paintings pottery journal calendar candles gifts

Two- and three-dimensional art inspires us to slow down, contemplate, and think — and January is the perfect time to focus on such an activity.

For many, January is not an easy month.

Type “January Blues” in an Internet search engine and you’ll get digital pages on the subject. According to the experts at the top of the algorithm, January Blues is anything from a “dip in positivity” to a critical health issue that requires the expertise of more experts to manage (since overcoming or solving problems, in the world of experts, is rarely an option).

Few of us have home walls filled with this much art. What we do have, however, is worth taking time to stop and view, ponder, and contemplate. January is a great month for doing this.

Commonsense, however, and when we choose to use it, tells us that January will be rough because it comes on the heels of the holidays. In a normal world, we’ve just experienced weeks of bright lights, good cheer, and families and friends getting together to eat, play games, exchange gifts, and generally experience joy and acceptance in one another’s presence.

Often during the holidays, we set aside various issues and challenges for the future – January – and when January comes, well, those various issues and challenges are waiting for us. Oh, joy.

All Problems Have Solutions

Okay, so that’s the problem, but all problems have solutions. The first step to achieving any solution is serious thought, and for opportunity to think and reflect, January positively glows.

candles beeswax glow flame colorful calming

Candles add a glow of light and warmth to our environs that inspire a sense of thought and contemplation.

There is time, quiet, and solitude. In the northern climes, weather is generally hostile to active gardening or sun bathing, so we’re inside. And if we eschew the TV, phone, or screen of any sort (if you want to make a New Year’s resolution, this is a good one), we take advantage of that time, quiet, and solitude to think, contemplate, meditate, plan, innovate, and even create.

And here’s where art comes in. If you’ve got a work of art on your wall, January invites you to brew a cup of something hot, snuggle up in a chair, behold the artwork, and ponder. We had a client once who wrote us about a painting she bought:

“I hung the artwork in my bedroom. In the morning, I bring my coffee there and contemplate the piece while I sip. Throughout the day, I stop what I’m doing, sit on the bed, and look at the scene. In the evening, before I go retire, I look again, and think. This has brought me great peace.”

Art Promotes Pondering

Aside from being the client from paradise, this intelligent thinker has discovered that two-dimensional visual art, unlike TV sitcoms, talk talk “news” analysis, “reality” fare, and made-for-the-moment dramas, allows the mind time to ponder, uninterrupted by commercials, proselytizing, and propaganda.

January entertainment jigsaw puzzles pottery candles

It’s the perfect entertainment for January evenings — putting together a jigsaw puzzle while sipping tea. A candle in the background provides a sense of calm.

Art inspires thinking. Thinking is a crucial element to freedom. And freedom is a worthwhile pursuit every month of the year. Why not start with January?

And while we’re at it, let’s go back to that coffee cup. Three-dimensional functional art – as in pottery, for example – is also a means to contemplation and thought. There is pleasure in holding something that human hands have crafted, stimulation to the mind through touch. Brewing hot fare and pouring it into a beautiful mug is a self-directed, mini-ritual that slows us down, and slowing down is the first step to thinking. You can’t think deeply when you’re multi-tasking.

And don’t stop with the cup. Another artisan means of slowing down is the humble candle – timeless technology perfect for January’s early dark days. You don’t have to get into a lotus position and chant om to reap benefits from the candle’s light. Just bask in its glow.

As we think more, as we ponder and contemplate, we begin to find that we want to express what is going on in our heads. Communication, after all, is not the exclusive province of those who can afford to buy the airwaves and the publishing companies. Expression of thought is necessary for individual and societal health.

It Feels Right to Write

note cards greeting art nostalgia journals write

Whether you write personal notes in a journal or a letter to a friend in a greeting card, writing is an excellent way to share the things we’ve been thinking about.

Some people blog. Others keep diaries. Still others – rare gems indeed – write notes and cards. As with the pottery mug, art cards and hand-crafted journals are tactilely pleasurable to use, adding to the experience.

And before I leave this essay, let me put in a word for jigsaw puzzles. If you want to break the worry, angst, anxiety, frenzy, and fear that will gladly be our Normal if we let them, spend an hour each evening putting little pieces of random-cut cardboard together. The act of concentrating on something that ISN’T chronically agitating is calming. Calm is good.

Art is good. All these elements – paintings, prints, pottery, candles, cards, journals, jigsaws – we have at the gallery, and we invite you to take one of these January days to step into a warm, bright place and just look at the array of beauty that individual humans create.

Creativity is an essential element to be human. And we create because, first, we think. Take advantage of January, and allow yourself time and place and scope and freedom to think.

Art Brings Joy to January is the featured Art Event at Wenaha Gallery from January 4, 2022 through January 31.

Contact the gallery, located at 219 East Main Street, Dayton, WA, by phone at 509.382.2124 or e-mail art@wenaha.com. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday through Friday, and by appointment. Visit the Wenaha Gallery website online at www.wenaha.com.

candles self love natural beeswax healing sierra faflik

Faflik’s self-love candles feature natural beeswax, botanicals, crystals, and a pendant.

“Do you want fries with that?”

It’s a familiar question for anyone ordering a fast-food burger, and as a statement it accurately represents the iconic “American” way of life. Fast food, hectic schedule, overworked, overanxious, stressed out, and, most lately, pumped with fear.

For this reason, it’s time to change that question to one that is more meaningful, and well, essential:

“Do you want some peace today? Or calm? Tranquility? Serenity?

beeswax candles natural colorful sierra faflik gifts

Faflik creates blends of colors that are rich and deep for her candles made from natural and white beeswax.

“Maybe even a little happiness?”

And while politicians, techno-magnates and mega-corporations eschew concern for this question, everyday people are looking for the answer. Sierra Faflik understands this deep, driving need to find peace, having embarked on that journey long ago. The Dayton, WA, artist focuses on using natural ingredients, herbs and botanicals, crystals, and scents that don’t overpower the senses when she creates her candles, personal care products, and jewelry.

Getting in Touch with the Natural World

“My artwork is about relaxation, self love, and getting in touch with ourselves and the world around us,” Faflik says.

“With the constant bombardment of distractions and stressors associated with modern life, it’s easy to forget the natural beauty that surrounds us. My hope is that by lighting a unique candle, drawing a bath with salts and flowers, or wearing a calming crystal in some form, we can have a second to slow down and be reminded of that beauty.”

candles tins apricot coconut wax sierra faflik

Faflik uses a combination of apricot and coconut wax for her tinned candles. She embellishes these with botanicals and crystals.

As a dispatcher with Columbia County, Faflik is aware of what stress looks like. And with a background in personal training, she knows the importance of de-stressing, eating real food, and seeking out natural, non-chemical-laden products for consumption and use. For her candles, she uses a blend of apricot and coconut wax, or beeswax.

“When I first began making candles in 2015, I would get any candle wax I could find and use it.

“As I began researching different ingredients, I discovered that most of what is available at stores (whether raw ingredients or finished products) is full of lots of harmful chemicals and is not something you want burning in your home.

Organic Herbs and Botanicals

“To most of my container candles and my plain pillar molds, I add various organic herbs and flowers as an embellishment, as well as specific crystals.

“I do this so that when paired with a particular color or scent, the candles will be for a specific purpose or intention.”

bath salts himalayan crystals calm relaxing sierra faflik

Lightly scented and embellished with botanicals, Faflik’s bath salts do not have the strong artificial scent of industrial made products.

As an example, she says, her self-love and relaxation candles are lightly scented with floral overtones. She chooses soft, calming colors such as white, light pink, or lavender and adds rose petals and lavender botanicals. The crystals she chooses are traditionally associated with certain properties, such as amethyst to remove negativity, or emerald and rose quartz for love.

When Faflik first started creating, she did so out of necessity. As a teenager she experimented with jewelry when she couldn’t find styles that fit who she was and what she liked. Bath salts she embarked upon several years ago because she couldn’t stand the overpowering scents of commercial products.

“My baseline mixture is Epsom salts, pink Himalayan sea salt, various essential oils, and a small amount of baking soda to counteract the oils.

“When I was pregnant, I was researching how much is absorbed into our bodies through our skin. I began adding various herbs and flowers to the salts to help further the detoxification and relaxation that come with a calming bath.”

Researching is Natural to Her

When Faflik talks about her art, the word “research” comes up a lot. An avid reader who is not afraid of questioning the status quo or media-approved narrative, she appreciates independent sites and maverick writers and thinkers. These provide perspective in a world where only certain voices, generally associated with industry and big business, are promoted.

“I use natural products for several reasons. I first began going ‘back to the basics’ with food, when I realized that our bodies don’t know how to recognize artificial ingredients and overly processed foods. That research sent me down a rabbit hole of how our bodies respond to so many of the chemically derived artifacts we use every day.

“Basically, I try to use ingredients for all my projects that someone could eat and not have any discomfort from. I want to add joy to people’s lives, not more stress.”

Sierra Faflik is the featured Art Event at Wenaha Gallery from November 2 through November 29, 2021.