Skye McNeill Studio

12/21/2025

W I N T E R S O L S T I C E 🌙 ⭐️ Tonight is the longest night of the year, the darkest day, and the turning of season. And despite the bustle and flurry of December holidays (an uncommon bounty of five days in a row of social things over here, whoa!) it’s also a time of deep rest, reflection, and renewal. I’ve been loving seeing the various rituals and moments being shared that I’ve come across and I hope you get some time today to practice some of your own.

I wanted to share this artwork I created for last year’s winter solstice for one of my favorite local shops, / who does a mystery solstice box twice per year. We landed on the idea that while it’s the longest night of the year, that means every day after has more and more light. I used motifs of winter fields - dormant on the surface but resting for powerful new growth below - that also could be a lovingly made patchwork quilt, full of hand stitching and warmth for the cold nights. I added other winter elements such as flowering hellebore, warm drinks, slippers and winter boots for walking across those dark fields and course the critters - hedgehog, moth, bat, owl. The owl is one of my favorite winter creatures. For a few years in a row there was a beautiful owl that visited our backyard in the St. John’s house and stuck around for a couple weeks around solstice to New Year’s. Sometime to look out the window each morning and spot it.

Along with the main illustration was a repeat pattern that was printed on fabric and made into notion bags by local sewists . Some of the motifs were also etched onto wooden stitch markers for knitting. I dont have images of the final box contents, but maybe you were one of the lucky makers to snag the limited edition release!

May your Longest Night be a good one! 🌌