April 08's Rare Bird: Deann Hall

[Leigh]

Deann Hall, whose handmade furniture company is actually called Birdland, is definitely a Rare Bird!

A gifted woodworker, furniture artist and painter, Deann moved to Taos, New Mexico, in 1974, when she was 22–having hitchhiked there with a friend while on school break. She immediately knew Taos was her place in the world, went back to school, packed her truck–a 1960 3/4-ton Chevy Apache she bought for a song from a pest control company then transformed into a camper–and spent three months camping in New Mexico's canyons before finding a house.

Feminism was a new idea at that point, and wave after wave of “disoriented, confused but determined” women began washing up on the high-desert sands of Taos. In Deann's words, “We weren't sure exactly what we wanted, but we knew it was going to be different.” One summer everyone who came was from California, then the next year Texas, then Illinois. Deann arrived from San Diego, though her state of origin was Utah. The common denominator among these women from many different places was that they were all looking for new and empowering options for living.

Soon Deann got what she wanted–a job in the woodworking field. Previously, she'd studied a semester in a cabinet shop in San Diego–but it was the six years she worked for Gary Walker of Taos that taught her the trade. While mastering her craft, she continued to attend school off and on, responding to a variety of broad interests that included history, communication, art, and linguistics. She also received a teaching certification, but as Deann notes, “One semester of teaching cured me of any thoughts of teaching.”

So she went back to construction, finally understanding that self-employment was her path. Still, her desire for learning pushed her to get her Masters in Counseling, then pursue an additional two years to enlist her “awesome” horses into her increasingly popular Equine Assisted Therapy practice. Currently, Deann balances counseling, equine assisted therapy, woodworking, painting, and writing.

Hafiz writes that “this world is a Magi's brilliant trick, though its affairs are nothing into nothing.” To Deann, this suggests that there are no mistakes. We are always learning. Things that are painful actually teach us. Life energy, by its very nature, seeks to expand, so we will never get “it” right. But maybe we will eventually realize that it is the humor, kindness and appreciation that we bring to the process that really counts.

Visit Deann online at http://birdtribes.ning.com/profile/deannHall.

ARE YOU A RARE BIRD?

Then please nominate yourself or someone else by sending me an email on Bird Tribes. (You must first join Bird Tribes.) Be sure to adhere to the following:

Your email should contain a well-crafted, edited, one- to two-paragraph (less than 400 words) description of yourself or the person, including the person's spiritually relevant offerings, contributions, activities, websites (URLs), philosophies, etc.

If your nomination is selected to be a Rare Bird, we will adapt this material for posting on Rare Birds and elsewhere so as to provide maximum exposure for the individual in question.

In return, we ask any individual who accepts Rare Bird status to invite his or her Ning friends network to join us on Bird Tribes. This Aquarian, win-win strategy is designed to enhance our membership and provide all of us with greater opportunities for networking and fellowship.

Please be advised that we can only have one Rare Bird per month, so your understanding is appreciated if others are chosen ahead of you.

Thanks for your interest in being recognized as a Rare Bird!

Leigh
http://birdtribes.ning.com/profile/Leigh