wild woman
cottage project
2021-2022
✷This is best viewed on a desktop/laptop computer✷
On August 6th of 2021, I embarked on the project of creating a cabin, now turned cottage (it was the linen curtains that swayed me to rename it.) It was such a big part of my life for over a year, a building that has become more than just a building. Its structure is a timber frame, put up by professionals from Knobb Hill Joinery and then finished off by me. It is 14’ x 16’ on the inside and has no electricity or running water, and is heated by a little cookstove. It is situated between an open field and a river. The name was taken from Clarissa Pinkola Estés’ book Women Who Run With the Wolves, which I read during a formative part of my spiritual beginnings.
These photos were the bare bones I was given to work with. From here it’s my own hands…except where I asked for help (like the roof).
R23 Rockwool sits on hardware cloth to help keep the rodents out.
The subfloor laid.
The first of the inside walls go on. These are shiplap wood painted with milk paint.
Framing happened on the outside of the walls, which will hold the insulation.
Rockwool insulation fills the spaces.
The windows are all reclaimed, which means they all needed to have boxes made to sit in.
I used tar paper to wrap the cottage, it felt like a more environmentally friendly choice.
The inside before some of the windows were installed.
I went with furring strips on a 45 degree angle, coupled with vertical shiplap siding.
My husband took over roof duties, for which I am very grateful.
The ceiling was by far the hardest part of the building process.
Taken from the field side.
The railing is started. This was the 3rd design for it, which was also the simplest.
Bones of the kitchen, with a copper sink from the 1890s.
The floors are stained with dark tung oil and put place using (so many!) square head nails.
The completed kitchen cabinet, minus its curtains. Plumbing is a 5 gallon bucket.
The loft railing. I went with a library ladder on a rail that can be rolled and put aside when not in use.
The exterior taken from the river side.
The doorway has symbols on it (inside and out). I have been writing these since 1998, never knowing what they meant. I have since come to learn they are a light code download. They provide a healing for all who enter the space, one filled and made from Love.
On March 18th of 2022, after a long, cold winter, I wrote this piece:
This cabin has always felt like more than just a structure and I have come to realize, through the building of this structure, that it is, in fact, the process of a journey.
We have many journeys throughout our life, and oftentimes it is difficult ones that lead us to a better understanding of ourselves and what we are capable of. These journeys can be physical, spiritual or emotional. All processes are the same, and although not always seen in the same way, they possess the same qualities like excitement, discouragement, realization, exhaustion, and needing to ask for help.
The Wild Woman Cabin project for me has always held the same goal: a place for people who need guidance to come and receive what they need in a safe and loving environment. I wanted this building to be a place of meditation, focus, a safe haven, a writer’s hermitage, a place of creativity, magic, and manifestation. I am seeing it now so clearly as being all of those things, and it’s not the end result that will define it, it’s the work going into it. The cabin is my journey. How can I help others with compassion and empathy if I have not made the journey myself? If I have not had despair and felt discouragement, felt like I wanted to quit and let someone else do it for me, how can I relate?
I am learning to rely on myself for what needs to be done, a lesson that I need in this lifetime. Because this particular lesson is a physical journey, I am learning skills that I never would have ventured into otherwise. I am not allowing someone else who knows more than me to take over and do it for me, I am finding my courage and perseverance to do it on my own, however I can. There are times when I do need to ask for help, when safety comes first, and I remember that asking for help is not a weakness, it is a strength. But I also know that I cannot wait around to get help when I can find a way to do it myself. I am learning to differentiate between the two. One is a calm understanding (acceptance) and the other feels like a bitterness (resistance). The bitter feeling is the one that needs to be transformed into confidence by my own trying and doing.
As the vernal equinox approaches and its energy gets imbued into all things, I am excited for the next half of this journey. I have made it past the pit of despair, knowing that from this point on I can only go forward, but also knowing that I needed to linger here, whether it be for rest or recovery or fortification, like the Hanged Man in the Tarot. Now I am ready, ready to dive deep into transformation, shedding the skin of my past and making myself new. As I become Wild Woman—as my past, present and future selves meld into one, as I discover all of the skills I need in order to become who I’ve always been—I thank the Universe for always guiding me, showing me what I need to learn, in the way I need to learn it, and giving me Trust both in myself and in all that surrounds me. And in return for all that I have, and all that I am learning, I vow to always share with others, in the hopes that it will inspire and encourage you to take your own journey. Know that no matter how hard it may seem, you will acquire your own new skills and build a temple of your own making.
Here are photos of the completed cottage.
And…I’ve learned some things along the way:
Sometimes it’s better not to know how big a project is going to be before starting it.
A person can learn a new skill at any age. And sometimes you’ll be surprised by what you already know how to do intuitively.
Youtube is invaluable… so is a notebook.
I’m no longer afraid to just try something. Even if I suck at it to begin with, with a little practice and patience, I can get better.
When the going gets tough (and below freezing), stick with it.
What inspires me, inspires others—which means I will always follow my heart and do what I love.
Every woman should have her own set of tools (with a big sign that says: ask for permission before using.)
A few words of encouragement can go a long way.
Our children watch everything we do.
It’s okay to change things and compromise. Nothing needs to be set in stone.