Hi, my name is Purl. Like knit and purl. I’m an artist and I make things. I make tofu in our worker-owned cooperative ecovillage.
I create puppet shows, paint, draw, sculpt, craft chairs and hand-hewn furniture, and other things to express myself and help make people feel good.
Like making tofu at Twin Oaks. What I like best about making tofu is—well, I consider it a ‘right livelihood.’ It makes me feel good to make tofu. It is a nutritious food thats that is good for you. And it’s good for the earth and the people who live on it.
My favorite thing about making tofu? Sunrise! It’s when I like to make tofu. I wake up and head for the Twin Oaks Tofu Hut—just a short walk away in our forested ecovillage. The dew is on the trees and the sun is just beginning to rise. When I go inside the clouds of steam rising from the warm soy curds and rays of the rising sun combine and filter through the windows in a melody of soft light. It inspires me. Making tofu is a beautiful way to begin the day.
Here at Twin Oaks, I create art under my birth name, Sean Samoheyl.
Like many other artists, I can’t deny my inspiration to create. I perform puppet shows with my own hand-crafted pupperts, and I paint, draw, sculpt, craft furniture, work with fiber, stop-motion animation, and more. The images shown here are my sculptures. Right now I am sculpting primarily in carved wood and some walnut, wild cherry, and pine. See more at www.seansamoheyl.com.
I also host workshops on artisanal chair building here at Twin Oaks Community in Virginia. Come learn how to craft a hand-hewn chair and make art of your own–art you can use every day to create beauty in your life and take pride in.”
