distilled into Saint John's-wort to make an infused oil for tight muscles, spicy oregano flowers, and a story reclaimed. I'm going back to therapy, hopefully soon, to lay these stories to rest and make happier new ones.

#summerflowers #queenanneslace #saintjohnswort #summerramble #reclaimingjoy by @irisloveslight

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3 months ago