“The moral law lies at the center of nature and radiates to the circumference. It is the pith and marrow of every substance, every relation, and every process. All things with which we deal preach to us. What is a farm but a mute gospel? The chaff and the wheat, weeds and plants, blight, rain, insects, sun—it is a sacred emblem from the first furrow of spring to the last stack which the snow of winter overtakes in the fields.”
RALPH WALDO EMERSON, ‘NATURE’
Welcome! I’m Kristin Haakenson, an artist & farmer in the Pacific Northwest. I create art & resources for seasonal living through the liturgical year.
In life on our farm in the Pacific Northwest, I lean into the agrarian roots & rhythms of the liturgical calendar. My artwork uses flora, fauna, and heritage traditions of bygone days to reflect on these ancient rhythms of the Church year, and my hope is that these resources would help to enrich your own journeys through the calendar, making the fruits of ancient traditions present in our modern lives.
The liturgical year reorders time – it weaves the story of Christ into the seasons of nature and the rhythms of an agricultural life, knitting together sacred story with agrarian tradition. It’s an incarnational way of approaching time: feasts, festivals, and fasts dot the landscape of these cycles, allowing nature and theology to illuminate one another. Life on our farm, so closely connected to the whims of the seasons, has deepened my walk through the liturgical year.
“For Cecilia, the natural cycles of the year – light and dark, warm and cold, work and leisure – were strongly echoed in the ritual calendar. For many of us, religious rituals are comforting but somewhat distant from our everyday lives. For Cecilia, they often spoke not only about holy events and holy persons but also about her own life and her own experiences…”
Judith M. Bennett, “A Medieval Life: Cecilia Penifader of Brigstock, c. 1295-1344
We farm a beautiful patch of land on the traditional territory of the Coast Salish, bordered on one side by a winding river, a wooded hillside on the other, and snow-capped mountains in the distance. In this valley, we raise a variety of animals and grow a plethora of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and grains. We also have pumpkin patches for harvest celebrations in October.
Plantlore & folktales from a variety of places and traditions inspire me, including the plantlore that illustrates the story of the liturgical calendar, as well as Native American plantlore.
There is a lesson in each flower
ALLAN CUNNINGHAM, ‘THE TOWN CHILD AND THE COUNTRY CHILD’
A story in each stream and bower;
On every herb o’er which you tread
Are written words which, rightly read,
Will lead you, from earth’s fragrant sod,
To hope, and holiness, and God.
I’m a self-taught artist working in acrylics, colored pencil, & watercolor. Besides creating 2D art, I love to create playful, interactive paper scenes. My creating happens in a cozy studio, sheltered by a couple of maple trees that were planted at one of the original homestead sites here over a hundred years ago.
All of my art is created in memory of my mother, Judy, and my sister, Kathy – the most effervescent, joyous, inspiring women. The world is a brighter place because of them. Their strength taught me to look for pockets of wonder everywhere, even when times are hard, and that’s what I hope to share through my work.
Thanks for following along on my journey – please reach out with any questions or thoughts!
Best wishes,
Kristin
Hearthstone Fables 