Aisling Brook

Greetings, lovely humans. I am writing to update you on the latest happenings in my world. In January of this year, I launched my online shop titled Aisling Brook (pronounced ash-ling). Here you may access a thoughtful array of vintage goods, artistic creations, herbal products, and ritual tools. All of these items, whether they be collected or created, are similarly curated to speak to the scared. This can be understood to depict differing: narratives, inspirations, comforts, or healing (of the body, mind or spirit).

I knew I wanted my business to encompass my birth name as the meaning is of high importance to me. Ashley symbolizes the sacred ash tree; and Brooke represents a small stream which leads to a bigger body of water. Honouring nature and the elements is a common theme among all of my creative endeavors. Aisling is an Irish word meaning dream or vision. Thus, the name Aisling Brook came to be: meaning no dream is too big; and if you can envision it, you can bring it to life. My company tagline states, ‘dreaming awake, amplifying sacred’.

My dream is to bring awareness to the importance of the sacred that exists both in the natural world, and the homes in which we lovingly attend. May we choose to honour and uplift this harmonious way of living!

My main platform for sharing any shop updates is currently thru instagram, if you choose to follow me there. (All of my social links can be found at the bottom of this post). Otherwise, my intention is to stay up to date on email blasts that will inform you of new treasures and creations as they become available. Any upcoming events that I will be participating in will also be included in these correspondences. Please extend a hello if you desire to become part of said email list.  

Currently for the upcoming summer and autumn months (June thru October) I will be a participant in the Gunnison, Colorado farmers market. You can find me every Saturday from 10:00-13:00 on the cross streets of North Main and Virginia. I am very excited for this opportunity to become a seasonal vendor, in addition to working on the local farm ‘Mountain Roots Food Project’. During the offseason I plan to replenish my stock of vintage offerings and creations in preparation for the forthcoming year.

Throughout the year 2020, I became certified to be a community herbalist. It has been my hope since then to weave this knowledge into my practice as a creator and businesswoman. This season will mark the launch of some products that I have been developing such as tea blends and ritual tools. There will be a few house recipes which I offer on a consistent basis, along with a monthly tea blend to fluctuate seasonally.

I am crafting smoke bundles which are understood to be utilized in ritualistic cleansing of energy within a space. My materials are foraged from the land, as the wild sagebrush is aplenty, being paired with locally harvested lavender and wildflowers.

I will be offering ritual kits nestled inside a handmade leather amulet bag, with four tools honouring each of the elements. Inside you will discover: spell jars, custom painted matchbooks, abalone seashells (used traditionally as a surface for burning incense) and healing gemstones.

Along with this hope of sharing herbal wisdom with my community, I desire to host circles in the future regarding divination and medicine making traditions. Currently, I will be offering seasonal tarot readings virtually and in person at my booth each Saturday. It is with great joy and gratitude that I am able to pursue the evolution of these inspirations.  

For the time being, my collection of vintage goods will only be available for purchase online. My herbal, ritual, and fine art creations will be available primarily in person, then moving to be an online presence for the offseason.

Thank you for your continued support along this journey. My efforts would be seemingly meaningless without an audience to connect and collaborate with. Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions, criticisms, advices, or general excitements.

✧ Vintage | etsy.com/shop/aislingbrook

✧ Herbal, Ritual, Art | Gunnison Farmers Market thru October

✧ Fine Art Portfolio | ashleyfavor.com

✧ Updates And Inspirations | instagram.com/aislingbrook

Seek to Find

During my time in Galway I was eager to explore the vast land that I was fortunate to call home. The walk down to the river beyond my art studio each day was filled to my delight with sacred trees and herbal plants. Early on I was drawn to a beautiful Hawthorn tree, her bark surrounded by thick wild blackberry. In Celtic mythology, the Hawthorn tree being one of the sacred thirteen is said to represent the magic of the fairies. The thorn ridden blackberry bushes, often found surrounding the bark, symbolize protection. The enchantment that I discovered here was instilled into my daily routine, greeting the tree each day to share stillness and thoughts. Many of my ideas were born, practiced, and transmuted in the company of my wise friend.

I began to take notice of a reoccurring shape in nature which was seemingly eager to grasp my attention. Pictured below, the shape appeared similar to that of the English letter Y. I began to recognize it as a pair of human arms pointing towards the sky, or rather legs planted on the earth. For the four months I spent traveling about Europe, I pondered what this material symbol could signify to me. A number of things came up, but most importantly I felt it to symbolize the bridge between man and nature.

The very trunk of my Hawthorn tree friend possessed this shape. Each day I returned to the tree and discovered an offering on the ground resembling the same shape, sometimes in the form of limbs, other times moss or rock. We developed a kinship reliant upon mere presence where our language became tangible gifts from the natural world. These conversations as memory serves were simple yet impactful. Similar to smiling at a stranger that you may pass on the street. A warm resonance of feeling seen and perhaps heard.

My first installation unveiling this vision titled ‘Ladder to the Sky’ was built off of the foundation of the Hawthorn’s trunk. I foraged dried grass and created cascading lines between the walls of the trunk, resembling that of a ladder. To me this represented the strength and reward earned thru spending authentic time attuning with nature.

This led to my second earth-sculpture project titled ‘Seek to Find’, where I utilized a fallen branch in this shape with more dried grass bits. The outcome appeared similar to that of a witch’s broom. The fantastical raw appearance of this was pleasing in regard to my purpose.

This setting also staged the evolution of my piece titled ‘Evidential Impressions’. Here I explored different versions of my desire to paint with wind power. I staged a contraption built of foraged metal from an old gate and wispy brush, suspended from the branches of the tree. Below the device was a large piece of canvas secured to the earth with rocks, covered in watered-down paint. I left the experiment in motion for the duration of a full day, being exposed to a variety of elements. I came the next day to discover somewhat of a mess caused by strong wind and curious horses. The canvas was ripped, torn and stained with peat and sediment from the pressure of horse hooves. To me this piece is breath taking as it represents surrendering the need to control and allowing nature to run its course.

It was a humbling process arriving at this feeling, with much further still to go. I intend to continue working in this fashion as a wind painter, allowing the element to guide my actions with thoughtful pursuit. The main intention of this exchange remains giving and receiving. The outcome of the experiment stands as evidence that beauty may prevail even thru perceptions of destruction and chaos.   

Dancing Wind

Near the month of September 2021: I happened upon a wondrous tree grove out in the land beyond my art studio in Galway. This sparked inspiration for my installation in the trees titled ‘dancing wind’. I primarily declare myself a painter in the form of beeswax. I desire to occasionally bring my semi two-dimensional paintings into the full third dimension.

     Thru spending time observing air in all of its vast and powerful beauty, I decided on bringing visual attention to the lulls in which a breeze carries. Similar to that of a wind chime which at times provides decorative song and dance. The trees and their branches, being in constant relationship with air flow, prove to be the perfect foundation for me to collaborate with. Each branch ranging in position, form, strength, and mobility adds depth to this immersive experience. My hope is for the viewer, being naturally drawn into a lush tree grove, to then pause and spend time here with the trees in their element. This experience may feel different dependent on a number of factors such as: season, time of day, weather. My intention is to provide inclination towards sharing space with the natural world in any given state, and thus admire the magnitude of their abilities, likenesses and differences.

The forms which you see suspended from the branches are comprised of semi-translucent organic beeswax, ranging in natural form, shape, thickness, fragility. This to me represents differing life forms such as mammal, flora, fauna, and how we all co-exist. The forms are suspended with foraged English ivy vine, being vast and easily accessible in the Irish landscape.

This installation was intended to be experimental and impermanent. A large gust of wind or rather rainstorm would instantly wash it away. This is a significant layer to consider as it mimics the delicacy of existence, which we all share.    

The Irish landscape informed a large majority of feelings and decisions involved in the lifespan of this installation. This art form is highly dependent on space and time. In this sense, where I expand artistically here in the Rocky Mountains will differ in comparison. Being a predominantly desert landscape, the prospects for co-creation will likely encompass harsher demeanors. This opportunity to witness an environment thru a more microscopic lens could perhaps inform the viewer further on the space in which they inhabit.

Daughter of the Earth

I was granted the opportunity to be an artist in residence at Watershed Studios in Galway Ireland for the autumn months of August-September of 2021. Prior to my departure, my work-maintained focus on pressing and adhering plant matter to paper. These abstract renderings of plant collage were created in relationship to my studies of Irish-Celtic mystery and mythology throughout the duration of the year. This exploration laid the foundation for my interest in combining ritualistic work in the land with my current and future creative endeavor’s. Being inspired by the earth art movement which emerged near the 1960’s, my work aspires to evolve towards impermanency thru installation and performance in nature. My goal remains to utilize gathered and foraged materials from nature only. This intention is in honor of maintaining conscious and impactful relationship with our environment. 

The origin of my body of work titled ‘daughter of the earth’ became clear upon my arrival to the emerald isle. Each week I spend time with a new element, flowing in the sun-wise direction of the wheel thru air, fire, water and earth. Each day, I speak my purpose to the land and allow time for the elements to provide messages of aspirations. While my practice has not yet fully evolved to be impermanent and non-material, my time in Ireland allowed much space to meditate on why and how this may appear in actuality. This relationship with the environment beckons for strong-willed dedication. There is a visible shift in my work, while still being material, encompassing a larger array of natural mediums and applications.

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Upon my return to the States I moved to a tiny house in the Rocky Mountains of Gunnison, Colorado. My goal now is to authentically attune with this land of my birth. Daily visitations and observations have proven to be the backbone of symbiotic co-creation with any given ecosystem.

I am delighted to extend an invitation for you to follow along my journey. Here you may bear witness to how this newly inspired practice of ritual-land-art will unfold.