Jamie Spinello creates jewelry, sculpture, ceramics, and small paintings inspired mostly by plants and insects. It makes sense then that remaining connected to nature is her favorite way to stay enchanted: She stays grounded and curious by keeping a garden and seeing it change throughout the seasons. Living in Austin, Texas, she says, “we rarely get a true fall where the colors drastically change on the trees en masse, but we often get what feels like a second spring in the fall months, which allows us to have two full growing seasons each year.” Watching insects and plants in her garden brings her joy, so she’s partial to the seasons when she can witness them living their best lives. She also loves witnessing things that died in the summer months come back with vigor in September, October, and November. “My garden often looks better in the fall than it did in the spring,” she says. “The butterflies, moths, spiders, and beetles usually increase again, and the lizards become more prevalent. Fall in Austin feels like a celebration of life after the end of the brutal 100-plus degree temperatures of the Texas summer.”
She looks to the sky too, using the full and new moons as well as other astral events to assess her progress with her work, aspirations, and state of mind, as well as how successfully she’s been able to balance her life. This moon-gazing practice helps her determine when it’s time to recharge or go forth with more expansive energy. This sounds pretty witchy to us. “I admire those seeking to learn new ways of enchantment in order to connect to spirit and to better themselves, their environments, and the lives of others,” she says when asked about witches generally. “We need all the healers and conjurors on deck in this world.”
See more at jamiespinello.com and follow her on Instagram @jamiespinello.
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Enchanted Living is a quarterly print magazine that celebrates all things enchanted. 