Aspen Evelyn Schiller (they/them)
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aspennotpoplar.bsky.social
Aspen Evelyn Schiller (they/them)
@aspennotpoplar.bsky.social
75 followers 44 following 95 posts
I'm a 33yo queer, disabled artist based in NC, with a primary focus on textiles, painting, and jewelry, with a bit of writing peppered in. I'd love to make connections with other artists and find people who love what I do!
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aspennotpoplar.bsky.social
This is a portrait of my baby, Gemma, my tortie/black cat mix, which I recently completed. I'm really proud of how fast my digital art skills are advancing! Created in Procreate.

💖🎨🖌️🐈😻🥰💖

#cats #digitalart #petportrait #feline #digitalpainting #procreate #kitty #catlovers #digitalartist #blackcats
A digitally painted pet portrait of a black and tortoiseshell mix cat with green eyes and dark brown and black fur, with pink ears and a black nose. She has a solemn expression and sits raised up off a background of greenery and leafy grunge texture, separated from it by her shadow. The painting has an oil painting appearance to it, almost.
February 10, 2025 at 4:05 PM
aspennotpoplar.bsky.social
An original poem in four vignettes, dedicated to all autistic friends who experience meltdowns in a similar way... My hope in sharing something so raw is that some of you may feel seen. With love, I hope the storm you're in passes soon. ❤️ Be well.

#poetry #autistic #autism #meltdown #poem #AuDHD
transcript of a poem on a background depicting a shoreline with a wave lapping against it: i. a hollow throat, a ringing head. a poison, well beyond my power. an aching of the weary soul. a new torment every hour. no loving word, no soft caress. no mercy, no release from pain. no god's hand could lift this curse, and knowing, I shall face it again, again, again. credited @aspennotpoplar.bsky.social transcript of a poem on a background depicting a shoreline with a wave lapping against it: ii. a relentless force, flooding outward in a tide of rippling woe, as bereft as one could be of hope: and nowhere left to go. some sudden, ancient omen shudders deep within. claws its way up through my throat, writhes inside my very skin. in twisted, vile symmetry; as Greek prophecy implored, it cries and wails so bitterly, and it will not be ignored. dismay. despair. distress. I can do naught but bluster. this presence that has possessed me has more than dulled my luster. credited @aspennotpoplar.bsky.social transcript of a poem on a background depicting a shoreline with a wave lapping against it: iii. meltdown implies a crucible, a test of mettle, a burning-away. in truth, it is a hollowing-out, like ghoulish gourds upon display. 'tis my ordeal to face alone: i fear none can help my cries. battered, bruised, and worn still my will must galvanize. and in the present moment the hurricane within is all my being can perceive, i hear naught else above the din this bitter, wayward tempest, this vivid, infinite demise. inside, my heart has shattered scarlet shrapnel, my only prize. credited @aspennotpoplar.bsky.social transcript of a poem on a background depicting a shoreline with a wave lapping against it: iv. like bloody streaks upon the sand i lie spent on barren ground. the aftermath, the devastation for miles, is all that's found. my inner seas are quiet at last, as calm as bluest sky. yet this truth is writ in somber stone: I stand only in the eye. credited @aspennotpoplar.bsky.social
January 28, 2025 at 12:41 PM
aspennotpoplar.bsky.social
Here is a #tinypoem for you, a simple one called Respite... that's all I want right now. 💜 Take care, dear ones.

pic credit: hello aesthe on Pexels

#poem transcript in ALT text.

#rest #recovery #resistance #solace #haven #queerpoet #transpoetry #queerpoetry #poetry #poet #tea #warmth #safespace
transcript of poem overlaid on white across a photo of tea set by the fireside: Respite when so much of the world is cloaked in fear, and tyrants' hate pours forth like bile, let me welcome you to my fireside, and invite you to rest a while. i do not have the answers; i cannot make them cease. but i can offer tea and haven and, maybe, some relief. let tension melt away like ice, know that you have every right to be. and if only here, and for this day, know you are safe with me. -- Aspen Evelyn Schiller @aspennotpoplar.bsky.social www.ko-fi.com/ANP
January 22, 2025 at 1:12 AM
aspennotpoplar.bsky.social
I forgot to post my #tinypoem from yesterday, but that just means you get two today. :) Here is "Seeds" from yesterday.

🔥 🌱 💪 🌲
pic credit: ArtTower on Pixabay

#poem transcript in ALT text.

#poet #nature #resilience #resistance #bravery #queerpoet #transpoetry #survival #survivors #poetry
transcript of poem on forest photograph background: Seeds these feral shadows may be severe, and you may think yourself yet lacking, but their umbral pall could not be wrought without our blazing brilliance which they strive against so madly. though their ill wind blows and blusters, though they are wicked foes, and grim, and for all their might and power, their malice, and their sin... our growth yet carries on, 'neath the dirt we're buried in. though the ground still smolders with the echoes of a fearsome blaze some seeds need fire to unfold and this forest's resilience, our power, latent, shall, even so, amaze. sable soil, rich as gold, thus feeds us day and night. that welcome rain could not but fall, the sun remains, aglow, and though finding strength is never easy, together, we still grow. -- Aspen Evelyn Schiller @aspennotpoplar.bsky.social www.ko-fi.com/ANP
January 22, 2025 at 1:06 AM
aspennotpoplar.bsky.social
how graceful the feather
that alights on wings of wind
and, forgotten in flight,
whirls and flutters forth
to journey's unknown end.

- Aspen Evelyn Schiller
1/19/25

🕊️ (free photo from pixabay, not my work)

#nature #tinypoem #poetry #poem #poet #writer #birb #birds
A photograph of dark-winged birds (geese maybe?) flying into the sunset through a sky filled with hues of soft blue, pink, purple, and orange. The birds are lit by the setting sun, not shown, from the lower right corner of the photo.
January 19, 2025 at 1:37 PM
aspennotpoplar.bsky.social
Some of my more recent hand embroidery, two 1-inch bird embroideries which are set to become pendants soon! Left: black-capped chickadee. Right: orchard oriole. 1 strand DMC floss. Intricately-detailed, tiny textile art is my jam! You can see more on my Ko-Fi page. 🧵 ko-fi.com/anp/shop
An embroidery of a black-capped chickadee, stitched in black, white, and cream/beige threads. The bird is sitting on a snowy pine branch, with pine needles and snow flurries in the background. Embroidered on warm, light gray cotton fabric. Total size: 25mm or 1 inch circle. To become a pendant! An embroidery of an orchard oriole in black, orange, and white threads, perched on a light brown tree branch. Summery green leaves border the embroidered area. Stitched on warm, light gray cotton fabric. Total size: 25mm or 1 inch circle. To become a pendant!
December 20, 2023 at 4:03 PM
aspennotpoplar.bsky.social
I got a new friend yesterday! 🌸 Her name is Sakura, and she's a river otter plush made by Aurora! 🥰 I bought her with some Crimmas money I was given, and I'm so happy I did. She was worth every penny!!! Perfect size to snuggle, and so soft and high quality!! I'm in loooove. ❤️ Gemma's not so sure. 😂
A photo of a feminine-looking, pale white person with long brown hair, wearing glasses and a blue and white striped shirt with floral appliques, hugging a plush river otter to their chest with a gleeful, dimpled smile on their face and joy in their eyes. A photo of Sakura the plush river otter, posed for a silly picture wearing the OP's green tortoiseshell glasses, with her paws on top of a colorful, dark floral blanket. To the right of her is a black & tortoiseshell cat with green eyes and a round face named Gemma who is looking at the otter with a dubious expression.
December 20, 2023 at 1:51 PM
aspennotpoplar.bsky.social
Let’s smash the stigma. Post a photo of your beautiful self if you live with mental health conditions to let others know they’re not alone.

Hi! I'm Aspen, I deal with severe depression, anxiety, ADHD, chronic PTSD, and I'm autistic. I also deal with self harm but am trying to stop (& kinda have!) ❤️
A selfie of a feminine-looking white person. They have brown hair with fading streaks of blond at the front of their long wavy hair, blue-green eyes, arched brows, a large nose, and they are smiling at the camera. They are wearing a dark teal shirt with a beaded gold necklace chain just visible. They are wearing light makeup on their brows, eyes, and lips. They have green tortoiseshell pattern eyeglasses on.
December 14, 2023 at 1:51 PM
aspennotpoplar.bsky.social
I used to do a lot of nature photography myself. I took this picture just off a trail in 2016, when I was a bit more mobile and had less chronic pain. It was the smallest mushroom I had ever seen in person! I don't know what kind it might have been, though. Seen at Grandfather Mtn in North Carolina!
A macro photograph with a very tiny brown and beige mushroom growing on a downed log covered in autumnal leaf litter, green moss, and possibly some lichen.
December 14, 2023 at 1:23 PM
aspennotpoplar.bsky.social
Oh yeah, it really would! There's just something so elegantly rendered about those old botanical plates, and such. Really lends itself well to embroidery I feel. I did this piece in 2017, before I really got good, but this tanager is from a similar old illustration! Still love the style!
A hand embroidery of a tanager (type of bird) in vivid colors and textural stitching, on an off-white linen background in a wooden hoop (barely visible at the edges of the image). The piece is signed HL 17, from before I changed my name.
December 14, 2023 at 4:57 AM
aspennotpoplar.bsky.social
This is the necklace I made for them! It's not my finest work ever, but Cass loves it and that's all that matters. (I showed her a pic a while back!)

It gives me such joy to make things for people I love and care for.
A small hand-embroidered pendant in a wooden, oval setting that is stained a deep, warm brown rests on a mini white leatherette necklace bust. The pendant is stitched on dark purple linen, and depicts a purple crocus from an angled, overhead perspective, so that the stamens are visible in the center of the flower. The pendant hangs from a dainty silver chain with long and short links.
December 14, 2023 at 3:38 AM
aspennotpoplar.bsky.social
I crocheted this hat for my best friend, Cass. I'm about ready to send her a care package I've been working on for months! It has a handmade, hand-embroidered crocus necklace, an original watercolor card, this hat, some fancy teas, and all my love! Everything was made by me :) Love being so crafty!
A textured handmade crochet hat (beanie style) in a deep pumpkin-orange yarn. It has a faux fur pom-pom with black fur that has light brown tips. The hat is resting on the arm of a recliner.
December 14, 2023 at 3:23 AM
aspennotpoplar.bsky.social
I wrote this recently while attempting to capture the sense of grief and rage felt at watching atrocities unfold across the world, without the power to prevent any of it. The cumulative sense of loss at watching so many horrific events... The knowledge of the human cost. It's all so much. 💔 #poetry
A poem upon a background of rust-colored leaves. The poem is titled Red Upon the Land, and reads: When hauntings aren’t in houses, but within our wailing souls, and the butchers beg forgiveness, with naught that can console, and with sanguine lips, cry pardon, should they find their absolution? There was peace, before they broke it in profane, depraved delusion. When the screams and smoke still linger, and the feather laid upon the scale seeks in sordid, blood-soaked spirits its measure level, to no avail -- can there ever be atonement when the slain cannot find rest? It seems fitting, then, to leave the rod in the hands of the dispossessed. When so-called righteousness demands the bitter taste of blood and ash it becomes our central duty to question where the profit’s stashed. And should we find that rust-tinged hoard, tracking trails of red upon the land, the crux and question then should be: What more must we withstand? Aspen Evelyn Schiller 11/16/23
November 22, 2023 at 5:19 AM
aspennotpoplar.bsky.social
A hand-embroidered tulip magnolia pendant I created this year on gorgeous dark blue linen. I just got around to finishing it (putting it in the setting) semi-recently, so it isn't up yet in my Ko-Fi shop, but will be when I am feeling better. It is available for sale. Love needle painting :)
A hand-embroidered pink tulip magnolia blossom on dark blue linen, set in a dark-stained rustic wood setting, displayed on a small white pendant bust. Antique bronze colored metal components. There is green diamond-patterned fabric on the floor of the light box this photo was taken in.
November 2, 2023 at 1:21 AM
aspennotpoplar.bsky.social
A close-up of an oval textile-and-wood brooch depicting a pair of red and white toadstools (Amanita muscaria), one with an angled cap and the other still quite small. Stitched and embroidered entirely by hand, freehand design by me. I also stained and finished the setting! 🍄🧵 Available for sale.
A close-up of an oval textile-and-wood brooch depicting a pair of red and white toadstools (Amanita muscaria), one with an angled cap and the other still quite small, on a mossy green base. The brooch is stitched on dark blue cotton and set in a hand-stained warm wooden base. It sits on a small green striped wool display pillow and is surrounded by embroidery bobbins. There is a decorative plate in the background.
November 1, 2023 at 9:38 PM
aspennotpoplar.bsky.social
I'm disabled. & I think I want to be a little more open about my disabilities & how they impact me here.

I'm rarely able to leave my home. I often go a month or more without seeing non-family other than docs. I don't even really know anyone local. I am so isolated and bored, and that is crushing.
a tumblr post by user cactus-spirit reads: Disability & Boredom I don't understand why people assume there's this sense of entitlement when someone with depression or chronic illness complains about being bored. It's not like we're sitting there with endless resources in front of us, turning our nose up at all the options we have and whining about everything being too *boring.* It's not just boredom - it's lack of stimulation and enrichment. When you have a condition that severely restricts your ability to do things, you get... understimulated, socially deprived, restless... and that translates to boredom. I wish more people understood that when I say I'm bored what I'm really saying is, I've barely been able to leave the house for five days and I feel like staring at the walls or scrolling through my phone for another eight hours is going to make me lose my mind.
October 23, 2023 at 3:18 AM
aspennotpoplar.bsky.social
Hello fellow fiber art enthusiasts, embroidery lovers, and textile art friends! Here is an #embroidery of a bee on blue linen, done in my signature needle-painting style and set in a walnut oval hoop pendant. I am new to Bluesky and wanteed to introduce my work. There’s more at ko-fi.com/ANP !
A pendant displayed on a small white necklace bust, which depicts a larger-than-life bee in realistic embroidery. The bee is on a white daisy or similar flower, with a yellow center. The wings are stitched with sparkly polyester thread. The wooden pendant setting is walnut, and it hangs on a silver chain.
October 22, 2023 at 7:18 PM