Bakers of Community Loaves, Meet Chris Cocklin-Ray
A little about Chris – she has lived on MI for almost 43 years.
Prior to teaching she worked as an artist ( illustrator, jeweler, ceramics, murals) for thirty years. She went back to school and interestingly, graduated with her masters the same year her youngest graduated from high school!
She has two daughters, one a writer here in Seattle and the other, a tattoo artist living in Melbourne AU. When not baking, teaching or writing poetry… she loves her garden, hiking, exploring and family… but she says, not always in that order.
Chris joined Community Loaves in January of this year and has donated 63 honey oat pan loaves to our food banks. She loves to bake and can occasionally be found babysitting the loaves in the magical wee hours of the night.
She captured the spirit of the effort in this lovely poem. Its gentle meter and sentiment reinforces why we bake.
It’s three in the morning
And I am baking bread
Measuring, I watch for a number
And fill in the clear container with
A living, breathing lifeline
This is for me-my nighttime therapy
This is for someone else-an extra hand
I quietly move across the kitchen
The world is moving around me
I turn off the light, climb back into bed
I bake for a thread
That moves through us all
I bake to hang onto
Something bigger, better than me
I bake to find place and peace
In the small constant process
That wraps itself around all that is good
I bake to find solace
In the sound of the slap of the dough
I bake as a way to hold out a hand
And believe in the strength
Of one single loaf of bread.
~Chris Cocklin-Ray
Thank you Chris for sharing your passion, time, and talents with Community Loaves!
